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Charles Schwab Review

We reviewed Charles Schwab and collected all the important information and stats so you can easily scan them before making the decision of choosing an online broker. Is this the company to use for your everyday trades? Read on and see if the company suits your investment needs.

Charles Schwab is an all-around brokerage with a wide range of offerings designed to suit different investment needs. As a low-cost investing firm, the company offers $0 stock trades. It provides investors with high-quality trading tools, excellent stock market research, 24/7 customer support, and a solid educational experience that makes it a great choice for both beginning and advanced investors.

Charles Schwab also offers $0 commissions for all mutual funds and ETFs and up to 4,200 no transaction fee mutual Funds. In addition to these, it requires zero minimum balance.

In November 2019, Charles Schwab declared its intention to acquire TD Ameritrade, and on October 6th, 2020, the deal was closed. However, Charles Schwab estimates that it will take a couple of years for both companies to be fully integrated.

Charles Schwab Popularity

Charles Schwab is a very popular brokerage, and the stats below shows just that. The firm is the third-largest asset manager in the world, with over $3.3 trillion in client assets as of June 2019. Charles Schwab has about 20,000 employees with over 360 branches across the United States and branch offices in the United Kingdom, Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

In 2019, Charles Schwab was ranked #3 in Investopedia’s 2020 Best Online Brokers Award. In 2020, Investors Business Daily ranked Charles Schwab as number #1 in website security and broad investment choices and #2 for best customer experience. The company’s recent acquisition of TD Ameritrade is another huge step that has increased its popularity.

Being featured on major financial news outlets, Charles Schwab is one of the top online brokers in the market. The large number of active users and social media followers supports the above statement.

QueryAnswerReference URLDate
Number of users (approximate)14.2mhttps://www.aboutschwab.com/charles-schwab19 Aug 2020
Website traffic (estimated)38.3mhttps://www.similarweb.com/website/schwab.com/19 Aug 2020
# results on web30.7mhttps://www.google.com19 Aug 2020
Search volume Google550Khttps://searchvolume.io19 Aug 2020
Twitter followers103.3Khttps://twitter.com/charlesschwab19 Aug 2020
FB followers252Khttps://www.facebook.com/CharlesSchwab19 Aug 2020
How popular on mainstream media?HighCNBC, Market Watch, Business Wire, Barron’s, Yahoo Finance19 Aug 2020
Negative media?Mediumhttps://violationtracker.goodjobsfirst.org/parent/charles-schwab-corp19 Aug 2020
Notable awards2020 Highest in Investor Satisfaction with DIY Self-Directed Services Recognitionhttps://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2020-us-self-directed-investor-satisfaction-study19 Aug 2020

User Rating

Charles Schwab has a lot of positive feedback and ratings available on review sites and social media platforms. Some of the most common positive feedback you’ll find are about the company’s prompt and effective customer support. In most cases, clients’ calls will only have to wait for 22 seconds before they are attended to. Customers also can’t seem to get enough of their wide range of brokerage services.

However, there are several negative user ratings, and the most common negative comments being about the complicated trading platform and the mobile app going down frequently. Overall, customers seem to be quite happy with Charles Schwab as the company has 62% positive reviews.

QueryAnswerReference URLDate
# users rated on user platforms21 on TrustPilot, 8 on SiteJabberhttps://www.trustpilot.com/review/schwab.com
https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/schwab.com
19 Aug 2020
Percentage of positive reviews out of user reviews62%https://www.trustpilot.com/review/schwab.com19 Aug 2020
Common complimentsDiverse services, trusted and reliablehttps://www.trustpilot.com/review/schwab.com
https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/schwab.com
19 Aug 2020
Common complaintsFrequently undergoing maintenance, not great for optionshttps://www.trustpilot.com/review/schwab.com
https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/schwab.com
19 Aug 2020
Positive feedback on Twitter?Helpful customer supporthttps://twitter.com/charlesschwab19 Aug 2020
Negative feedback on Twitter?Mobile app is constantly going downhttps://twitter.com/charlesschwab19 Aug 2020
App rating (summary)344K+ reviews with an average 4.5 / 5 ratinghttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.schwab.mobile
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-mobile/id407358186
19 Aug 2020

Background Information

Charles Schwab Corporation is a multinational financial service firm established in 1971 as Charles Schwab and Co, Inc. by its namesake Charles Schwab. A public company with almost 20,000 employees, Charles Schwab, is the 14th largest banking institution in the United States with over US$3.3 trillion in client assets. 

The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California, Us. Defying all conventional wisdom, the company opened nearly a hundred branches that offer 24/7 services just a little over ten years after it was established. It also started exploring online services and pioneered the discount brokerage business in 1974. The firm soon became the nation’s largest discount broker.

Charles Schwab is focused on seeing the world through the client’s eyes, and as such, the company has provided services that customers want and set the pace for others to follow. Charles Schwab has made countless investment service innovations such as 24/7 access to services, no transaction fees mutual fund, zero commissions on ETF, and providing online trading. All these are targeted at providing investors with the best experience.

In October 2019, Charles Schwab announced that it was cutting trading commissions to zero, once again proving its worth as a pacesetter in the online brokerage industry as most of its competitors soon followed suit.

Company public/privatePublichttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Schwab_Corporation
Revenue Data$2.45 billion in Q2 2020https://news.alphastreet.com/a-visual-dashboard-of-charles-schwab-schw-q2-2020-earnings-results/
CEO and bioWalter W. Bettinger II – Is the CEO since October 2008 and is credited with leading Schwab through the financial crisis.https://www.aboutschwab.com/walter-bettinger
Number of employees19,500https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Schwab_Corporation
Notable investors (private companies)Nonehttps://www.crunchbase.com/organization/charles-schwab

Security

Charles Schwab is highly committed to ensuring the safety of clients’ accounts, and its security meets Industry standards. The firm carries Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) insurance of $149,500,000 per client account with $600 million for individual cash. In addition to this, the firm has put the following security measures in place.

  • Encryption of the website and mobile apps prevents unauthorized persons from gaining access to clients’ personal information.
  • Allowing mobile app users to log in with biometrics (fingerprints and face recognition).
  • Asking security questions during high-risk transactions.
  • Ensuring maximum data security (100%coverage of losses in your account due to unauthorized activities).
QueryAnswerReference URL
HTTPS CertificateYeshttps://www.schwab.com
2FA ?Yeshttps://www.schwab.com/content/two-step-authentication
Device monitoring?Yeshttps://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/active_trader/trading_tools
New device extra security?Yeshttps://www.schwab.com/legal/deviceid

Fees & Offering

Charles Schwab is a full-service brokerage with one of the widest range of offerings available in the United States. The firm allows its customers to trade stocks, mutual funds, Bonds, futures/commodities and futures options, simple and multiple leg options, and forex and fractional shares.

It also allows international trade in 12 non-US countries. The only drawback is that futures traders may have to open a separate account as this broker doesn’t support cryptocurrency trading. However, CBOE futures can be traded.

Charles Schwab’s fees are relatively low, with $0 stock and ETFs and only $0.65 per contract fee. It charges a flat rate of $49.95 for all transaction fee mutual funds, and margin fees range from 9.325% for $10,000 balance and 7.825% for over $10,000 balance. It also doesn’t charge an inactivity fee or account closure fees.

QueryAnswerReference URL
Account minimumNonehttps://www.schwab.com/public/eac/account_features/brokerage_account
Account fixed feesNonehttps://www.schwab.com/pricing-page
Fractional shares?Yeshttps://www.schwab.com/fractional-shares-stock-slices
Margin costsVarieshttps://www.schwab.com/margin/rates
ETF buying feesNonehttps://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/active_trader/pricing
Stock buying feesNonehttps://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/active_trader/pricing
Option buying feesNonehttps://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/active_trader/pricing
Short selling feesVarieshttps://www.schwab.com/resource-center/insights/content/9-frequently-asked-questions-about-short-selling
Futures buying fees$1.5 per contracthttps://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/active_trader/pricing
Futures options buying fees$0 base + $0.65 per options contracthttps://www.schwab.com/options
Cryptocurrency feesNot availablehttps://www.coindesk.com/what-a-schwab-td-ameritrade-merger-would-mean-for-crypto
Fixed income feesNonehttps://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/investing/accounts_products/investment/bonds/fixed_income_pricing
Mutual funds feesNonehttps://www.schwab.com/pricing-page

Trading App

Charles Schwab’s trading app is one of the best-rated trading apps on the market. It has an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars. The firm has two primary trading app- the StreetSmart Edge and the StreetSmart Central.

StreetSmart Edge is the company’s flagship trading platform. It is a desktop-based platform that provides all the necessary tools options traders and day traders need for a successful trading experience. It has a highly customizable interface that can be adjusted to your taste. It also has real-time data and is relatively easy to navigate compared to the web platform. 

It also has different idea generators such as the Idea Hub, this platform, however, doesn’t have most of the screeners available on the web platform.

The Scwhab.com web trader has all the necessary information a beginning investor needs to succeed. It allows you to monitor watchlists, view financial and trading data, and access and analyze trends. The company’s mobile app is quite similar to the website. It is intuitive, straightforward with a fully functional trading workflow.

Charles Schwab’s Stock Slices allows investors to trade fractional shares. The major drawback of the firm’s trading app is that it can be a little confusing for entry-level brokers. Also, futures trading can only be done using the SmartStreet Central platform.

QueryAnswerReference URL
Android app # installs1m+https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.schwab.mobile
Android app # reviews17Khttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.schwab.mobile
iPhone app # reviews327Khttps://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-mobile/id407358186
Android app rating4.2 / 5https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.schwab.mobile
iPhone app rating4.8 / 5https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-mobile/id407358186
Common compliments on appGood research tools and readily available informationhttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.schwab.mobile
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-mobile/id407358186
Common complaints on appClunky and consistent problems with the login processhttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.schwab.mobile
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-mobile/id407358186
Weighted average app rating4.5 / 5https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.schwab.mobile
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-mobile/id407358186

Final conclusions: Charles Schwab is a Top Broker

Charles Schwab is a prominent broker, and the long history of the company only showcases the excellent service it’s providing to the growing customer base. It doesn’t matter whether you’re an experienced investor handling your own investing or a beginner investor seeking investment advice and portfolio management; Charles Schwab has the right technology and offerings to suit your needs.

By cutting its trading commissions to zero, Schwab has again proved it’s worth as a low-cost leader who sets the pace for others to follow. The highly accessible customer support and excellent trading platforms are just icing on the cake. If you don’t already have an account with them, you might want to consider them as a choice.

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