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.
| Query | Answer | Reference URL | Date |
| Number of users (approximate) | 14.2m | https://www.aboutschwab.com/charles-schwab | 19 Aug 2020 |
| Website traffic (estimated) | 38.3m | https://www.similarweb.com/website/schwab.com/ | 19 Aug 2020 |
| # results on web | 30.7m | https://www.google.com | 19 Aug 2020 |
| Search volume Google | 550K | https://searchvolume.io | 19 Aug 2020 |
| Twitter followers | 103.3K | https://twitter.com/charlesschwab | 19 Aug 2020 |
| FB followers | 252K | https://www.facebook.com/CharlesSchwab | 19 Aug 2020 |
| How popular on mainstream media? | High | CNBC, Market Watch, Business Wire, Barron’s, Yahoo Finance | 19 Aug 2020 |
| Negative media? | Medium | https://violationtracker.goodjobsfirst.org/parent/charles-schwab-corp | 19 Aug 2020 |
| Notable awards | 2020 Highest in Investor Satisfaction with DIY Self-Directed Services Recognition | https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2020-us-self-directed-investor-satisfaction-study | 19 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.
| Query | Answer | Reference URL | Date |
| # users rated on user platforms | 21 on TrustPilot, 8 on SiteJabber | https://www.trustpilot.com/review/schwab.com https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/schwab.com | 19 Aug 2020 |
| Percentage of positive reviews out of user reviews | 62% | https://www.trustpilot.com/review/schwab.com | 19 Aug 2020 |
| Common compliments | Diverse services, trusted and reliable | https://www.trustpilot.com/review/schwab.com https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/schwab.com | 19 Aug 2020 |
| Common complaints | Frequently undergoing maintenance, not great for options | https://www.trustpilot.com/review/schwab.com https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/schwab.com | 19 Aug 2020 |
| Positive feedback on Twitter? | Helpful customer support | https://twitter.com/charlesschwab | 19 Aug 2020 |
| Negative feedback on Twitter? | Mobile app is constantly going down | https://twitter.com/charlesschwab | 19 Aug 2020 |
| App rating (summary) | 344K+ reviews with an average 4.5 / 5 rating | https://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/private | Public | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Schwab_Corporation |
| Revenue Data | $2.45 billion in Q2 2020 | https://news.alphastreet.com/a-visual-dashboard-of-charles-schwab-schw-q2-2020-earnings-results/ |
| CEO and bio | Walter 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 employees | 19,500 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Schwab_Corporation |
| Notable investors (private companies) | None | https://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).
| Query | Answer | Reference URL |
| HTTPS Certificate | Yes | https://www.schwab.com |
| 2FA ? | Yes | https://www.schwab.com/content/two-step-authentication |
| Device monitoring? | Yes | https://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/active_trader/trading_tools |
| New device extra security? | Yes | https://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.
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.
| Query | Answer | Reference URL |
| Android app # installs | 1m+ | https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.schwab.mobile |
| Android app # reviews | 17K | https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.schwab.mobile |
| iPhone app # reviews | 327K | https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-mobile/id407358186 |
| Android app rating | 4.2 / 5 | https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.schwab.mobile |
| iPhone app rating | 4.8 / 5 | https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-mobile/id407358186 |
| Common compliments on app | Good research tools and readily available information | https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.schwab.mobile https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-mobile/id407358186 |
| Common complaints on app | Clunky and consistent problems with the login process | https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.schwab.mobile https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-mobile/id407358186 |
| Weighted average app rating | 4.5 / 5 | https://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.