PFA Updates

Dec 13, 2022

This past month, I had the opportunity to attend an educational conference alongside a mix of Schwab and TD Ameritrade's top planners. The educational and economic content was excellent. However, the best part was the opportunity to meet Schwab senior leadership and hear from them about the merger. I went away from the meeting with even more confidence in the long-term success of the merger.

First off, it will be important for clients to know that over the weekend of Labor Day 2023, TD clients will merge onto the Schwab platform. Your September 2023 statement will be the first under the new Schwab format. Although account numbers will change, Schwab has reassured us there will be no transfer paperwork to sign and account and banking links will transfer automatically. We will be watching closely as the transfer happens.  

We do expect there will be some hiccups, but we hope to keep them to a minimum. Our team is already participating in conference calls and training sessions.  The back office software for our team will change a couple of months in advance of the conversion, so we have time to get used to the new systems. This will help with our readiness.

Second, I was impressed by the long-term view of the Schwab leadership team, their commitment to client service and most importantly, not raising fees. They are investing heavily in technology and talent. It's a great formula. 

While we thought TD Ameritrade was an excellent custodian, Schwab has depth and services beyond what TD could provide. Long/short, it allows us to offer more cutting-edge services to our clients. Schwab is the fourth largest financial services company in the US; you don't get to be that big without doing a lot of things very well.

I also had the opportunity to visit with some of the TD Ameritrade leadership who currently support our office. They all wear the Schwab flag now, and they are very happy to be on the Schwab team. Their key comment to me was that Schwab leadership gave them a seat at the table and actually listened to their input. 

Those at Schwab want to get it right the first time, and this has been part of the delay with the merger. I respect that and hope things go as smoothly as they promise. We will update you as new information is available. Please let us know if you have any questions.

- Tom