Schwab virtually invented the custodian business for RIAs serving high-net worth individuals. In the late 1990s, about 75% of the all new assets flowing into RIAs poured went to Schwab.
As of June 2003, RIAs custodied $240 billion in assets at Schwab and $71.3 billion at Fidelity. Recently, Schwab reported having $352 billion while Fidelity said it held $132 billion. So Fidelity has over the past two years picked up $61 billion in its RIA business, while Schwab has seen an increase of $112 billion in assets custodied by advisors.