Schwab Makes New Ad Push as Assets Near $3 Trillion

Schwab said its Advisor Services unit has launched a new print and online ad campaign focused on independent advisors serving wealthy clients.

The firm went public with details on the ads about one week after it reported having $2.92 trillion of client assets as of March 31, a 14% year-over-year increase. About $1.48 trillion of these assets are enrolled in some form of ongoing advisory service, up $200 billion from a year ago, according to CEO Walt Bettinger.

In Schwab’s latest ads, advisors tell their growth stories and highlight their relationships with Schwab. The new campaign builds on one started last year that aimed to highlight “the benefits of independent advice among high-net-worth investors,” according to the firm.

“High-net-worth investors understand and value the benefits of customized, fiduciary advice, and there has never been a better time for advisors to consider going independent,” said Bernie Clark, head of Schwab Advisor Services, in a statement. “Independent advisors are the growth story in the advice industry today.”

One advisors who appears in the campaign is Kent Skornia, president and CEO of Krilogy Financial of St. Louis. “After launching our independent practice, we have grown from $19 million to $700 million in assets under management,” Skornia said in a statement.

Latest Results

Charles Schwab said it boosted net income 37% from a year ago to $564 million, or $0.39 per share, in the first quarter. Its net revenues grew 18% to nearly $2.1 billion. Meanwhile, its pretax profit margin hit 40.5%. These results topped analysts’ estimates.

In the first quarter, clients opened 362,000 new accounts, the highest quarterly total in 17 years for the company, excluding acquisitions, Bettinger says.

While new retail assets jumped 83% year over year, Advisor Services “attracted near-record inflows from the independent advisor clients who custody with us and achieved a 57% increase,” the CEO explained in a statement.