Schwab to Start Next Phase of TD Ameritrade Conversion in January

Following the current “get grounded” orientation phase of the Schwab-TD Ameritrade platform conversion, the second phase for TD Ameritrade advisors, “get ready,” will start in late January, according to Jessica Heffron, managing director of Advisor Services Integration at Schwab.

The next phase will be “when we’re really looking to execute custodial agreements with your firms,” she told TD Ameritrade advisors who are still getting some familiarity with Schwab’s platform.

After that, “the next critical time period is really to focus on June through August, which will cover … ‘complete setup,’ as well as get you pretty deep into” the “explore and learn” phase of the scheduled conversion, she said Wednesday, during the virtual Schwab Impact 2022 conference.

“This is going to be a critical time where your firm is actually going to start to get access to Schwab platforms like SchwabAdvisorCenter.com,” she noted.

During that time period, TD Ameritrade advisors will “continue to have access to the TDA platform,” she said, explaining: “That is where you’re going to continue to actively manage your business, your assets, your portfolios on that platform up until Labor Day weekend.”

But Schwab is going to take steps during that period “to start building your data on” the Schwab platform, she noted. In early June, Schwab will “take a snapshot of how your firm is set up at TDA, and that’s actually then going to serve as our blueprint for us to start the build of your setup on Schwab,” she added.

That is all in preparation for the completion of TD Ameritrade’s integration into Schwab’s platform on Labor Day weekend, she said, noting, “integration continues to remain a key focus for us” this year.

“As we exit ‘get grounded’ and enter the next phase of ‘get ready,’ we’re actually going to be … starting to take actionable steps to get closer and closer to that big event, which is … the conversion,” she said.

The Labor Day weekend conversion date, announced just before Schwab Impact, “really does serve as the anchor milestone for our whole roadmap,” she told viewers.

The day after the Labor Day weekend, Sept. 5, will be treated as “client day one,” she said, noting, “that’s really the day when we are finally a unified platform.” At that point, “all your Ameritrade business is now going to be on the Schwab platform, and we’re going to go forward together on our new platform here,” she told TD Ameritrade analysts.

She also pointed out that, even after Labor Day weekend, “your access to TDA does not go away.” The Veo platform “will still be up and running but in a more limited capacity,” in more of a “view-only mode at that point,” she said.