Charles Schwab Essay, Research Paper

Mission

To provide customers with the most useful and ethical financial services in the world.

Organization

Founded in 1974 as one of the country’s first discount brokerages, The Charles Schwab Corporation through its subsidiaries today provides a broad array of financial services to individual investors, independent investment managers, retirement plans and institutions. The company through its U.S. broker-dealer serves over 6 million active customer accounts both domestically and internationally through a network of over 300 branches, offices, telephone service centers, automated phone services and the Internet. Today the company is headed by founder Charles R. Schwab (Chairman and Co-CEO), and David S. Pottruck (President and Co-CEO).

Products and Services

Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. is a full-service financial services company, offering investment guidance, trading and brokerage services, and a full range of investment and financial products. Schwab is dedicated to helping customers make their own informed financial decisions with confidence.

Schwab offers a range of investment planning services, including registered representatives available via phone day and night, online asset allocation and retirement planning tools, and more intensive programs like Core and Explore and the Schwab AdvisorSource referral program.

The Mutual Fund MarketPlace makes available over 3,000 funds from more than 350 fund families, including 32 SchwabFunds.

Schwab serves active traders with programs like the Signature Services, which offers commission discounts and up-to-date research.

Schwab provides multi-lingual services for non-English-speaking customers through its Asia Pacific Services Center and its Latin American Center.

With a presence on all major listed stock exchanges, including options markets, Schwab’s Capital Markets and Trading, a division of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., executes trades, participates in IPOs and secondary offerings and provides fixed-income investments.

Schwab Retirement Plan Services Inc. provides retirement planning guidance, products, record-keeping and administrative services to sponsor companies, employees, and individuals; in 1998, customer assets in retirement plan accounts totaled $20 billion.