SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Charles Schwab
& Co., Inc. today announced it is eliminating account service
fees on all U.S. individual brokerage accounts effective October 1.
The action impacts about 650,000 accounts with less than $25,000
(1). Also in October, Schwab is eliminating its $3.00 order
handling fee on equity trades. The elimination of account service
and order handling fees furthers a commitment to value and
simplified pricing that Schwab launched in May 2004, and is the
seventh price cut for clients since that time. "This change opens
the door for smaller investors and others who are interested in
testing the waters with Schwab, expanding the range of clients who
can now take advantage of the great investment services available
here," said Charles R. Schwab, founder, chairman and CEO. "In
mid-2004, we committed to eliminating price as a reason to go
elsewhere, and thanks to improved efficiencies and streamlining, we
can now profitably serve a much broader range of investors. These
fee eliminations are also strategically important investments in
our future: approximately 28% of current Independent Investing
Signature clients, 40% of Active Trader clients, and 29% of Advised
Investing clients started with less than $25,000 at Schwab." Value,
Performance and Service Schwab further commented: "With our
financial turnaround completed, we are shifting our attention to
Schwab's second act, where our primary focus will be driving
profitable growth through deeper relationships that improve our
clients' experience and investment results. "Over the last 16
months, we took a number of steps to build on our heritage as a
company that provides incredible value," Schwab said. "Elimination
of account service and order handling fees follows six rounds of
reductions in fees and in online equity and option trading
commissions since May 2004 that cumulatively represent an
annualized investment in our clients of more than $375 million."
"On the performance front, across the board, we believe the advice
we provide to our clients is institutional quality. Schwab Equity
Ratings(R) continue to provide investors with a reliable, balanced
and successful alternative to traditional Wall Street research,"
Schwab added, noting that since their inception in May 2002, Schwab
Equity Ratings' buy recommendations have doubled the market's
return (relative to the S&P 500 index) (2). "Additionally, all
eight of the Schwab Funds equity funds* based on the ratings have
beaten their benchmark and category averages since launching or
converting to a strategy utilizing Schwab Equity Ratings. Our
portfolio advice is based on the same sound principles of asset
allocation and diversification applied by foundations and
institutional investors, and we are delighted with the risk and
return performance we are seeing with clients who enroll in our
advised services." Schwab also noted: "In January, we began
providing more affluent clients with a dedicated financial
consultant who can serve as a 'go-to' person on a wide variety of
questions or investing needs." Depending on their location, clients
are paired with a financial consultant in one of Schwab's 290
branch offices or one of its three telephone service centers. In a
recent survey of clients following a conversation with a Schwab
financial consultant, 50% of clients said they planned to increase
their business with Schwab. "We have also restored domestic 24x7
and holiday telephone service, upgraded our automated phone service
with state-of-the-art natural language technology, and made a
variety of enhancements to our website, Schwab.com, that make it
easier to do business with us," Schwab said, adding that the
company also has trained 1,400 employees across its branch network
to become dual employees of both Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.,
and Charles Schwab Bank, to better help clients access the growing
range of credit and cash management services from the bank. "All of
these advances are made possible by the tremendous drive and
commitment of Schwab's employees," Schwab said. "Their dedication
and enthusiasm are truly inspiring as we work together to create a
client experience that is second to none." * Past performance is no
guarantee of future results. Investment value will fluctuate, and
shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than original
cost. Investors should consider carefully information contained in
the prospectus, including investment objectives, risks, charges and
expenses. You can request a prospectus by calling Schwab at
1-800-435-4000. Please read the prospectus carefully before
investing. About Charles Schwab The Charles Schwab Corporation
(NYSE / Nasdaq: SCH), through its operating subsidiaries, provides
securities brokerage and financial services to individual investors
and the independent investment advisors who work with them. With
over 7 million accounts and more than $1.1 trillion in client
assets, The Charles Schwab Corporation is one of the nation's
largest financial services firms. Its subsidiary Charles Schwab
& Co., Inc. (member SIPC) provides a complete range of
investment services and products, including an extensive selection
of mutual funds; financial planning and investment advice;
retirement plans; referrals to independent fee-based investment
advisors; and custodial, operational and trading support for
independent fee-based investment advisors. Its subsidiary Charles
Schwab Bank (member FDIC) provides banking and mortgage services
and products. The corporation's other operating subsidiaries
include U.S. Trust Corporation (member FDIC) and CyberTrader(R),
Inc. (member SIPC). These companies' Web sites can be reached at
http://www.schwab.com/, http://www.schwabbank.com/,
http://www.ustrust.com/, and http://www.cybertrader.com/. About
Schwab Equity Ratings Schwab Equity Ratings offer an objective and
disciplined assessment of approximately 3,000 U.S. head-quartered
stocks, more than any other major brokerage firm. Stocks are
assigned grades of A, B, C, D, or F, reflecting performance
potential over the next 12 months. Schwab's outlook is that
"A"-rated stocks, on average, will strongly outperform, and
"F"-rated stocks, on average, will strongly underperform. The
ratings reflect each stock's evaluation across four broad
categories: fundamentals, valuation, momentum, and risk. They are
updated each week to reflect new financial data and other
information. For more information on Schwab Equity Ratings,
including performance details, how performance was calculated,
comparison of performance to benchmarks and limitations of model
performance, visit http://www.schwab.com/serperformance. About
Charles Schwab Investment Management Founded in 1991, Charles
Schwab Investment Management, Inc. (CSIM), an affiliate of Charles
Schwab & Co., Inc., is one of the nation's largest mutual fund
companies with $140 billion under management as of August 31, 2005.
It is among the country's largest money market fund managers and is
the third-largest provider of retail index funds. In addition to
managing Schwab proprietary funds, CSIM provides oversight for the
institutional-style, sub-advised Laudus Fund family. CSIM currently
manages 67 mutual funds including 23 actively managed funds. About
Charles Schwab Bank Headquartered in Reno, Nevada, Charles Schwab
Bank, N.A. (Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender) provides
checking, savings, money market and CD accounts, home mortgages,
HELOCs, Pledged Asset Mortgages, credit cards, and more. Deposits
are FDIC-insured. Clients can learn more about bank products and
services, including the Schwab Bank Visa credit card and Schwab
Bank Investor Checking, by phone, mail or schwab.com. Charles
Schwab Bank, N.A. and Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., are
affiliates of one another and are both subsidiaries of The Charles
Schwab Corporation. Investment Products: Not FDIC Insured | No Bank
Guarantee | May Lose Value (1) Account service fees are periodic
fees of $120 to $180 a year automatically charged to accounts that
fail to meet asset, trading or other published thresholds. Other
fees, such as transfer of account fees, may apply. Accounts that
are exempt from account service fees will be subject to a minimum
balance charge of $30 per quarter for brokerage accounts or $50 per
year for retirement accounts if, after receipt of notice and a
notice period, their assets remain below account opening minimums
of $2,500 for brokerage accounts or $2,000 for IRAs. The minimum
balance charge is waived for households with balances of at least
$10,000 or with at least eight equity and/or option trades in the
preceding 12 months. Excludes QRP, CRA, Individual 401(k),
403(b)(7), SIMPLE IRA -- plan level accounts, and all accounts held
by clients who reside outside the U.S., its territories or
possessions. (2) Performance data based on all complete 12-month
periods through 5/6/02 - 7/5/05 for all A- and B-rated stocks.
Please refer to http://www.schwab.com/serperformance for more
information about limitations of model performance and how
performance is calculated, as well as other important disclosures.
The worst period for the A-rated stocks was May 6, 2002 - May 5,
2003 and had a negative return of 5.93%. The S&P 500 Index
returned a negative 10.4% in that same period. The worst period for
the B-rated stocks was May 20, 2002 - May 19, 2003 and had a
negative return of 6.08%. The S&P 500 Index return was negative
14.1% in that period. Indices are unmanaged, do not incur
management fees and expenses, and cannot be invested in directly.
Stocks can be volatile and entail risk and individual stocks may
not be suitable for an investor. DATASOURCE: Charles Schwab
CONTACT: Media, Glen Mathison, +1-415-636-5448, or , or Sarah
Bulgatz, +1-415-636-5940, or , or Investors/Analysts, Richard
Fowler, +1-415-636-9869, or , all of Charles Schwab Web site:
http://www.schwab.com/serperformance Web site:
http://www.schwab.com/
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