Schwab adviser assets growing at 20% pace

Advisers affiliated with Schwab Institutional are growing at a rate that outpaces the industry average, Charles Goldman, executive vice president, said last Monday in Las Vegas at the custodian's annual conference, IMPACT 2007. San Francisco-based Schwab Institutional's advisers are seeing 20% annual growth, versus 14% for the rest of the $2.1 trillion industry, as counted by client assets, he said. Mr. Goldman kicked off the conference with his remarks. And Schwab's advisers are seeing double the growth wirehouse reps are experiencing, noted Mr. Goldman, who replaced Deborah McWhinney as head of the group in May. After an introduction that in-cluded a gospel choir garbed in purple robes and acrobats bouncing on stilts, he made an upbeat presentation that focused on the industry's history as well as new efforts to expand the Schwab Institutional platform. The firm began its custody business for registered investment advisers in 1987, and with 3,800 at-tendees, this year's conference was its largest. "I'm proud to celebrate this history," Mr. Goldman said. Schwab Institutional, which has 5,500 advisers who manage $580 billion in client assets, is in a unique position in the financial advice business, he said. "We see no slowing down coming our way." Schwab "is investing more in technology," said one adviser, who asked not to be identified. Parent Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. "takes this division of the firm very seriously." The adviser added that with the maturity of many advisers' practices, some are looking for Schwab Institutional to do more "in-house consulting" with advisers. At the conference, the firm announced plans to expand its trust platform as well as increase its offering of alternative investments. It announced a new lineup of trust services that are designed to help advisers retain the management of trust assets. Banks traditionally have been the stronghold in the trust area, but more advisers are recognizing that trusts are a path to managing the total wealth of their wealthy clients, Schwab said in a statement. And those assets are growing, it said. More than 28% of Schwab Institutional's total assets are in trusts, up 27% from 2006. The two new services are de-signed to ease and integrate advisers' reporting and administrative work for trusts, the statement said. Schwab expects that U.S. assets in trust accounts, which totaled $3.3 trillion in 2005, will have doubled that level by the end of the decade. Bruce Kelly can be reached at bkelly@crain.com.