Schwab Lowers Trade Commissions and Expands Portfolio Advisory Program

Charles Schwab has announced reductions in online equity trade commissions, regardless of the frequency or size of their trades.

According to Charles Schwab, beginning on January 19, retail investors will pay $8.95 per online trade in stocks or non-Schwab exchange traded funds. Formerly, investors who held less than $1 million in household assets at Schwab or who traded fewer than 120 times per year paid $12.95 per trade plus charges for trades larger than 1000 shares.

The new simplified pricing is also available toSchwab Advisor Services independent investment advisor end-clients who use Schwab's E-Delivery services to receive electronic statements and trade confirmations, and to all clients who trade equities in a Personal Choice Retirement Account, Company Retirement Account, or Plan Administrator Services account held at Charles Schwab & Co. or through an account with Designated Brokerage Services.

The new pricing and Schwab Managed Portfolios - ETFs follow other recent initiatives at Schwab designed to provide greater value for clients, including the launch of Schwab ETFs, which trade commission-free online through Schwab accounts, and the reduction of operating expense ratios for Schwab Equity Index Funds.

Charles Schwab is a provider of financial services, with more than 300 offices and 7.7million client brokerage accounts, 1.5 million corporate retirement plan participants, 706,000 banking accounts, and $1.4 trillion in client assets. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides securities brokerage, banking, money management and financial advisory services to individual investors and independent investment advisors.

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