‘I Hated Commissions,’ Says Charles Schwab After Ending Them

(Bloomberg) -- Charles Schwab, founder of the giant discount brokerage, said he has always hated charging commissions and he’s glad to be “out of the business.”

“I hated commissions,” Schwab, 82, said Tuesday at the Impact 2019 conference in San Diego. “I hated them then. I hate ’em now. I took ’em away.”

Charles Schwab Corp. roiled the brokerage industry when it eliminated fees for U.S. stocks, exchange traded funds and options. The move escalated a long-simmering price war spurred by investors who have moved to the cheapest investment products.

Also at the conference, Schwab Chief Executive Officer Walter Bettinger said the firm plans to build its lending business for financial advisers. This will allow them to challenge bank-affiliated brokers, he said.

“You’ll see us building out more capabilities when it comes to lending, so you can compete with anyone who offers lending,” Bettinger said. Schwab aims to offer loans including mortgages and other lending through registered investment advisers.

While Schwab’s roots in the 1970s were as a discount broker, the company, like industry rivals, is seeking to lure more investors to its advisory business. It has a range of advice offerings, from a free basic robo-advice platform to dedicated financial advisers, whose fees can start at 0.8% of assets per year.

Some on Wall Street are skeptical of the strategy. Raymond James downgraded Charles Schwab on Tuesday to market perform from outperform on skepticism the company can “meaningfully pivot towards a more advisory-type business model in a zero commission world,” analyst Patrick O’Shaughnessy wrote in a note.

--With assistance from Felice Maranz.

To contact the reporter on this story: John Gittelsohn in Los Angeles at johngitt@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sam Mamudi at smamudi@bloomberg.net, Alan Mirabella, Vincent Bielski

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