5 Charles Schwab alternatives: what are my options?
Discover the top five Charles Schwab competitors to decide whether to partner with this financial services powerhouse or another company that’s a better fit for your needs.
Summary
Charles Schwab is a massive multinational financial services firm offering an array of functions.
Some of Charles Schwab’s top competitors include Edward Jones, Fidelity Investments, Vanguard, Goldman Sachs, and BlackRock.
Unbiased helps you find a financial advisor that provides excellent advice on investments and other financial services.
Who is Charles Schwab?
Charles Schwab & Co. was established in 1971. The company leapfrogged on the back of the 1970s financial deregulation, taking the lead in selling discounted equity securities.
Today, Charles Schwab is a multinational giant operating primarily in the US and the United Kingdom. It offers banking, commercial banking, investments, and other financial services, such as wealth management advice, to institutional and retail clients.
Charles Schwab is a public company with $9.41 trillion in client assets, 1.9 million banking accounts, 35.4 million brokerage accounts, and 5.4 million participants in corporate retirement plans.
Who are Charles Schwab’s competitors?
| Company | Founded | Headquarters (HQ) | Assets Under Management (AUM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Founded | Headquarters (HQ) | Assets Under Management (AUM) |
| Charles Schwab | 1971 | Westlake, TX | $7.38 trillion |
| Edward Jones | 1922 | St. Louis, MO | $2 trillion |
| Fidelity Investments | 1946 | Boston, MA | $14.1 trillion |
| Vanguard | 1975 | Malvern, PA | $9.3 trillion |
| Goldman Sachs | 1869 | NYC, NY | $2.81 trillion |
| BlackRock | 1988 | NYC, NY | $10.5 trillion |
There are several Charles Schwab alternatives, some offering similar products and services and others varying in offerings.
These are the top five:
1. Edward Jones
Edward Jones Investments is a fee-based financial firm that offers financial advisory and broker-dealer services to its client base.
Assets under management:
$2 trillion
Fee:
0.5%-1.35%
Fee structure:
Fee-based
Minimum account sizes:
$5,000 or $25,000 depending on account type
Founded in 1922, Edward Jones provides investment services to clients across the US and Canada. Its headquarters are in St. Louis, Missouri. The company has 15,000+ branches and $2 trillion in assets under management.
Edward Jones is a private company with a limited liability partnership solely owned by current and retired employees. The firm focuses on small business owners and individual investors. It offers regular taxable brokerage accounts, traditional and Roth IRAs, college savings accounts, estate planning, and more.
2. Fidelity Investments
Fidelity Investments is another Charles Schwab competitor. It is a massive American financial services company providing the full spectrum of investment products and services.
Assets under management:
$14.1 trillion
Fee structure:
Fee-only & fee-based
Fee:
0.2%-1.5%
Minimum account sizes:
$50,000
Founded in 1946, Fidelity is a global firm headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It has 216 offices across the US and 14 in other regions, including Europe, Australia, and Asia.
Fidelity has $14.1 trillion in assets under administration and $5.4 trillion in assets under management. The founding Johnson family owns 49% of the company, and the balance belongs to the employees.
Fidelity Investments offers a comprehensive suite of financial services to individual investors, employers, financial advisors and institutions, making it one of Charles Schwab’s biggest competitors.
3. Vanguard
A global titan in the financial services field, Vanguard is the second-largest investment company worldwide. It offers a wide array of retirement options, advisory services, investments, and assistance to individual investors, financial professionals, and organizations.
Assets under management:
$7.2 trillion
Fee:
0.05%-0.3%
Fee structure:
Fee-based and fee-only
Minimum account sizes:
$50,000 (for a personal advisor)
Vanguard was founded in May 1975 and has its headquarters in Malvern, Pennsylvania. It has satellite offices in Dallas, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; Scottsdale, Arizona; and Washington, D.C., and further branches in Australia, Canada, Europe, and Asia.
The firm has $9.3 trillion in assets under management and is a private company owned by its funds and, ultimately, by its investors.
Vanguard specializes in low-cost mutual funds and ETFs but also offers a wide variety of other products and services. The company is ideal for those investing for retirement or buy-and-hold investors.
4. Goldman Sachs
A popular Charles Schwab alternative is Goldman Sachs, another financial firm offering many types of financial services and products to thousands of clients, including governments, corporations, financial institutions, and individuals.
Assets under management (AUM):
$2.81 trillion
Fee:
Advisory fees range from 1.90% (up to $10M) to 1.30% (above $250M).
Fee structure:
Percentage of AUM, with additional fees for markups, commissions, and family office services.
Minimum account sizes:
$10 million minimum investment.
Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs has its headquarters in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It has 60+ offices worldwide, including in North and South America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Its assets under management total $2.81 trillion, and it is a public company.
Goldman Sachs’s focus is on three primary arms: asset and wealth management, banking and markets, and platform solutions.
5. BlackRock
BlackRock is a multinational investment giant, the world's leader in asset management, and one of the Big Three index fund managers. It has also ranked 229th on the Fortune 500 list, making it a major Charles Schwab competitor.
Assets under management:
$10.5 trillion
Fee:
0.09%-2.50%
Fee structure:
Fee-based
Minimum account sizes:
$250,000 to $1 million
Larry Fink founded BlackRock in 1988. Today, the firm has 78 branches in 42 countries and headquarters in New York City. It has $10 trillion in assets under management and is a public company.
BlackRock focuses on investment advice, asset management, and risk management. It manages the iShares group of ETFs and uses its Aladdin software to monitor the investment portfolios of many large financial corporations.
Get expert financial advice
Popular Charles Schwab competitors include financial titans that have been in business for decades, some even for more than a century. Edward Jones, Fidelity, Vanguard, Goldman Sachs, and BlackRock are all viable alternatives to Charles Schwab investments and financial services.
For expert financial advice, let Unbiased match you with an SEC-regulated financial advisor who can meet your exact needs.
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Our team of writers, who have decades of experience writing about personal finance, including investing and retirement, are here to help you find out what you must know about life’s biggest financial decisions.