Clark said Schwab’s $7 or $8 trillion is “a smaller number than it needs to be, but has tripled in the last decade, which is unbelievable. I could not have predicted that kind of growth either. The RIA profession has been growing at a 12% rate per year, it was at 10% growth for quite some time, but is now at 12%. The growth remains incredible. Firms are creating new opportunities and broadening offerings,” Clark said.
Schwab executives made it a point to stress that they want to continue to work with all size advisors, including smaller firms in terms of assets under management.
“We’re going to continue serving RIAs, and I want to be clear about this point, that’s RIAs of all sizes. We’ve been saying this over and over. Our leadership in the RIA industry is not based on size, it’s based on need and serving all of the needs of RIAs. Our combined opportunity is huge. The more we can do to better listen to clients and serve them and maybe disrupt the market in a few places, that’s going to create opportunities for all of us,” Bettinger added.