Schwab Information Thread with FAQ, Links, Tips and Q&A

[galawdawg]

As a satisfied Schwab customer, I have responded in a number of threads to questions about Schwab, both the brokerage and the bank. Sometimes those responses take a life of their own with follow-up questions and can detract from the original purpose of the thread.

In the following post, which will be updated as new information is available or as frequent questions are fielded, I have endeavored to compile information that will be useful to others who may be considering starting their investing and/or banking adventure at Schwab or who are considering moving to Schwab from another brokerage or bank.

Feel free to ask questions, express concerns, share comments and provide updated information in this thread. Hopefully it will allow other Bogleheads and lurkers alike to have many of their questions addressed in one place and avoid being an off-topic distraction in threads started by others that don't directly pertain to Schwab.

[galawdawg]

FAQ

• Will Schwab allow you to hold Vanguard mutual funds?

Yes, Schwab offers most Vanguard mutual funds. As of this post, Schwab offers one hundred thirty three (133) Vanguard mutual funds.

For a list of available funds, use Schwab’s Fund Screener linked here. In the left column labeled Choose Criteria, you’ll see Fund Characteristics. In that menu, select Fund Company and choose Vanguard, then click on View Matches. https://www.schwab.com/research/mutual- ... s/screener

• What about Wellington and Wellesley? Can I hold, buy and sell those at Schwab? Are they Admiral shares?

Here is the most current information on Wellington and Wellesley:

Anyone can buy, sell and hold VWELX (Wellington Investor Shares)
Existing investors can sell and hold VWENX (Wellington Admiral Shares) but purchases are restricted to Institutional Clients only.
Anyone can buy, sell and hold VWINX (Wellesley Investor Shares).
Existing investors can sell and hold VWIAX (Wellesley Admiral Shares) but purchases are restricted to Institutional Clients only.

• What are the fees to buy, sell and hold Vanguard mutual funds?

There are no fees to sell or hold Vanguard mutual funds. Schwab charges a $49.95 transaction fee to purchase Vanguard mutual funds. (Note: As of 9/4/2021, it appears that Schwab is raising that transaction fee to $74.95).

• Will Schwab waive the transaction fee?

Yes, in some cases. Prior to the 9/2021 increase in mutual fund transaction fees, Schwab required a total portfolio size of at least $250k to waive all mutual fund transaction fees for a single fund family (such as Vanguard). Many now report that the required portfolio size of at least $1 million for the fee waiver. If you qualify for a fee waiver, it will apply to all of the Vanguard mutual funds available for purchase at Schwab.

• Can a transaction fee waiver apply to more than one fund family?

Most likely, yes. Other Bogleheads report that Schwab now grants a consolidated mutual fund fee waiver for three (3) fund families; Vanguard, Fidelity and Dodge and Cox. If you are eligible for a mutual fund fee waiver, you may wish to first confirm with your Schwab consultant or with Schwab customer service that your fee waiver includes all three fund families before completing a buy order for mutual funds in those fund families.

• How do I ask for a fee waiver?

The best way is to contact a local Schwab consultant. That is also a good opportunity to ask about matching any competitor bonus offers.

• Does Schwab pay transfer bonuses?

As of the date of this post, Schwab offers a Refer a Friend bonus of up to $500 which requires a referral code from an existing Schwab customer: https://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/nn ... lient.html

As if this writing, Schwab also, in many cases, will match competitor bonus offers. An investor should contact a local Schwab consultant to request a bonus transfer match.

• Does Schwab reimburse ACATS transfer fees charged by the brokerage I am leaving?

Yes, Schwab will reimburse any outgoing ACATS fee when you move from another brokerage to Schwab. (Note, however, that Schwab charges an outgoing ACATS fee if at some point you leave Schwab for another brokerage.)

• Can you get a dedicated financial consultant at Schwab?

Yes, with a minimum portfolio size of $250k.

• How can I find a Schwab consultant?

https://client.schwab.com/public/consultant/find

• How can I find a Schwab branch?

https://client.schwab.com/Public/Branch ... chwab.aspx

• How about Vanguard ETFs?

There are no fees or commissions to trade ETFs. Additionally, you can sell specific lots online without the need to call Schwab to identify the specific lots (as you must do with mutual funds).

• Does Schwab have banking features?

Yes, through Schwab Bank. There are no account fees or minimums, no foreign transaction fees, no charge for ATM use and Schwab will rebate unlimited ATM fees worldwide. There is also no fee for online bill pay, standard checks, overdraft transfers (from a linked Schwab account), stop payments, incoming wires and photocopies of checks and statements. With a total portfolio of $100k or more, you receive three (3) free outgoing domestic wires per quarter.

Note that Schwab Brokerage also offers many of these features using your cash sweep account. Some, however, prefer to segregate their "banking" use from their brokerage account to better ensure the security of their investment holdings.

• Does Schwab offer a credit card?

No, however Schwab has partnered with American Express to offer a Schwab-branded American Express Card and a Schwab-branded American Express Platinum Card: https://www.schwab.com/credit-cards

• Does Schwab offer HSA accounts?

Yes, however these may be not be individual HSA accounts but accounts that are transferred from your existing HSA provider. Additionally, there may be fees involved, you can get more information here: https://www.schwab.com/hsba or by contacting Schwab.

• Does Schwab do a credit pull?

Soft-pull only.

• How soon are my deposited or transferred funds available to trade?

Generally, funds deposited or transferred into a brokerage account can be immediately invested (but cannot be withdrawn or transferred out until those funds have cleared). Funds deposited or transferred into a Schwab bank account are subject to standard funds availability policies before they can be transferred to the brokerage account or withdrawn.

• How quickly do funds transfer between Schwab Bank and Schwab Brokerage?

Generally, available and settled funds transfer immediately during normal business/trading hours. Online transfers initiated outside of those hours may not complete until the following business day.

• Can I do same-day Vanguard mutual fund exchanges?

Not directly using the "sell one, buy another" screen on Schwab's website. If you use that screen to exchange one Vanguard mutual fund for another, the exchange will take place in two transactions on two consecutive trading days. The sale of the fund to be exchanged from will take place at the end of trading day 1, the purchase of the fund to be exchanged into will take place at the end of trading day 2.

However, you can accomplish a same-day exchange by placing two separate orders. First you place the sell order for the mutual fund you are exchanging "out of" and choosing to sell a dollar amount rather than a number of shares. Then you place a buy order for the mutual fund you are exchanging "in to", choosing the exact same dollar amount for your purchase as you specified in the sell order in the first step. That ensures that when the trades are executed at NAV that day (assuming you place the orders prior to 4:00pm ET), they are for equal dollar amounts.

• Can I sell specific lots of mutual funds at Schwab?

Yes, however, you must call Schwab before the trade settles at 1-800-435-4000. Other options for determining the order in which lots are selected are available, such as FIFO, LIFO, High Cost Lot, Low Cost Lot and Tax Optimizer. You can select your default method using the following form, which can be uploaded to Schwab's secure message center. https://client.schwab.com/secure/file/P ... 5-fill.pdf

• How can I contact Schwab?

Any customer or prospective customer can reach Schwab by phone, 24/7, at (800) 435-4000. Schwab Bank can be reached at (888) 403-9000.

Any customer or prospective customer can reach Schwab by live chat, 24/7: https://www.schwab.com/contact-us#0

Any customer or prospective customer can visit a Schwab branch: https://client.schwab.com/public/branch ... chwab.aspx

Any customer can reach Schwab by secure messaging, which also allows uploading of documents, by logging onto their account and going to the message center: https://client.schwab.com/Apps/service/messagecenter/

Schwab customers with a portfolio of $500k or more are eligible for a dedicated financial consultant. That person can be your single point of contact for all of your Schwab needs and is reachable by direct telephone line and direct email. Many financial consultants also have an assigned partner who is likewise available to customers of that dedicated consultant by direct telephone line and direct email. https://www.schwab.com/invest-with-us/p ... nal-advice

• Does Schwab offer complimentary research tools?

Yes, Schwab offers a selection of robust and in-depth research tools: https://www.schwab.com/research

• What advice can I get at Schwab and how much does it cost?

In addition to self-directed investing, Schwab customers with $500k or more are eligible for a dedicated financial consultant (see comment and link earlier in this post). The dedicated financial consult can create a personalized financial plan and can advise you on different investment options to meet your goals. There is no charge for these services, you only pay the fees associated with specific products and/or services you choose and those fees are transparent and disclosed in advance. Here is Schwab's pricing guide for individual investors: https://www.schwab.com/public/file?cmsid=P-1036363

The next tier of advisory services is Schwab's Intelligent Portfolio. There are no fees or commissions for this service, Schwab earns money from the cash portion of the portfolio created for you by the robo-advisor from among fifty-one ETFs and based upon a profile assessment completed by the investor when enrolling in the service. Intelligent Portfolio Guide to Asset Classes and ETFs: https://intelligent.schwab.com/page/gui ... et-classes Schwab Intelligent Portfolio: https://intelligent.schwab.com/

With the Intelligent Portfolio, you can also get unlimited 1:1 advise from a CFP. It requires a minimum investment of $25,000, there is a one-time planning fee of $300, and just a $30/month advisory fee after that. https://www.schwab.com/intelligent-portfolios-premium

Finally, you can choose to use Schwab Managed Portfolios (https://www.schwab.com/managed-portfolios), a Schwab Managed Account (https://www.schwab.com/managed-accounts), or Schwab Private Client (https://www.schwab.com/private-client). Account minimums, services and fees are noted on each webpage.

• Does Schwab have fraud protection for the investor's accounts?

Yes, Schwab will cover 100% of any losses in any of your Schwab accounts due to unauthorized activity. The investor is required to safeguard their account access and report any unauthorized activity to Schwab as quickly as possible. https://www.schwab.com/schwabsafe/security-guarantee

• Does Schwab support 2FA or have other security features for account access?

Yes, Schwab supports software authenticator for 2FA (Symantec VIP) without fall back to SMS. Schwab also offers other security features, such as Voice ID and security alerts. https://www.schwab.com/schwabsafe

• Does Schwab ever require paper forms for certain functions?

Yes, Schwab requires a form for Power of Attorney, for Agent Agreement for Non-Schwab Power of Attorney, Designation of Beneficiary on Taxable Brokerage and Bank accounts, Changing your Default Lot Selection Method and Adding a Debit Card and/or Checkwriting to an Existing Schwab Brokerage account. All of the Schwab forms can be uploaded via Secure Message and do not need to be mailed. The Power of Attorney form and Agent Agreement for Non-Schwab Power of Attorney form each require a notary, however, Schwab will refer you to an online notary if one is not convenient and will often reimburse any notary expenses.

• Will Schwab accept a non-Schwab Power of Attorney form?

In many cases, yes. You should contact Schwab to confirm this prior to relying on a non-Schwab POA form. If Schwab will accept the non-Schwab POA, the agent will be required to complete and submit the form found here: https://www.schwab.com/resource/attorne ... ey-in-fact

• Other Schwab links:

Schwab Brokerage Pricing Guide for Individual Investors: https://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/nn ... stors.html

Schwab Bank Pricing Guide: http://www.schwab.com/public/file?cmsid=P-6425878

Schwab Bank Debit Card Benefits Guide: https://www.schwab.com/public/file/P-3962266

[Blue456]

I recently switched to Schwab. I was surprised that money deposited into their checking account were able to be invested right the way.

[nisiprius]

Actually, the most interesting thing I've read about Schwab recently is something I stumbled on while trying to find out what the press was saying about Vanguard DIgital Advisor.

It is apparently called "Schwab Intelligent Income."

For ages and ages I've been saying "I like the idea of the Managed Payout fund's payout system" (which is a variable withdrawal system based on a three-year past moving average) "but I don't like the portfolio, why can't they have an automatic feature for implementing a systematic withdrawal system on any portfolio?" Instead of doing that, Vanguard did the opposite--canned the managed payout feature of the Managed Payout fund!

Schwab set to launch... retirement income robot that acts like a virtual annuity and produces 'predictable' paycheck

The San Francisco-based broker is bringing Schwab Intelligent Income to market in January as an addition to Schwab's $360-a-year subscription advice product announced last March.

[galawdawg]

Actually, the most interesting thing I've read about Schwab recently is something I stumbled on while trying to find out what the press was saying about Vanguard DIgital Advisor.

It is apparently called "Schwab Intelligent Income"...

Intelligent Income is available now at Schwab: https://www.schwab.com/automated-invest ... ent-income

According to that website, there are no fees associated with this service, however, it does look like it will create a portfolio of ETFs and a cash holding. It appears that Schwab earns their money on the cash portion of the portfolio it creates for you, rather than charging AUM or other fees.

You can see the composition, historical performance and cash portion of each Intelligent Portfolio here: https://content.schwab.com/intelligent- ... rformance/

There are fifteen (15) available Intelligent Portfolios, which are:
U.S. Focused
Aggressive Growth, Growth, Moderate Growth, Moderate, Moderately Conservative, Conservative
Global
Aggressive Growth, Growth, Moderate Growth, Moderate, Moderately Conservative, Conservative
Income Focused
Moderate, Moderately Conservative, Conservative

[nisiprius]

I had heard about the "intelligent portfolios," but not about "intelligent income."

[tj]

I had heard about the "intelligent portfolios," but not about "intelligent income."

Intelligent Income is an option within Intelligent Portfolios. If I recall it has a much larger minimum cash requirement than Intelligent Portfolios, but it's been several months since I've looked at the site.

[abracadabra11]

It's worth noting that Schwab will not allow for automatic investments into Vanguard funds.

I'm not sure if this restriction exists for accounts that don't have the fee waiver, but it certainly was true for accounts that had the fee waiver active. IMO, this negates a lot of the advantage of having a fee waiver on an account.

[bondsr4me]

As a satisfied Schwab customer, I have responded in a number of threads to questions about Schwab, both the brokerage and the bank. Sometimes those responses take a life of their own with follow-up questions and can detract from the original purpose of the thread.

In the following post, which will be updated as new information is available or as frequent questions are fielded, I have endeavored to compile information that will be useful to others who may be considering starting their investing and/or banking adventure at Schwab or who are considering moving to Schwab from another brokerage or bank.

Feel free to ask questions, express concerns, share comments and provide updated information in this thread. Hopefully it will allow other Bogleheads and lurkers alike to have many of their questions addressed in one place and avoid being an off-topic distraction in threads started by others that don't directly pertain to Schwab.

+100…thanks galawdawg….appreciate this.

[happenstance]

This is a great idea – thanks for starting the thread! I’m also a long-time happy Schwab customer.

• Does Schwab offer HSA accounts?

Yes. There may be fees involved, you can get more information here: https://www.schwab.com/hsba

I think that this isn’t a consumer HSA available to most individuals. Your existing HSA provider needs to have a brokerage offering that is compatible; creating a Schwab HSBA requires a "HSA Program ID" and "Program Access Code". Contrast this to Fidelity, which lets you open an individual HSA account, and then you can do a custodian-to-custodian transfer from an existing HSA account (e.g. your employer’s HSA provider that charges fees for investments).

[tj]

Presumably, at some point, the TD Ameritrade HSA's will be absorbed by Schwab. I have a TD Ameritrade HSA through my health insurance. I put my contributions in Fidelity though.

[FiveK]

Might be useful to add some of this, or at least link to this thread, in the Charles Schwab - Bogleheads wiki article.

[sycamore]

Might be useful to add some of this, or at least link to this thread, in the Charles Schwab - Bogleheads wiki article.

To get started, I added a sentence to the Vanguard funds at Schwab that mentions the fee waiver possibility.

[mkc]

Another topic brought up a good question on the transfer bonuses...

Let's say there's a couple, each have an IRA and they have joint MF/brokerage accounts at 2 other entities...

How does Schwab determine the number of allowed transfer bonus(es)?

[galawdawg]

Another topic brought up a good question on the transfer bonuses...

Let's say there's a couple, each have an IRA and they have joint MF/brokerage accounts at 2 other entities...

How does Schwab determine the number of allowed transfer bonus(es)?

When we moved to Schwab, when they matched the competitor bonus, Schwab matched each tier to each account. For example, Ally Invest is offering:

$3,000 for $2MM+
$2,000 for $1MM - $1.99MM
$1,200 for $500k - $999.9k
$600 for $250k - $499.9k
$300 for $100k - $249.9k
$250 for $25k - $99.9k
$100 for $10k - $24.9k

So if Schwab matches that for the couple and each account earns the bonus based upon the amount in that account, the couple would receive (for example):

His $485k IRA: $600
Her $510k IRA: $1,200
Their $1.2 million taxable brokerage: $2,000 (Schwab bases the bonus on the amount transferred in, not how many entities the funds come from)

Hope that helps!

[galawdawg]

This is a great idea – thanks for starting the thread! I’m also a long-time happy Schwab customer.

• Does Schwab offer HSA accounts?

Yes. There may be fees involved, you can get more information here: https://www.schwab.com/hsba

I think that this isn’t a consumer HSA available to most individuals. Your existing HSA provider needs to have a brokerage offering that is compatible; creating a Schwab HSBA requires a "HSA Program ID" and "Program Access Code". Contrast this to Fidelity, which lets you open an individual HSA account, and then you can do a custodian-to-custodian transfer from an existing HSA account (e.g. your employer’s HSA provider that charges fees for investments).

Thanks for the clarification. I'll update the FAQ to reflect this information!

[rob]

• Can I do same-day Vanguard mutual fund exchanges?

No. If you wish to exchange one Vanguard mutual fund for another, the exchange will take place in two transactions on two consecutive trading days. The sale of the fund to be exchanged from will take place at the end of trading day 1, the purchase of the fund to be exchanged into will take place at the end of trading day 2.

I've been 1/2 seriously looking at Fido, Schwab and ETrade... This one is a real hit against Schwab for me. Thanks for the info - that helps.

[nisiprius]

You can see the composition, historical performance and cash portion of each Intelligent Portfolio here: https://content.schwab.com/intelligent- ... rformance/

There are fifteen (15) available Intelligent Portfolios, which are:
U.S. Focused
Aggressive Growth, Growth, Moderate Growth, Moderate, Moderately Conservative, Conservative
Global
Aggressive Growth, Growth, Moderate Growth, Moderate, Moderately Conservative, Conservative
Income Focused
Moderate, Moderately Conservative, Conservative

I can't see the composition. It is just showing me generic asset classes. In particular, it isn't showing what portion (if any) of the "fixed income" is in inflation-protected securities. That's particularly important to me. Is there any place that details the specific ETFs and their percentages in each portfolio?

[galawdawg]

• Can I do same-day Vanguard mutual fund exchanges?

No. If you wish to exchange one Vanguard mutual fund for another, the exchange will take place in two transactions on two consecutive trading days. The sale of the fund to be exchanged from will take place at the end of trading day 1, the purchase of the fund to be exchanged into will take place at the end of trading day 2.

I've been 1/2 seriously looking at Fido, Schwab and ETrade... This one is a real hit against Schwab for me. Thanks for the info - that helps.

You may find the same at E*TRADE and Fidelity as well (although I cannot say for certain). Of course, Fidelity will charge you a transaction fee of $75.00 for each purchase of most Vanguard mutual funds (an exchange would incur this fee).

If it is important to an investor to have no delay (or time out of the market) between the sale of one Vanguard fund and the purchase of another, then they may need to either remain at Vanguard OR use Vanguard ETFs rather than mutual funds.

[galawdawg]

You can see the composition, historical performance and cash portion of each Intelligent Portfolio here: https://content.schwab.com/intelligent- ... rformance/

There are fifteen (15) available Intelligent Portfolios, which are:
U.S. Focused
Aggressive Growth, Growth, Moderate Growth, Moderate, Moderately Conservative, Conservative
Global
Aggressive Growth, Growth, Moderate Growth, Moderate, Moderately Conservative, Conservative
Income Focused
Moderate, Moderately Conservative, Conservative

I can't see the composition. It is just showing me generic asset classes. In particular, it isn't showing what portion (if any) of the "fixed income" is in inflation-protected securities. That's particularly important to me. Is there any place that details the specific ETFs and their percentages in each portfolio?

Apologies, I meant to say "allocation" rather than "composition". Since it is a robo-advisor based portfolio, the actual composition will vary from investor to investor based upon selections made by the investor when enrolling. You can see the list of fifty-one (51) ETFs that are used to create the portfolios here: https://intelligent.schwab.com/page/gui ... et-classes

I believe an inherent flaw (or benefit, depending upon your perspective) of robo-advisor portfolios is that the composition is decided for you by an algorithm based upon your responses to a questionnaire. Investors who wish to control what funds are used to create their portfolio are probably not good candidates to use a robo-advisor. Since Schwab's Intelligent Income relies upon their Intelligent Portfolio, a robo-advisor platform, that particular feature may not be the best fit for your needs.

[tj]

You can see the composition, historical performance and cash portion of each Intelligent Portfolio here: https://content.schwab.com/intelligent- ... rformance/

There are fifteen (15) available Intelligent Portfolios, which are:
U.S. Focused
Aggressive Growth, Growth, Moderate Growth, Moderate, Moderately Conservative, Conservative
Global
Aggressive Growth, Growth, Moderate Growth, Moderate, Moderately Conservative, Conservative
Income Focused
Moderate, Moderately Conservative, Conservative

I can't see the composition. It is just showing me generic asset classes. In particular, it isn't showing what portion (if any) of the "fixed income" is in inflation-protected securities. That's particularly important to me. Is there any place that details the specific ETFs and their percentages in each portfolio?

If you pretend to open an account, it will show you the allocations. Just go through the questionnaire.

[nisiprius]

If you pretend to open an account, it will show you the allocations. Just go through the questionnaire.

Thanks. It worked... more or less. Much better.

It gave me a more detailed breakdown, still into generic classes but much smaller, such as "US Securitized Bonds" and "US Inflation Protected Bonds." There was a very odd disclaimer, "ASSET ALLOCATION The allocation shown below is typical of previous portfolios; your actual portfolio may differ." And it was still necessary to click on "Learn more about our fund selection process" to get actual ticker symbols, and even then it was puzzling.

They listed a "primary ETF" and a "secondary ETF" without any explanation.

"US Securitized Bonds" which is the largest allocation, 20.2% of portfolio, apparently means either VMBS–Vanguard Mortgage-Backed Securities or MBB–iShares MBS.

"US Inflation Protected Securities" is either SCHP–Schwab U.S. TIPS or SPIP—SPDR Portfolio TIPS, which at least tells me that these are intermediate-term on average, which is what I wanted to know.

I find it disturbing, though, that 13.8% of the portfolio is in "cash" and that "Learn more about our fund selection process" does not give any details about what "cash" is invested in. That's a big enough chunk that one would really want to know where they are putting it and how much it has been earning.

It's closer to my personal taste than the portfolio behind the (defunct) Vanguard Managed Payout Fund, that's for sure.

I have absolutely no clue as to how anyone would answer this question:


By the way, playing with withdrawal rates I see that it thinks an 18% failure rate is acceptable: "You're on target because your money has a 82% likelihood of lasting through age 95"

[tj]

If you pretend to open an account, it will show you the allocations. Just go through the questionnaire.

Thanks. It worked... more or less. Much better.

It gave me a more detailed breakdown, still into generic classes but much smaller, such as "US Securitized Bonds" and "US Inflation Protected Bonds." There was a very odd disclaimer, "ASSET ALLOCATION The allocation shown below is typical of previous portfolios; your actual portfolio may differ." And it was still necessary to click on "Learn more about our fund selection process" to get actual ticker symbols, and even then it was puzzling.

They listed a "primary ETF" and a "secondary ETF" without any explanation.

"US Securitized Bonds" which is the largest allocation, 20.2% of portfolio, apparently means either VMBS–Vanguard Mortgage-Backed Securities or MBB–iShares MBS.

"US Inflation Protected Securities" is either SCHP–Schwab U.S. TIPS or SPIP—SPDR Portfolio TIPS, which at least tells me that these are intermediate-term on average, which is what I wanted to know.

I find it disturbing, though, that 13.8% of the portfolio is in "cash" and that "Learn more about our fund selection process" does not give any details about what "cash" is invested in. That's a big enough chunk that one would really want to know where they are putting it and how much it has been earning.

It's closer to my personal taste than the portfolio behind the (defunct) Vanguard Managed Payout Fund, that's for sure.

See here for the cash:

https://www.schwab.com/legal/sip-sweep- ... rest-rates

[nisiprius]

...I find it disturbing, though, that 13.8% of the portfolio is in "cash" and that "Learn more about our fund selection process" does not give any details about what "cash" is invested in. That's a big enough chunk that one would really want to know where they are putting it and how much it has been earning.

It's closer to my personal taste than the portfolio behind the (defunct) Vanguard Managed Payout Fund, that's for sure.

See here for the cash:

https://www.schwab.com/legal/sip-sweep- ... rest-rates

Thanks.

[mkc]

Another topic brought up a good question on the transfer bonuses...

Let's say there's a couple, each have an IRA and they have joint MF/brokerage accounts at 2 other entities...

How does Schwab determine the number of allowed transfer bonus(es)?

When we moved to Schwab, when they matched the competitor bonus, Schwab matched each tier to each account.

- example trimmed -

Hope that helps!

Thank you - yes it does!

[Zonian59]

If you pretend to open an account, it will show you the allocations. Just go through the questionnaire.

Thanks. It worked... more or less. Much better.

It gave me a more detailed breakdown, still into generic classes but much smaller, such as "US Securitized Bonds" and "US Inflation Protected Bonds." There was a very odd disclaimer, "ASSET ALLOCATION The allocation shown below is typical of previous portfolios; your actual portfolio may differ." And it was still necessary to click on "Learn more about our fund selection process" to get actual ticker symbols, and even then it was puzzling.

They listed a "primary ETF" and a "secondary ETF" without any explanation.

"US Securitized Bonds" which is the largest allocation, 20.2% of portfolio, apparently means either VMBS–Vanguard Mortgage-Backed Securities or MBB–iShares MBS.

"US Inflation Protected Securities" is either SCHP–Schwab U.S. TIPS or SPIP—SPDR Portfolio TIPS, which at least tells me that these are intermediate-term on average, which is what I wanted to know.

I find it disturbing, though, that 13.8% of the portfolio is in "cash" and that "Learn more about our fund selection process" does not give any details about what "cash" is invested in. That's a big enough chunk that one would really want to know where they are putting it and how much it has been earning.

It's closer to my personal taste than the portfolio behind the (defunct) Vanguard Managed Payout Fund, that's for sure.

See here for the cash:

https://www.schwab.com/legal/sip-sweep- ... rest-rates

That 0.09% from the Schwab Intelligent Portfolio (SIP) is actually better than the 0.01% from the bank sweep in the self-managed Schwab accounts and better than the Schwab Bank Checking (0.03%) and High-Yield Savings (0.05%).
I don't mind that the SIP fees are from the cash allocation as long as it pays better interest than their bank check and savings interest rate.

I also don't find the high cash allocation too disturbing. I did originally, until I noticed two things: 1) When there's a rebalance event trigger, there's enough cash on hand to buy one fund and sell another fund on the same day without having to sell first then wait a day or two to settle to have enough cash to buy.

The second thing, with a high cash allocation is that you can withdraw the cash easily without worrying about having to sell a fund to meet the amount desired. After the cash withdrawal, the SIP algorithm will sell any overweight asset class to replenish the cash automatically and maintain the appropriate asset class allocation.

By the way, if you set up a more aggressive SIP Income Portfolio allocation with a interest and dividend focus, the cash allocation is 12.5% instead of 13.8%. Equity allocation is 42% and Fixed Income (excl cash) is 45.5%

[tj]

If you pretend to open an account, it will show you the allocations. Just go through the questionnaire.

Thanks. It worked... more or less. Much better.

It gave me a more detailed breakdown, still into generic classes but much smaller, such as "US Securitized Bonds" and "US Inflation Protected Bonds." There was a very odd disclaimer, "ASSET ALLOCATION The allocation shown below is typical of previous portfolios; your actual portfolio may differ." And it was still necessary to click on "Learn more about our fund selection process" to get actual ticker symbols, and even then it was puzzling.

They listed a "primary ETF" and a "secondary ETF" without any explanation.

"US Securitized Bonds" which is the largest allocation, 20.2% of portfolio, apparently means either VMBS–Vanguard Mortgage-Backed Securities or MBB–iShares MBS.

"US Inflation Protected Securities" is either SCHP–Schwab U.S. TIPS or SPIP—SPDR Portfolio TIPS, which at least tells me that these are intermediate-term on average, which is what I wanted to know.

I find it disturbing, though, that 13.8% of the portfolio is in "cash" and that "Learn more about our fund selection process" does not give any details about what "cash" is invested in. That's a big enough chunk that one would really want to know where they are putting it and how much it has been earning.

It's closer to my personal taste than the portfolio behind the (defunct) Vanguard Managed Payout Fund, that's for sure.

See here for the cash:

https://www.schwab.com/legal/sip-sweep- ... rest-rates

That 0.09% from the Schwab Intelligent Portfolio (SIP) is actually better than the 0.01% from the bank sweep in the self-managed Schwab accounts and better than the Schwab Bank Checking (0.03%) and High-Yield Savings (0.05%).
I don't mind that the SIP fees are from the cash allocation as long as it pays better interest than their bank check and savings interest rate.

I also don't find the high cash allocation too disturbing. I did originally, until I noticed two things: 1) When there's a rebalance event trigger, there's enough cash on hand to buy one fund and sell another fund on the same day without having to sell first then wait a day or two to settle to have enough cash to buy.

The second thing, with a high cash allocation is that you can withdraw the cash easily without worrying about having to sell a fund to meet the amount desired. After the cash withdrawal, the SIP algorithm will sell any overweight asset class to replenish the cash automatically and maintain the appropriate asset class allocation.

By the way, if you set up a more aggressive SIP Income Portfolio allocation with a interest and dividend focus, the cash allocation is 12.5% instead of 13.8%. Equity allocation is 42% and Fixed Income (excl cash) is 45.5%

It seems odd that 42% is the highest equity allocation you can pick for the income portfolio.

[Nate79]

One important policy of Schwab is their Security policy. Theirs is one of the strongest in the industry:

https://www.schwab.com/schwabsafe/security-guarantee

Schwab will cover 100% of any losses in any of your Schwab accounts due to unauthorized activity.

[Yesterdaysnews]

Just started the transfer process from VG to Schwab. Took the bonus match they offered and decided to take the plunge… still hold most VG ETFs however. The process basically went through a person at the local office and basically all over email. I must say, Schwab definitely seemed very interested in my business and credit to them for doing whatever it took to convince me to transfer.
We will see how it goes!

[an_asker]

As a satisfied Schwab customer, I have responded in a number of threads to questions about Schwab, both the brokerage and the bank. Sometimes those responses take a life of their own with follow-up questions and can detract from the original purpose of the thread.

In the following post, which will be updated as new information is available or as frequent questions are fielded, I have endeavored to compile information that will be useful to others who may be considering starting their investing and/or banking adventure at Schwab or who are considering moving to Schwab from another brokerage or bank.

Feel free to ask questions, express concerns, share comments and provide updated information in this thread. Hopefully it will allow other Bogleheads and lurkers alike to have many of their questions addressed in one place and avoid being an off-topic distraction in threads started by others that don't directly pertain to Schwab.

Thanks for putting all this together. Another satisfied Schwab customer here, though I do have one question which maybe you can help resolve before I make a (another) phone call to Schwab.

We've had accounts with Schwab since when dinosaurs roamed the earth the late 20th Century. Back then, I forget exactly what these brokerage accounts were called that offered check writing privileges too (Schwab One or something?). So, we have been writing checks with a routing number that's not Schwab and an account number that is not our Schwab account number either. Everything has been working hunky dory. We use the same set of numbers to make our various bill payments. Nary an issue.

Until last month, when I attempted to link Schwab with another bank (the link initiated at that other bank). Everything appeared to go through fine. The two small test deposits showed up on the Schwab account, and I entered and verified them on the bank's website.

Then, the security from that bank called to confirm details on the (Scwhab) account. And stuff began to go awry. They wanted to confirm the information with Schwab. Neither the Schwab rep nor the Schwab bank rep were able to confirm that we owned the account with the check-routing and check-account number. After about 30 minutes of run around, finally the bank said that they would confirm the account based on other personal questions they asked me (without Schwab on the line).

I still don't know how I could have gotten the Schwab rep to relate the two sets of numbers to each other. Any ideas?

[FoolStreet]

Actually, the most interesting thing I've read about Schwab recently is something I stumbled on while trying to find out what the press was saying about Vanguard DIgital Advisor.

It is apparently called "Schwab Intelligent Income"...

Intelligent Income is available now at Schwab: https://www.schwab.com/automated-invest ... ent-income

According to that website, there are no fees associated with this service, however, it does look like it will create a portfolio of ETFs and a cash holding. It appears that Schwab earns their money on the cash portion of the portfolio it creates for you, rather than charging AUM or other fees.

You can see the composition, historical performance and cash portion of each Intelligent Portfolio here: https://content.schwab.com/intelligent- ... rformance/

There are fifteen (15) available Intelligent Portfolios, which are:
U.S. Focused
Aggressive Growth, Growth, Moderate Growth, Moderate, Moderately Conservative, Conservative
Global
Aggressive Growth, Growth, Moderate Growth, Moderate, Moderately Conservative, Conservative
Income Focused
Moderate, Moderately Conservative, Conservative

I interviewed Schwab to handle my trust and act as corporate co-trustee and investment manager. They said they would recommend the Intelligent Portfolios. Do you know what the average weighted Expense Ratios are? And how does the robo-advisor ensure that it is not churning capital gains with lots of small buys/sells, which is the typical negative to robo-advisors.

EDIT: I clicked through and found the list of 52 ETFs and so I can find their ERs from cross-referencing. I do feel there is a bit too much slicing and dicing, but not the end of the world.

[tj]

Actually, the most interesting thing I've read about Schwab recently is something I stumbled on while trying to find out what the press was saying about Vanguard DIgital Advisor.

It is apparently called "Schwab Intelligent Income"...

Intelligent Income is available now at Schwab: https://www.schwab.com/automated-invest ... ent-income

According to that website, there are no fees associated with this service, however, it does look like it will create a portfolio of ETFs and a cash holding. It appears that Schwab earns their money on the cash portion of the portfolio it creates for you, rather than charging AUM or other fees.

You can see the composition, historical performance and cash portion of each Intelligent Portfolio here: https://content.schwab.com/intelligent- ... rformance/

There are fifteen (15) available Intelligent Portfolios, which are:
U.S. Focused
Aggressive Growth, Growth, Moderate Growth, Moderate, Moderately Conservative, Conservative
Global
Aggressive Growth, Growth, Moderate Growth, Moderate, Moderately Conservative, Conservative
Income Focused
Moderate, Moderately Conservative, Conservative

I interviewed Schwab to handle my trust and act as corporate co-trustee and investment manager. They said they would recommend the Intelligent Portfolios. Do you know what the average weighted Expense Ratios are? And how does the robo-advisor ensure that it is not churning capital gains with lots of small buys/sells, which is the typical negative to robo-advisors.

EDIT: I clicked through and found the list of 52 ETFs and so I can find their ERs from cross-referencing. I do feel there is a bit too much slicing and dicing, but not the end of the world.

If you don't continually contribute, there's not going to be a ton of buying and selling.

Interesting that they recommended Intelligent over the more expensive options that they offer.

[ThereAreNoGurus]

One important policy of Schwab is their Security policy. Theirs is one of the strongest in the industry:

https://www.schwab.com/schwabsafe/security-guarantee

Schwab will cover 100% of any losses in any of your Schwab accounts due to unauthorized activity.

Good to know. Thanks for posting.

This is an awesome thread. Galawdawg should put this info in her FAQ.

[HomeStretch]

• Can I do same-day Vanguard mutual fund exchanges?

No. If you wish to exchange one Vanguard mutual fund for another, the exchange will take place in two transactions on two consecutive trading days. The sale of the fund to be exchanged from will take place at the end of trading day 1, the purchase of the fund to be exchanged into will take place at the end of trading day 2.

Thanks for this thread as your Schwab posts in other threads have been informative.

My local bank is being acquired so I have been considering moving a portion of my Vanguard Taxable account’s mutual funds (not a fan of ETFs) to Schwab to try it out and collect a nice bonus for doing so. But this two-day mutual fund exchange on top of being required to contact Schwab to sell specific lots will make tax loss harvesting difficult.

[tj]

• Can I do same-day Vanguard mutual fund exchanges?

No. If you wish to exchange one Vanguard mutual fund for another, the exchange will take place in two transactions on two consecutive trading days. The sale of the fund to be exchanged from will take place at the end of trading day 1, the purchase of the fund to be exchanged into will take place at the end of trading day 2.

Thanks for this thread as your Schwab posts in other threads have been informative.

My local bank is being acquired so I have been considering moving a portion of my Vanguard Taxable account’s mutual funds (not a fan of ETFs) to Schwab to try it out and collect a nice bonus for doing so. But this two-day mutual fund exchange on top of being required to contact Schwab to sell specific lots will make tax loss harvesting difficult.

Its rather surprising that specific lot sales aren't an option at Schwab. That seems pretty low tech.

[galawdawg]

I've updated the second post based upon some of the comments and suggestions in the thread, thanks.

[Dave55]

Great stuff Galawdawg. Thanks.
Dave

[an_asker]

• Can I do same-day Vanguard mutual fund exchanges?

No. If you wish to exchange one Vanguard mutual fund for another, the exchange will take place in two transactions on two consecutive trading days. The sale of the fund to be exchanged from will take place at the end of trading day 1, the purchase of the fund to be exchanged into will take place at the end of trading day 2.

Thanks for this thread as your Schwab posts in other threads have been informative.

My local bank is being acquired so I have been considering moving a portion of my Vanguard Taxable account’s mutual funds (not a fan of ETFs) to Schwab to try it out and collect a nice bonus for doing so. But this two-day mutual fund exchange on top of being required to contact Schwab to sell specific lots will make tax loss harvesting difficult.

Its rather surprising that specific lot sales aren't an option at Schwab. That seems pretty low tech.

I'm pretty sure they are an option with ETFs - but I cannot comment on mutual funds as I haven't tried that.

[galawdawg]

• Can I do same-day Vanguard mutual fund exchanges?

No. If you wish to exchange one Vanguard mutual fund for another, the exchange will take place in two transactions on two consecutive trading days. The sale of the fund to be exchanged from will take place at the end of trading day 1, the purchase of the fund to be exchanged into will take place at the end of trading day 2.

Thanks for this thread as your Schwab posts in other threads have been informative.

My local bank is being acquired so I have been considering moving a portion of my Vanguard Taxable account’s mutual funds (not a fan of ETFs) to Schwab to try it out and collect a nice bonus for doing so. But this two-day mutual fund exchange on top of being required to contact Schwab to sell specific lots will make tax loss harvesting difficult.

Its rather surprising that specific lot sales aren't an option at Schwab. That seems pretty low tech.

I'm pretty sure they are an option with ETFs - but I cannot comment on mutual funds as I haven't tried that.

For ETFs, you can select specific lots when you enter the sell order. For mutual funds, you must call Schwab before the trade settles to identify the specific lots that you want sold in that trade.

[tj]

• Can I do same-day Vanguard mutual fund exchanges?

No. If you wish to exchange one Vanguard mutual fund for another, the exchange will take place in two transactions on two consecutive trading days. The sale of the fund to be exchanged from will take place at the end of trading day 1, the purchase of the fund to be exchanged into will take place at the end of trading day 2.

Thanks for this thread as your Schwab posts in other threads have been informative.

My local bank is being acquired so I have been considering moving a portion of my Vanguard Taxable account’s mutual funds (not a fan of ETFs) to Schwab to try it out and collect a nice bonus for doing so. But this two-day mutual fund exchange on top of being required to contact Schwab to sell specific lots will make tax loss harvesting difficult.

Its rather surprising that specific lot sales aren't an option at Schwab. That seems pretty low tech.

I'm pretty sure they are an option with ETFs - but I cannot comment on mutual funds as I haven't tried that.

For ETFs, you can select specific lots when you enter the sell order. For mutual funds, you must call Schwab before the trade settles to identify the specific lots that you want sold in that trade.

You can't accomplish this through the chat feature? (Do they even have a chat feature?)

[galawdawg]

You can't accomplish this through the chat feature? (Do they even have a chat feature?)

Sorry, but I can't tell you whether identification of specific lots of mutual funds can be handled through live chat (which is available 24/7). The guidance Schwab provides on identification of specific lots of mutual funds directs the investor to call them at 1-800-435-4000 before the trade settles.

[jeffyscott]

• Can I do same-day Vanguard mutual fund exchanges?

No. If you wish to exchange one Vanguard mutual fund for another, the exchange will take place in two transactions on two consecutive trading days. The sale of the fund to be exchanged from will take place at the end of trading day 1, the purchase of the fund to be exchanged into will take place at the end of trading day 2.

I've been 1/2 seriously looking at Fido, Schwab and ETrade... This one is a real hit against Schwab for me. Thanks for the info - that helps.

You may find the same at E*TRADE and Fidelity as well (although I cannot say for certain). Of course, Fidelity will charge you a transaction fee of $75.00 for each purchase of most Vanguard mutual funds (an exchange would incur this fee).

If it is important to an investor to have no delay (or time out of the market) between the sale of one Vanguard fund and the purchase of another, then they may need to either remain at Vanguard OR use Vanguard ETFs rather than mutual funds.

You can effectively do a same day exchange of any mutual funds at Schwab by entering it as two separate transactions. Rather than using "swap funds", enter two trades, one to sell and one to buy. But Schwab did also tell me by chat that "sell and buy another" would be a same day exchange, if the funds were in the same fund family. I have never done such a transaction, so can not confirm that it would work that way or if Vanguard is some sort of exception.

In contrast, Fidelity has not allowed me to do this, enter two separate transactions, to make it an effective same day exchange. They will not let me enter the buy order, without the cash already being available. I suppose in a margin account they would allow, though. I think Fidelity only allows me to do a same day exchange if both are Fidelity funds.

[Karamatsu]

Can I sell specific lots at Schwab?

I just wanted to point out that while you can set a default policy for which lots get sold, you can also modify this on a per-trade basis. That means you an choose a default method (I use "Tax Lot Optimizer") and then switch to "Specific Lots" (or any other method) if it would be advantageous for a particular trade just by choosing a different method when you fill in the information for a trade request. Since I'm outside the US, I can only confirm that this works for stock and ETF trades. I'm not sure about mutual fund shares.

[Karamatsu]

The other excellent feature of Schwab is the research data that they make available. This is of greatest value if you trade individual stocks and need data for input to valuation models.

[csm]

Thank you, galawdawg, for starting this thread.

I initiated the transfer of my VG index funds to Schwab a few days ago. I considered both Fidelity and Schwab, the former because it is where I have the majority of our investments so thought it could be a convenience to simplify, and the latter because Schwab was fantastic to work with when transferring funds from a house sale abroad, and offered the best conversion on the foreign currency.

I asked both if they would match the bonus offered by e-Trade or Ally. Fidelity would not match nor offer any bonus. Schwab immediately said yes to a match and backed it up in writing. I have 45 days to make the transfer. Mine was not a new Schwab account, but had been opened for the house sale proceeds in late 2019 and, after withdrawing the house proceeds, has been sitting there with less than $500 in it.

A couple questions:

1. When I opened it, I only opened the Schwab One account but would now like to add a checking account / debit card to use specifically for withdrawing cash at an ATM abroad since we'll be visiting family next month. The online instructions were a bit fuzzy, so I went into a chat, and the representative said that the application would likely trigger a second Schwab One brokerage to be opened that I would then have to call and ask them to close. This sounded a bit off-putting. Has anyone added a checking to an existing Schwab One brokerage account after the fact, and was there an efficient way to do this?

2. When I opened the Schwab brokerage for the house sale, I did so as an individual account and didn't worry about beneficiary designation because, at the time, I assumed I would not retain the account (since I already had VG and Fidelity accounts). I would like to add my beneficiary now, but cannot found where/how to do so. I actually cannot even find where to view my profile so that I can actually see that there is no beneficiary set up. I emailed Schwab and they replied that (1) there is currently no beneficiary on the accounts, and (2) provided a form to add one. But the rep didn't actually tell me where or how I see this in the account - does anyone know where I would view the fact that there is no named beneficiary? And isn't there a way to add one online, which I know I did for Fidelity and other financial accounts?

3. Rather than set up beneficiary, I wondered if I should just set up a joint account with Schwab, which was also an option mentioned by the rep who responded to my beneficiary query. So I'm wondering if this is a better option and how it would work. I would establish a joint account online (for a Schwab One brokerage with checking). Then after the VG funds are transferred to my existing Schwab individual brokerage account, could I initiate a transfer of all these funds to the joint account? Are there pros/cons to doing a joint account vs. individual with spouse as beneficiary. We have no children / heirs, so everything we own is either in both our names or with a TOD beneficiary designation in the case of financial accounts. If it makes any difference, I'm older than my husband and I manage the finances, so I would like whatever is going to make his financial life easier should I pass before him.

Thank you.

[Tubes]

This is a great thread.

If I transfer, is it all-or-nothing, or can I transfer just my ETFs, for example? In other words, split off my VG account partially to Schwab, keeping my long held mutuals at VG, and going with the ETFs to Schwab.

[csm]

This is a great thread.

If I transfer, is it all-or-nothing, or can I transfer just my ETFs, for example? In other words, split off my VG account partially to Schwab, keeping my long held mutuals at VG, and going with the ETFs to Schwab.

You can do partial transfers. This will be an option in the transfer steps.

[Tubes]

This is a great thread.

If I transfer, is it all-or-nothing, or can I transfer just my ETFs, for example? In other words, split off my VG account partially to Schwab, keeping my long held mutuals at VG, and going with the ETFs to Schwab.

You can do partial transfers. This will be an option in the transfer steps.

Thanks! There is a Schwab brick and mortar office nearby. Any advantage to going there instead of doing it all on-line?

[runninginvestor]

Thank you, galawdawg, for starting this thread.

I.. .

3. Rather than set up beneficiary, I wondered if I should just set up a joint account with Schwab, which was also an option mentioned by the rep who responded to my beneficiary query. So I'm wondering if this is a better option and how it would work. I would establish a joint account online (for a Schwab One brokerage with checking). Then after the VG funds are transferred to my existing Schwab individual brokerage account, could I initiate a transfer of all these funds to the joint account? Are there pros/cons to doing a joint account vs. individual with spouse as beneficiary. We have no children / heirs, so everything we own is either in both our names or with a TOD beneficiary designation in the case of financial accounts. If it makes any difference, I'm older than my husband and I manage the finances, so I would like whatever is going to make his financial life easier should I pass before him.

Thank you.

If you are in a community property state, having the joint account titled as such can have tax benefits for the surviving spouse. Current law provides a full step up basis on death. We live in WI so we are able to title as Community Property With Rights of Survivorship which also allows us to avoid probate.

[csm]

This is a great thread.

If I transfer, is it all-or-nothing, or can I transfer just my ETFs, for example? In other words, split off my VG account partially to Schwab, keeping my long held mutuals at VG, and going with the ETFs to Schwab.

You can do partial transfers. This will be an option in the transfer steps.

Thanks! There is a Schwab brick and mortar office nearby. Any advantage to going there instead of doing it all on-line?

Not sure as I did everything online. After submitting an initial query to the message center, I did get a phone call from a rep, so it's also an option to speak to someone by phone if you have questions but don't want to make the in-person visit.