Schwab Introduces Technology Vendor Review Site for Independent Investment Advisors

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In order to help independent investment advisors make more informed decisions when evaluating technology products and vendors, Schwab Intelligent Technologies announced at IMPACT^® 2012 that it will launch a review site featuring ratings and advisor feedback on popular providers. An extension of the Schwab Intelligent Integration initiative, the goal for Schwab OpenView MarketSquare (MarketSquare) is to provide advisors with guidance and support on what Schwab’s 2012 RIA Benchmarking Study found was a top challenge for many firms – selecting the right technology solution to meet a particular need.

“This industry has grown by leaps and bounds over the past 5 or 10 years, which means that there are more providers and more resources than ever dedicated to serving independent investment advisors”

“This industry has grown by leaps and bounds over the past 5 or 10 years, which means that there are more providers and more resources than ever dedicated to serving independent investment advisors,” said Neesha Hathi, senior vice president of technology solutions for Schwab Advisor Services. “But with this proliferation of providers comes the challenge of navigating the marketplace to find the right solutions for each particular firm’s needs. We are creating MarketSquare as a way to provide our clients with feedback on the vendors they are considering, based on the opinions of their peers.”

Schwab Intelligent Technologies is currently accepting technology vendor reviews through its web site. The reviews will be gathered by Schwab Intelligent Technologies with plans to begin posting reviews in the first quarter of 2013. Reviews can be submitted and accessed by any advisor who custodies assets with Schwab Advisor Services.

Advisors attending IMPACT^®2012 are welcome to come to the Schwab Center to get more information on submitting reviews to MarketSquare.

Other elements of Schwab Intelligent Integration on display at IMPACT 2012

In other Schwab Intelligent Integration news, integration with Tamarac, a division of Envestnet, Inc. is now available. The integration allows for real-time custody data from Schwab Advisor Services to be available within the Tamarac Advisor^® Xi web-based platforms Advisor CRM^® and Advisor View^®. Representatives from Tamarac are at IMPACT 2012 and will be providing demonstrations of the new integration for those advisors who are interested.

Other Schwab Intelligent Integration participants providing demonstrations at IMPACT 2012 are Advent, Black Diamond, Junxure, Salentica, salesforce.com, and Schwab Performance Technologies.

Schwab Intelligent Technologies also announced today that five Microsoft workflows are now available for download from the Schwab OpenView Workflow Library™. Advisors can also access the current library of 28 universal workflows. Workflows are free to download for advisors who custody assets with Schwab Advisor Services.

About Schwab Intelligent Integration

Schwab Intelligent Integration is a multi-year initiative designed to increase integration between disparate systems and workflows in advisors’ offices. Schwab OpenView Integrated Office™ is a product of Schwab Performance Technologies® and includes integration with Salesforce CRM. Schwab OpenView Gateway™ and the Schwab OpenView Workflow Library™ are products of Schwab Intelligent Technologies™. Participating providers in Schwab OpenView Gateway are Junxure, Salentica, salesforce.com, Schwab Performance Technologies, and Tamarac. More information about Schwab Intelligent Integration is available at www.schwabintelligenttechnologies.com.

About Charles Schwab

The Charles Schwab Corporation (“Charles Schwab”) (NYSE:SCHW) is a leading provider of financial services, with more than 300 offices and 8.7 million active brokerage accounts, 1.5 million corporate retirement plan participants, 844,000 banking accounts, and $1.89 trillion in client assets as of September 30, 2012. The company was ranked ‘Highest in Investor Satisfaction with Self-Directed Services’ in the 2012 US Self-Directed Investor Satisfaction Study^SM from J.D. Power and Associates. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides a full range of securities brokerage, banking, money management and financial advisory services to individual investors and independent investment advisors. Its broker-dealer subsidiary, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab”)(member SIPC, www.sipc.org), and affiliates offer a complete range of investment services and products including an extensive selection of mutual funds; financial planning and investment advice; retirement plan and equity compensation plan services; compliance and trade monitoring solutions; referrals to independent fee-based investment advisors; and custodial, operational and trading support for independent, fee-based investment advisors through its Advisor Services division. Its banking subsidiary, Charles Schwab Bank (member FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender), provides trust and custody services, banking and lending services and products. More information is available at www.schwab.com and www.aboutschwab.com.

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Schwab Advisor Services serves independent investment advisory firms and includes the custody, trading and support services of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., a registered broker-dealer and member SIPC. Independent investment advisors are not owned by, affiliated with or supervised by Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.

Schwab Intelligent Integration ("SII") is an integrated technology strategy. Solutions leveraging SII are offered by Performance Technologies, Inc., (“PTI”) a subsidiary of The Charles Schwab Corporation and an affiliate of Schwab or by participating providers in the Schwab OpenView Gateway program.

Neesha Hathi is an officer of Schwab Intelligent Technologies and Charles Schwab Advisor Services.

Schwab Intelligent Technologies (SIT), Schwab Performance Technologies (SPT) and CS&Co are separate companies affiliated as subsidiaries of The Charles Schwab Corporation, but their products and services are independent from each other. SIT and SPT’s intelligent integration solutions integrate data about accounts custodied at CS&Co.

Participating providers in the Schwab OpenView Gateway are independent companies that are not affiliated with SIT or any of its affiliates. They develop interfaces needed for integration of their applications and tools, which are then subject to validation and pilot before becoming generally available to advisors. Their participation in Schwab OpenView Gateway is not a recommendation or endorsement of, or referral to, the participant by SIT or any of its affiliates. Neither SIT nor any of its affiliates makes any representation or warranty about information furnished by any participating provider. Advisors are solely responsible for evaluating, selecting, and purchasing products and services offered by them.

The 2012 RIA Benchmarking Study (Study) from Schwab comprises self-reported data from 1025 advisory firms that custody their assets with Schwab. All data is self-reported by Study participants and is not verified or validated. Each participating advisory firm submitted only one set of responses. The 2012 Study was fielded February and March, 2012.