Episode summary
Bloomberg Wealth: Schwab CEO Rick Wurster
The David Rubenstein Show
· · 24 min · Hosts: David Rubenstein · Guests: Rick Wurster
Summary
Rick Wurster presents Charles Schwab as a business built on lower costs, broader access, and long-term investing discipline. He says Schwab’s original edge came when Chuck Schwab cut trading commissions after deregulation in 1975, and that the same philosophy still drives the firm’s growth today. Schwab now oversees about $13 trillion in assets and roughly 47 million client accounts, with revenue coming from net interest income, transactional activity, and advisory fees.
Wurster argues that the core client message has not changed: stay invested, avoid trying to time the market, and rely on compounding over decades. He says Schwab is increasingly serving wealthier clients too, while still focusing on helping younger and smaller investors start early. He also defends Schwab’s branch network as a differentiator, saying face-to-face service improves satisfaction, and says AI should expand personalized advice to more people.
He sees future growth in more integrated advice, lending, and technology, and calls the government’s Trump accounts and Trump IRA accounts promising tools for broader participation in investing and retirement saving. Throughout, he frames Schwab’s mission as serving every American who wants to build wealth.
Key takeaways
- Wurster says Schwab’s growth model still starts with lower costs and access, echoing Chuck Schwab’s 1975 decision to cut commissions by as much as 70%.
- He says Schwab has about $13 trillion in assets and 47 million client accounts, with roughly half of revenue from net interest margin.
- Wurster argues the best investing advice is to stay in the market, own stocks, and ignore short-term noise.
- He says Schwab is using branches and AI together to widen access to personalized advice beyond clients with $1 million or more.
- Wurster sees Trump accounts and Trump IRA accounts as a “home run” for helping more Americans save and invest.
Notable quotes
“We believe in the power of people, saving the power of people, and investing”
“Our view with clients is success is about time in the market, as opposed to timing the market over the long run, stocks have had really strong returns and grown people's wealth”
“We tell clients, own stocks, stick with it, avoid the noise”
“We view sports gambling is on average you're going to lose”
“Save early. Power of compounding is incredible. And invest for the long term”
How the episode opens
We believe in the power of people, saving the power of people, and investing. The power of compounding is incredible and invest for the long term. Have a plan.
Stick to that plan. If you do those two things, I think you're going to have a great financial life. Chuck Schwab got his start publishing an investment newsletter in the 1960s.
Its popularity with readers led him to launch a brokerage business with a mission to democratize investing. When the SEC deregulated fixed commissions in 1975, many of the biggest brokerage firms raised their prices. Schwab went in the opposite direction, cutting trading costs by as much as 70%.
Chuck lowered his, and that began a 50 plus year journey of bringing commissions down to zero and removing barriers for the everyday investor. Schwab has built its brand around a simple idea lower cost, and make investing more accessible. Today, clients can trade stocks, bonds, options, mutual funds and ETFs, and the firm remains focused on building long term wealth.
I said, Chuck, if we lower fees, we're gonna lose hundreds of millions of profitability. And he said, no, no we won't. Because we'll have more clients.
They're going to tell their friends about us, and we'll do more business and we'll grow and we'll be successful. Worst years path to Schwab was shaped by a deeply personal journey. After working at McKinsey and Wellington Management, he moved his family to California to pursue specialized therapy for his young daughter.
Not long after Schwab came calling, Schwab had called me about two investment businesses that they had purchased and asked me to lead those. I left Wellington for Schwab to lead those two investment businesses, and then work my way up the ranks over a ten year period. Today, Schwab oversees $13 trillion in assets and serves roughly 47 million client accounts.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- client assets
- interest rates
- long-term investing
- leadership lessons
- prediction markets
Companies and tickers mentioned
- SCHW
- Charles Schwab
Watch the episode
Watch “Bloomberg Wealth: Schwab CEO Rick Wurster” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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