Charles Schwab reviews

2023 has exposed this companies true colors. Schwab stock got pounded when the whole Silicon Valley Bank saga was happening. There is no doubt in my mind that the “executive council” felt pressure to get the stock price back up. I imagine some conversations going something like this: “How do we go about getting our stock price back up?” “I have an idea, we could lay a bunch of people off, especially since this merger with TD Ameritrade is going pretty darn smooth and we hired a bunch of people anticipating an absolute disaster!” “That’s an idea, but wouldn’t it make us look bad if we laid a bunch of people off, especially since we just hired a ton of people?” “That’s true. Oh, oh! What about this! Instead of firing people, we just require that everyone must come back to the office with little to no exceptions! That way, a bunch of people who developed an extremely healthy work/life balance while working remote will realize that getting sucked back into the archaic way of doing this is not for them and they will voluntarily leave! We’ll achieve a similar result to firing a bunch of people without having to fire a bunch of people! “You are brilliant!”

Typical Fortune 500 cons: * Claims to innovate and challenge the status quo. Technology used is old and outdated with a patchwork of disjointed solutions. Typical for industry except fin tech companies. If you do innovate or challenge the status quo, you will stand out as not being a team player or as a disrupter to long-standing traditions. Unfortunately, these folks will disappear in layoffs every 3-4 years. Typical though. * Poor leadership from Executive Committee. Head of HR dismisses critical feedback or low Glint survey scores as the voice of a few outspoken and disgruntled employees. Recall Hillary Clinton describing dissenters as "deplorables". CFO bumbles the balance sheet with massive "paper losses" causing the firm to borrow money through high-cost loans and CDs. Losses covered with layoffs, hiring freezes, and travel bans, but he keeps his job and multi-million dollar pay package. Typical. * Be aware of Glassdoor review management. Typical but eye opening as the firm features the best review and it describe Schwab as an "engaged employer". They won't make any real Glassdoor Top 100 Firm because they don't have that many engaged employees, but they do read and respond to certain posts. * Disappointing- Long-tenured employees (Schwabbies) recall the whimsical good old days where the married employees (Schwupples) and rehired employees (Schoomerangs) all cherished its magical culture. These days are long gone with acquisition of TD Ameritrade and constant missteps around RTO and financial management of the firm's resources and investments from client's excess cash. *Most disappointing- Most high-performing and client centric employees were excited with the creation of the President role with Rick Wurster- a former McKinsey alum and apparent heir to the CEO. There were high hopes of a new culture of forward thinking and innovative solutions, but constant miscommunication around RTO, future vision, and continued reorgs has resulted in low morale and even lower trust of executive leadership. * Summary- Schwab is a great place to work for the average person (excluding call center folks) and it pays very well for what people do. The company will do very well in the future in spite of self-inflicted "headwinds" created by the EC members. It bought a superior competitor (TDA) and limited choices for DIY investors to Vanguard and Fidelity (which is a far superior firm in culture and client solutions) and RIAs with fewer choices as well. This was smart and bodes well for long-term investors.