Interesting work but hindered by politics and no growth - Software Engineer Charles Schwab Employee Review

As a WA (Wealth Advisor) I am able to leverage my knowledge of capital markets and financial planning with typically an injection of existing clients from WA's that were recently promoted or reducing their practice size. I don't have to sell clients why they need to work with me but rather sell them on why they should continue to work work for me. This role is not for the person who is not passionate about serving their clients in the areas of Financial Planning, Estate Planning, and Investment Planning. I started with SWA (Schwab Wealth Advisory) 9 years ago and it was the best career move of my life. The leadership team expects people to perform for their clients and their goals are aligned with mine which I like. Like our founder said, "Clients First." If you dont live by that motto then SWA will make you want to work for another firm. However if you do live by that motto, then SWA leadership will promote you and compensate you handsomely for your passion. SWA is now the growth engine of Schwab corporation as a whole. The firm derives over 35% of all revenue from SWA alone. We are in growth mode because we place clients first and cherish our Schwab Branch partners that send us our business. I'm proud to be a part of a company and team that has not only changed my life from a purpose standpoint but a financial standpoint as well.

Practice sizes are rather large. The average WA manages over $500M in AUM with a cap at 180 Households. It would be nice if the firm could shrink that number down to 160 Households for a slight work life balance improvement.

Decent offices, good but not great comp packages relative to other FinTech options in my city. Amazing co-workers and an interesting product suite. Solid tech if a bit long in the tooth. It's great working for a winning team and Schwab is nothing if not a success story in the discount brokerage industry. It's telling that despite leaving on something of a downbeat I am still a loyal customer.

I was there at the worst possible time probably; I was acquired along with the rest of TDAmeritrade (which I think I gave 4 or maybe even 5 stars: lost my history with the Indeed/Glassdoor migration), and in addition to the dysfunction that follows any such M&A activity there was ... COVID. I found that where TDA had done a great job of treating "Human resources" as people Schwab saw us more as Resources. Very top-down, very my way or the highway. Schwab was more base-pay centric while TDA was more entrepreneurial with it's comp and other benefits.