smh but not surprised:
https://riabiz.com/a/2023/10/7/fresh-wave-of-td-ameritrade-rias-are-speaking-out-30-days-after-schwab-advisor-services-merger-complaining-about-more-red-tape-and-problems-befalling-clients-stress-levels-high
25 replies (most recent on top)
what a jerk that bernie is. explains why the RIA tools is so bad.
“ The power of journalists is that they rarely sweep bad news under the rug, which is good. It's a huge safety valve in a democracy, because problems can't fester for long and often obviate the need for regulations and lawyers. That's one reason why freedom of speech is a key part of the First Amendment. Yet, many people see that positive as a negative and conflate the implied criticism with corrosive negativity. Schwab IMPACT brought forth that tension in Philadelphia. The U.S. Constitution was signed in the City of Brotherly Love in 1787, while the Bill of Rights was signed two years later in New York City. But debates about how people should express their freedom are alive and well in 2023. Not surprisingly, RIAs, experiencing technical and service issues, and having declared independence, will speak to the media without a vendor's approval. Also not surprising is that the vendor, in this case Schwab, will speak publicly – without approbation – about their seeming impertinence.”
more on advisor services . embarrassing stuff but they deserve it because the tech truly su-ks
https://riabiz.com/a/2023/10/27/bernie-clark-chides-td-ameritrade-rias-during-schwab-impact-for-publicly-airing-merger-transition-negatives-but-rias-say-schwab-was-quick-to-grease-squeaky-wheels
hahahaha that’s a must read!
anyone have intel from the impact conference with advisors this week? pray tell
IMPACT conference is Oct 24-26. http://impact.schwab.com/
They spend a TON of $ on this event. Last year was over the top.
how shameful
what is AST?
The AST is a sh-t hole
@1gut+1p9ZLFCy yea petition to change schwab's motto to "thats just the way its always been done!"
What is DAS? Never heard of that team.
Um, doesn’t something like HALF of schwab’s revenue come from advisors and RIAs? how did they let it get so bad? who runs DAS?
So the MD gets to keep her job despite the epic failure of SAC, while everyone else below her in DAS is on edge about losing their livelihood? Yeah, sounds like the Schwab I know.
As someone currently training on blue systems, I feel their pain
Something that took literally less than 5 minutes at TD takes 45 - an hour+ at Schwab (even for seasoned employees). The reasoning behind it is always : it’s just how we do things. The processes make no sense, systems are more complicated than they need to be and are garbage, outdated hellscapes that look like they were developed 3 decades ago.
Pair that with mountains of red tape to streamline/improve anything and you get 30-50 page procedural documents for each simple task that was 4 - 5 manageable steps on green. They refuse to spend money on improving things while preaching “through the clients eyes” at the expense of their employees. And don’t get me wrong, the clients are affected too
Godda-n, I need to get TF out of here lol
Will CNBC pick up this story? What an embarrassment.
sac is like “dial-up internet” LOL. great article. thanks OP
This is what happens when you assume a bunch of SMEs know how to build applications
it says a lot when a top exec blames problems on the RIA users and that their problems with the platform can be resolved with some training.
“ Tom Bradley, senior executive president at Schwab, and perhaps the Schwab staffer most focused on the merger outcome, suggested advisors need to adjust and learn.”
hmmm, yeah i’ve always heard digital advisor services has one of the worst, most toxic cultures and work environments at schwab
Glad this article is showing everyone how terribly dysfunctional DAS is (and schwab advisor center reflects that) largely thanks to the “leadership.” Those of us in the org have known this for a long time and it feels good to see the word finally getting out publicly.
Hope people are finally acknowledging that the emperor has no clothes when it comes to the Head/MD of DAS.
Moving Money on Schwab Advisor Center:
“ Advisor Cory Smith took to "X" ( formerly known as Twitter) on Oct. 3 to vent and get some help.
‘Advisors on Schwab, how have you dealt with their system for so long? I’m now 2 hours into figuring out how to systematically get money from a client's bank account to their 401k,’ he posted.
He says moving money into his solo 401(k) was automatic with TD Ameritrade.
When asked if things have gotten better, he posted: “‘No, I just have to laugh at it at this point.’”
“ TD Ameritrade-related attrition took a $23-billion bite out of net-new-assets (NNA). Total core net new assets across all Schwab and TDA clients totaled a low $4.9 billion in August.”
“ Schwab also wants clients to approve certain tasks by email, but elderly clients are struggling with these checklists, according to multiple RIAs.
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“Even just a change of address form that can be signed DocuSign would be easier than making a client do the work,” Rubeling adds.
In other words, RIA productivity is taking a hit – and worse – advisors are finding they can't shield clients from some of the changes.
Basic tasks are just taking much longer, says Naugle. His partner had to rebuild the firm's billing system last weekend due to technology issues.
“…We have done a billing with Schwab which has been comical. They removed the fees as instructed and then promptly lost track of them.
"We are now told they are 'awaiting approval,' and that unit is really behind," Naugle says. “The hits just keep coming.”
“ RIAs say IRA withholdings and distributions have been inaccurate, signing up new accounts takes longer, transferring money to different accounts is harder and Schwab alphabetizes clients by first names, something most RIAs don't do. ”
wow
“The TD system, Veo One, was supposed to be one of the top reasons for the purchase. [It] was taken down, only to give us the Schwab system that feels like dial-up Internet.
"Now, simple tasks are three or four clicks more in a system that seems to be lagging under the additional load.
"Schwab has done their best to take well-functioning small RIAs and grind production to a halt.’l