# Schwab names wealth advice a growth area and plans a long-short strategy

URL: https://www.financialadvsr.com/article/schwab-names-wealth-advice-a-growth-area-and-plans-a-long-short-36e457
Published: October 15, 2026
By: Nora Kessler, Practice & Technology Correspondent
Section: News
Publisher: Financial ADVSR (https://www.financialadvsr.com)

On its third-quarter earnings call, Schwab's chief executive named wealth advice a growth opportunity and said the firm is developing its own version of a popular long-short strategy.

WealthManagement.com reported on October 15 that Schwab chief executive Rick Wurster, speaking on the firm's third-quarter earnings call, described Schwab Wealth Advisory as a growth opportunity for the firm. The same report added that Schwab is developing an in-house take on long-short investing, a widely used approach. Citywire RIA, covering the same call, reported that Wurster said he expects Schwab to bring an offering in that strategy to market.

The call followed a quarter that Schwab described as a record. Coverage citing the company's release put third-quarter net revenue at a record $7.2 billion, a 17% rise from a year earlier. GAAP net income was $2.9 billion, or $1.62 per share. Excluding $151 million of pre-tax transaction-related costs, adjusted earnings per share were $1.69, according to Traders Agency. Core net new assets hit a record $190.4 billion, rising 38% from the prior year, which works out to a 5.8% annualized growth rate. Clients' total assets stood at $13.33 trillion at quarter-end, a 15% increase on the year before.

The advice business drew specific attention. WealthManagement.com reported that Schwab Wealth Advisory net flows rose 55% within total managed investing net flows. Investing.com reported that managed investing net flows climbed 22% to $24 billion, while bank lending balances grew 35% to $72 billion. Asset management and administration fees were $1.9 billion, up 14% year over year, according to an Investing.com transcript summary.

WealthManagement.com also reported Wurster's comments on the custody platform. Per Wurster, more than 16,000 firms use the RIA platform, and the total held there comes to $5.8 trillion. Those figures measure assets held on the platform, not Schwab's own assets under management. Per Schwab, the firm added 1,001 new RIAs to its custody platform in the third quarter, compared with 349, 339, 202 and 79 at its nearest peers. Separately, Wurster said that just 5% of Schwab retail households are in a fee-based advice solution, a figure he gave in July, as reported by Financial Planning.

The long-short plans carry a lending dimension. Quartz, drawing on the quarterly results, put margin lending at $187.9 billion at quarter-end, and said $60.7 billion of that was linked to long/short strategies. On the call, Wurster said Schwab has approximately 2% of the 37 trillion U.S. advice market, according to a Benzinga transcript. That share refers to advice-market assets, not Schwab's own totals.

Investors reacted cautiously. Investing.com reported that Schwab shares fell 3.97% to $92.96 in premarket trading after revenue came in slightly below forecast. The quarter continued a run of records in Schwab's own filings: its 8-K exhibits show record net revenues of $6.3 billion for the fourth quarter of 2025, $6.5 billion for the first quarter of 2026, and $7.1 billion for the second quarter of 2026. Its second-quarter 10-Q put total client assets at $13.08 trillion as of June 30.

Schwab was founded in 1971 in San Francisco and is headquartered in Westlake, Texas, according to Wikipedia and GlobalData. It trades on the NYSE under the symbol SCHW. Rick Wurster is president and CEO, and Mike Verdeschi is CFO, according to InvestingInTheWeb. The firm acquired TD Ameritrade in 2020 in an all-stock deal valued at about $26 billion, according to Fortune, and in July 2020 it acquired Wasmer, Schroeder and Company, a fixed-income manager with $10.7 billion in assets under management.

What comes next is not yet dated in the sources. Wurster's remarks on the long-short strategy point to a future offering, but the reports do not give a launch date, product details or pricing. Wealth advice and custody will remain the lines to watch as Schwab reports its next quarter.

Key facts:
- Schwab Wealth Advisory net flows rose 55% in the third quarter, per WealthManagement.com.
- Schwab added 1,001 new RIAs to its custody platform in the third quarter, per Schwab as reported by WealthManagement.com.
- Margin loan balances ended the third quarter at $187.9 billion, with $60.7 billion attributable to long/short strategies, per Quartz.
- Shares fell 3.97% to $92.96 in premarket trading after revenue came in slightly below forecast, per Investing.com.
- Just 5% of Schwab retail households are in a fee-based advice solution, a July figure cited by Financial Planning.

Why it matters: Custody platforms compete for RIAs, so a large platform's push into advice and its own long-short product can shape which tools advisors and their firms consider. Any new strategy from a firm of Schwab's size also raises questions for advisors who already use long-short products from other managers.

Sources:
- WealthManagement.com: https://www.wealthmanagement.com/ria-news/schwab-investing-in-wealth-advice-offering-as-key-growth-area
- Citywire RIA: https://citywire.com/ria/news/i-do-expect-us-to-have-an-offering-schwab-plotting-rollout-of-proprietary-long-short-strategy/a2500234
- benzinga.com: https://www.benzinga.com/news/26/10/62382438/charles-schwab-q3-2026-earnings-call-complete-transcript
- investing.com: https://www.investing.com/news/transcripts/earnings-call-transcript-charles-schwab-posts-record-q3-2026-results-but-shares-fall-93CH-4952035
- qz.com: https://qz.com/charles-schwab-record-revenue-net-new-assets-earnings-101526
- tradersagency.com: https://tradersagency.com/blog/charles-schwab-reports-record-q3-2026-revenue-of-dollar717-billion-as-core-net-new-assets-hit-dollar1904-billion
- sec.gov: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000316709/000031670926000019/schw-20260331.htm
- sec.gov: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000316709/000031670926000031/schw-20260630.htm