Charles Schwab is a full service online brokerage that was founded in 1971. The brokerage offers industry standard commission free investing on stocks and other assets, multiple platforms and research options, multiple levels of investing guidance, and more.

In more recent news, Charles Schwab acquired TD Ameritrade and plans to intergrate their services in early 2024. When you stack all of this up, Charles Schwab is a great choice for investors of all levels who want a brokerage that offers just about everything.

Charles Schwab offers three primary account types.

Standard brokerage accounts: A standard brokerage account is the most common account and simply allows you to buy and sell a wide range of assets. You can own this account as an individual, or jointly with another person in a variety of ways.

Retirement accounts: IRAs (individual retirement accounts) are designed specifically to help you save and invest for retirement. Charles Schwab offers access to traditional, Roth, rollover, inherited, and custodial IRAs.
‍
Education and custodial accounts: If your goal is to save for your kids college expenses, Charles Schwab offers both a 529 plan, as well as a Coverdell Education Savings Account. If you want to help set your kids up for purposes other than education, you can also opt to open a custodial account.

Charles Schwab offers three primary platforms. Your first option is to use the web based platform on Schwab.com. This platform allows you to view and manage your current positions, see real time data, get expert research and analysis from both Schwab and third party providers and more. If you do see an opportunity you want to jump on, you can use the All in One Trade Ticket feature to quickly place both simple and complex order types. The overall layout of this platform is clean and fairly easy to use.

Your second option is to use the StreetSmart Edge platform. This is Charles Schwab's premier platform and is the most sophisticated of all the platforms. The platform can be accessed online or downloaded right to a compatable desktop, which is recommended if you are a frequent trader. Customization is limitless, and there are many advanced features including an Idea Hub, multiple watchlists, a trade and probability calculator, multiple order types, and more.

Your final option is to use the Schwab Mobile app. The features, layout, and usability closely mirror the web based platform. Within the app you can manage your accounts, place orders, get breaking news, research opportunities and much more.

Charles Schwab offers a wide range of available assets for you to invest in on their platforms which include the following:

Overall, the research and education at Charles Schwab is very good. The broker does a good job at providing both third party research and in house education from experts at Charles Schwab. Third party research providers include Morningstar, Argus, MarketEdge, and much more.

In house research from Schwab includes A-B-C-D-F grades on 3,000+ US listed stocks using Schwab Equity Ratings to help you make more informed decisions. Additionally, you can use the select lists feature which are lists of mutual funds and ETFs expected to perform above average over the next 12 to 36 months.

Charles Schwab offers multiple ways for you to reach them. Schwab offers phone, email, and live chat support 24/7. If you prefer a more personal touch you can visit a branch in person. Schwab can help you see if there is a location near you via their website.

In addition to the features listed above that you can use as a self directed investor, Charles Schwab offers three levels of planning and advice.

The first level is to use their in house robo advisor called Schwab Intelligent Portfolios for automated investing. Similar to other robo advisors, Schwab will build you an investing portfolio based upon your goals and risk tolerance, and will rebalance your portfolio over time. There is a $5,000 minimum to get started, but you will not pay an advisory fee.

The second level is called Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium and is a mix between automated robo advising services and advice from a certified financial planner. Essentially you get the robo advisor to build and monitor your investing portfolio, and unlimited guidance from a certified financial planner. There is a $25,000 minimum to get started, and there is a $30 monthly fee after a one time start up fee of $300.

The final level is called Schwab Wealth Advisory. This is a complete personalized approach to wealth management lead by a dedicated Wealth Advisor that is backed by a team of professionals. You get investment and retirement advice, tax advice, education and more. There is a $1 million minimum to get started, and a fee that starts at 0.80% which can decrease at higher asset levels.

One final detail that is worth mentioning is that Charles Schwab does offer a few banking and borrowing options. Banking options include a checking and savings account. The checking account earns 0.45% APY, comes with a debit card, and does not have any fees. The checking account earns 0.48% APY, has no account fees and is FDIC insured up to $250k.

Borrowing options include home loans and strategic options. Home loans are available through Rocket Mortgage which has partnered with Charles Schwab to offer a more convenient experience. You can become preapproved, and get eligible discounts based upon your assets wtih Schwab. Strategic borrwoing options include the ability to take a margin loan against the value of your portfolio, or a pledged asset line which is a non purpose line of credit.

The primary advantage of Charles Schwab is that the broker really does everything and can cater to every investor. If you want to be a DIY investor, you can take advantage of multiple platforms and commission free investing. If you want to automate your investing or get more guidance from advisors, you can.

Additional advantages include a large selection of assets, strong customer support, good research and education options, and the convenience of a few banking and borrowing options.

The primary disadvantage of Charles Schwab is that they do not offer any direct access to crypto. Instead what Schwab offers is indirect access to crypto by offering mutual funds and ETFs that track companies that have a focus on serving the crypto market.

You can also opt to trade shares of crypto coin trusts, which are trusts that hold large amounts of cryptos, or buy crypto related stocks. If crypto is a must have you will have to look at other brokers or at a crypto exchange, but in the grand scheme of things this is more of a nit pick as Charles Schwab is a very good broker overall.

Charles Schwab is right for you if: