SAN FRANCISCO, May 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Schwab Institutional, a
leading provider of custodial, operational and trading support for
independent, fee-based investment advisors, has completed four interactive
events designed to provide advisors with winning strategies for enhancing
and improving their marketing and business development efforts. The Schwab
Institutional Growth Forums, held in San Francisco, Dallas, Chicago and New
York City in February and March, brought together 120 unique, growth-minded
advisory firms, representing $53 billion in assets under management with
Schwab, for a series of training sessions and in-depth discussions about
marketing strategy and planning.
"Our 2006 RIA Benchmarking Growth Trends Study found that while nearly
80 percent of advisors want to grow in the future, only 60% of advisors
have set specific goals and less than half have a plan or clear path to
make their goals a reality," said Dave Welling, vice president of marketing
& advisor business management at Schwab Institutional. "More than 75
percent of advisors who want to grow are looking for help refining their
marketing and business development efforts. The Growth Forums were designed
to not only provide insights, but to be very hands on in helping advisors
put action plans in place that meet their unique needs."
The Growth Forums are a part of Schwab Institutional's GrowthPoint(TM),
the most comprehensive practice management program available to advisors
today that builds on Schwab's existing practice management solutions and
takes a uniquely tailored, strategic approach to helping advisors build
their businesses. GrowthPoint consists of three distinct service offerings:
Marketing/Business Development, Business Strategy/Planning and Transition
Services.
Over the course of a day and a half, Schwab Institutional and
third-party experts led participants in each of the four Growth Forums
through a variety of sessions, including:
* Examining benchmarking and best practices from more than 1,200
advisors
who participated in Schwab Institutional's 2006 RIA Benchmarking Growth
Trends Study
* Developing a growth strategy
* Putting a proactive plan in place to generate client referrals
* Identifying a firm's unique value proposition
* Creating a compelling brand strategy
* Developing and executing on a strategic marketing plan
* Driving increased visibility through public relations
Each session placed an emphasis on interactions with peers and on
creating a tangible action plan that captured specific strategies, ideas
and commitments that advisors could bring back to their firms. In addition,
attendees were given the opportunity to participate in a private,
one-on-one consultation with a Schwab Institutional subject matter expert
or third-party speaker to explore any of the session topics in greater
detail.
Overall, 98 percent of respondents rated the events as excellent or
very good. Henry D. Morneault, chief operating officer of Manchester
Capital Management LLC, said, "We're very excited about using many of the
tools and concepts we discussed to refine our marketing action plans. It
was also terrific to connect/reconnect with industry peers."
Welling added, "GrowthPoint is all about examining proven growth
strategies and helping advisors learn from those best practices. These
events are the newest way that we help connect advisors with peers and
subject matter experts so they can take their businesses to the next
level." Welling noted that in addition to the Growth Forums, Schwab
Institutional is conducting dozens of smaller regional events and workshops
in 2007, as well as an array of sessions at this year's IMPACT conference
in Las Vegas that will examine growth strategies for advisors. Schwab
Institutional will also deliver the results of its 2007 RIA Benchmarking
Growth Trends Study in the third quarter.
About Schwab Institutional
Schwab Institutional is a leading provider of custodial, operational
and trading support for independent fee-based investment advisors. This
year marks Schwab Institutional's 20th anniversary serving the independent
investment advisor industry. Since 1987, Schwab Institutional has supported
independent investment advisors by offering support and services to help
grow their businesses and help their clients reach their financial goals.
As of March 31, 2007, client assets custodied with Schwab Institutional
stood at $524.5 billion. These assets, managed by the approximately 5,000
independent advisor firms Schwab Institutional currently serves, represent
approximately one-third of total client assets custodied with The Charles
Schwab Corporation. Brokerage products offered by Schwab Institutional are
not FDIC insured, are not guaranteed deposits, and are subject to
investment risk, including the possible loss of principle invested. Schwab
Institutional is a division of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
About Charles Schwab
The Charles Schwab Corporation (Nasdaq: SCHW) is a leading provider of
financial services, with more than 300 offices and 6.8 million client
brokerage accounts, 1,117,000 corporate retirement plan participants,
154,000 banking accounts, and $1.3 trillion in client assets. Through its
operating subsidiaries, the company provides a full range of securities
brokerage, banking, money management and financial advisory services to
individual investors and independent investment advisors. Its broker-dealer
subsidiary, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC, http://www.sipc.org),
and affiliates offer a complete range of investment services and products
including an extensive selection of mutual funds; financial planning and
investment advice; retirement plan and equity compensation plan services;
referrals to independent fee-based investment advisors; and custodial,
operational and trading support for independent, fee-based investment
advisors through its Schwab Institutional division. The Charles Schwab
Bank, N.A. (member FDIC) provides banking and mortgage services and
products. CyberTrader(R), Inc. (member SIPC, http://www.sipc.org) is an
electronic trading technology and brokerage firm providing services to
highly active, online traders. More information is available at
http://www.schwab.com. (0507-0718)
SOURCE Charles Schwab
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Related links:
http://www.schwab.com/
CONTACT:
Michael Cianfrocca of Charles Schwab,
+1-415-667-3252, michael.cianfrocca@schwab.com
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