Charles Schwab 2012 Annual Report Download - page 17

15
“Schwab treats me like an intelligent
individual and not a chicken to be
plucked. The fundamental message
is respect for the investor.”
EILEEN BIRGE
It’s difcult to imagine Eileen Birge, an experienced
consultant and graduate of Wharton, as anything other
than a sophisticated, well-informed investor. But that’s
exactly why she sought out Schwab in the early 80s.
“We had established a relationship with another broker
who gave us terrible advice and charged us a lot of
money for it. Schwab was one of the rst places to offer
competitive commissions.” Cut to 30 years later, and Eileen
is comfortably retired, an active leader in her community,
and enjoying her interests in art, culture, and travel. The
key to getting there was a steady and savvy approach to
saving and investing, and having a resource like Schwab.
“I’ve enjoyed a lot of the educational programs that
Schwab has. I don’t always agree with the speakers, but
it’s always thought provoking and really makes you think
about investing in sort of the larger context.” Whether
it’s the commission structure, approach to service, or
educational opportunities, the fundamental message
Eileen gets from Schwab is respect: “When you have a
level of expertise that’s greater than your client, you can
become arrogant. Schwab honors and respects you.
They’ve managed to avoid that arrogance.”
“Schwab listens, they learn, and they
react intelligently to concerns of the
clients they work with.”
JEFF FELD
ALLIANCE PENSION CONSULTANTS, LLC
“The 401(k) is the All-American retirement plan,”
Jeff Feld says. “Everyone — government, employers,
employees — has a little bit of skin in the game. When
everyone does as they’re supposed to, it can provide
a comfortable retirement.” Jeff Feld should know.
With more than 30 years’ experience in designing and
administering retirement plans for small and midsize
businesses, Jeff has seen the 401(k) evolve from a
product distributed by insurance companies to a
highly efcient retirement tool. Schwab has played a
big role in that evolution. “Schwab Retirement Business
Services (RBS) was structured to allow organizations
like us to deliver a low-cost option to employers.”
With a commitment to open architecture, RBS also
advanced the industry, helping companies like Jeff’s
give employers and employees greater exibility and
choice of investment funds: “The concept of having
different funds from different fund families made
theoretical sense, but in terms of execution it was very
difcult. Schwab allowed us to go to clients who might
not have heard of my rm, might not have heard of
open architecture, but when they heard that Schwab
was part of the engine that powered this, that gave
them some level of comfort with this new approach.”
Hear these stories and more
at AboutSchwab.com