Charles Schwab inks deal to buy USAA brokerage business for $1.8 billion

The Charles Schwab Corp. said it had agreed to buy the asset's of USAA's investment management company, including brokerage and managed portfolio accounts for $1.8 billion in cash, the firm announced Thursday. According to a statement by Schwab, the USAA business will add over 1 million new client accounts with $90 billion in client assets. The prospect for Schwab's purchase of the USAA brokerage assets has been public since July 15, when the potential deal was first reported. Schwab, traditionally known as a discount brokerage, has made moves over the past several years to push further into the financial advice market. Most recently, the company, which has more than $3.5 trillion in client assets, switched to a subscription-based financial planning option for its digital advisory service. That service has attracted more than $1 billion in new assets since its launch at the end of March. USAA, whose clients are current and former military members and their families, earlier this month sold its asset management division, including its mutual fund, exchange-traded fund and 529 businesses, to Victory Capital Holdings Inc. (More: Advisers shrug off Schwab's potential purchase of USAA brokerage)