Charles Schwab runs TV ads to promote independent, fiduciary advice model

Schwab Advisor Services on Monday launched national television advertisements meant to promote the benefits of an independent financial adviser to would-be high-net-worth investor clients. The ads, part of a broader "Independent Difference" marketing campaign that launched last year, began airing today on CNBC and Fox Business Network, and will run through mid-December. They feature independent advisers across the U.S. who custody with Schwab, and tout the pros of independent, fiduciary advice. (More: Top clearing and custody firms for financial advisers.) In one, for example, "Rachel R.," an independent adviser since 2004, says: "We are fiduciaries, stewards of our clients' money, entrusted to do what's right." "I left a traditional brokerage firm because I wanted to be free of their constraints. At my firm, I act in the best interests of my clients," Tony C., independent since 2015, says in another. "More and more investors are hearing about the fiduciary standard and have questions about what that means," Susan Forman, senior vice president and head of marketing for Schwab Advisor Services, said. "As the largest custodian, we believe it is our responsibility to educate investors about the fiduciary model and the benefits independent advisors provide." The Independent Difference campaign represents the biggest marketing investment Schwab has made to date on behalf of advisors, according to spokesperson Rob Farmer, who declined to disclose the campaign's budget. In addition to television, the ads will appear in print and across online properties.