NextGen next target for Schwab

Schwab Advisor Services on Wednesday announced several new initiatives aimed at developing the next generation of advisers. In a speech to attendees at the Schwab Impact conference Wednesday morning, Bernie Clark, head of the firm's custody unit, said Schwab will be introducing a new executive education program for future leaders, as well as an intern program for new hires. The executive learning program for rising talent is envisioned as an “e-learning community to teach the realities of running a firm, sourcing, hiring, developing and maintaining talent, and a host of other leadership responsibilities,” Schwab said in a statement. The program will be delivered in 2014. And sometime next year, Schwab will launch “an internship program to help you bring in your next hires,” Mr. Clark told advisers. Schwab will provide interns with “experience on critical systems and education about the industry, profession and end-investor needs. Participating interns will then be available for hire by RIA firms on the Schwab platform,” the company said. It wasn't immediately clear where the intern program would be based. Schwab already gives financial support to several university financial-planning programs. Mr. Clark also promised a new national advertising campaign for the “RIA Stands for You” consumer awareness campaign, launched a year ago to promote the benefits of working with independent RIAs. The company has added investor videos to the campaign's website, and Mr. Clark showed a message now on the site from founder Charles Schwab urging investors to evaluate if using an independent adviser “can be a right fit for you.” Mr. Clark added that next year the site will have an adviser search function. He showed a zip-code search box investors will be able to use to find nearby Schwab advisers. About 4,000 attendees are at the Impact conference in Chicago this year, half of them advisers. Schwab custodies $762 billion in assets for nearly 7,000 advisers.