Schwab CEO Walt Bettinger to step down

A seismic change is happening at Schwab as the brokerage giant's longtime CEO reveals his plans to step down.

Schwab announced Tuesday morning that Walt Bettinger, its chief executive officer, plans to retire from the role by the end of the year.

Bettinger, who has served as CEO since 2008, will step down effective December 31, and will be succeeded by Rick Wurster, the company's current president who has held the role since 2021, when the firm oversay roughly $7.8 trillion in client assets. Wurster will take on the expanded role of president and CEO on January 1, 2025 and join Schwab's board of directors, while Bettinger will go on to serve as executive co-chairman alongside founder Charles Schwab.

During Bettinger’s 16-year tenure, Schwab experienced significant growth, with client assets skyrocketing from $1.14 trillion to $9.74 trillion as of August 2024. The company also saw its client accounts grow from 9.3 million to more than 43 million today, an impressive growth record helped along by its 2020 acquisition of TD Ameritrade. 

Under his leadership, Schwab’s market capitalization exploded to reach $119 billion, a far cry from the $18 billion it started with. The company's stock price has gone down 5.8 percent for the year, however, as challenges from falling bank deposits and declines in its investment portfolio posed headwinds to revenue and profits. Beyond that, the company's easy-money formula of profiting from client cash has been short-circuited, forcing it to focus more on other services such as loans and financial advice.

“Serving the clients, employees and stockholders of Schwab as CEO for the past 16 years has been the honor and privilege of my more than 40-year business career,” Bettinger said in a statement Tuesday morning.

He emphasized that Schwab’s succession planning ensures a smooth transition, citing the close working relationship he and Wurster have cultivated.

“Rick Wurster and I have worked together on a daily basis for more than eight years," he said. "I have complete confidence in his leadership.”

Charles Schwab, the firm's namesake founder lauded Bettinger’s leadership, pointing to the company’s unprecedented growth during his time as CEO.

“Walt has earned the right to determine the timing of his retirement, and I am delighted that he will continue to serve as executive co-chairman of the board of directors,” Schwab said as he expressed confidence in Wurster’s ability to lead the company into the future.

"He possesses all the attributes to be a successful CEO, and he has the full confidence and support of myself and the Board," he added, highlighting the importance of "[ensuring] continuity for our clients, employees, and stockholders.”

Wurster, who joined Schwab in 2016 and has been president since 2021, expressed his gratitude for the opportunity, stating, “I am honored to succeed Walt as Schwab’s CEO. He has led Schwab to record results over the last 16 years.”

Earlier this year, Schwab saw another major change in its leadership as it revealed Bernie Clark, head of advisor services, would step down on June 28. The industry veteran had worked as a leading force at the firm for 25 years, playing an instrumentarl role in developing the firms advisor business over most of the last 15 years he served at the company.

Clark was succeeded by Jon Beatty, COO of advisor services, while managing director Tom Bradley, who joined Schwab as part of its Ameritrade acquisition, was promoted to become the unit's chief client officer.