Skip Schweiss latest exec to depart TD Ameritrade

TD Ameritrade executive Skip Schweiss became the latest to jump ship ahead of the pending $26 billion acquisition of the custodian by Charles Schwab Corp.

Schweiss, 57, whose departure follows that of Dani Fava just two weeks ago, announced his exit on Twitter.

An avid adventurer and mountain climber, the Colorado-based TD veteran of 12 years is leaving to pursue other interests, according to a company representative.

Schweiss, formerly the president of TD Ameritrade Trust Cos., is on deck to become the next president of the Financial Planning Association.

He could not immediately be reached for comment.

While it’s not yet clear where he will work next, Schweiss' departure from TD could put to rest worries about conflicts of interest related to his role as incoming FPA president while working at TD.

“The potential for conflicts of interest was raised months ago,” he said in October. “When I was considering throwing my hat into the ring for the FPA leadership, I went to TD and talked about some potential conflicts, and we made sure we had a plan and that everyone was comfortable with it.”

A month later, Schwab announced its plans to acquire TD.

FPA spokesman Ben Lewis said Schweiss’ departure from TD “has no impact on Skip's volunteer leadership role as the 2021 President of FPA.”

However, Michael Kitces, head of wealth strategy at Buckingham Partners, said “Schweiss’ shift is a bit more awkward” than Fava’s because of his status as income FPA president.

“Wherever he goes next they will be picking up not only a talented executive, but also someone in a position of great influence to the largest membership association, just as it searches for a new CEO and positions itself for what may become a blockbuster year of fiduciary rulemaking in 2021 when Schweiss becomes president,” Kitces said. “Which raises the question of whether his next role will be with a firm that is better aligned to Schweiss’ FPA role than TD Ameritrade was, which had actively advocated against FPA’s own advocacy efforts in the past.”