Key information for the transition

Schwab | TD Ameritrade Transition

Updated July 21, 2023

Over Labor Day Weekend (Sept 1-5) your Purposeful Strategic Partners (PSP) accounts will be transitioned from TD Ameritrade to Charles Schwab. This page provides key information to keep you updated on the transition. The following information can be found on this page:

  1. Key Information & FAQ

  2. Your To-Do List

  3. Your ‘Safely Ignore’ List

  4. Transition Timeline

Key Information

The next big step is to login to advisorclient.com on or after July 31st so you can create your credentials within Schwab Alliance. If you can’t access your AdvisorClient account, please reach out to us.

FAQ

What’s Happening?

In 2020 Charles Schwab announced they would be acquiring TD Ameritrade. This meant a merger of the two platforms and subsequent onboarding of thousands of clients to Schwab. Since that announcement, the two companies have worked together to prepare for a final transition, which is scheduled to occur over the 2023 Labor Day Weekend.

Will this affect my costs in any way?

Your fees will not be impacted by this transition. Schwab and TD Ameritrade have already standardized their fee structure for trades and we specifically choose portfolio options to minimize trading fees on the platforms.

Could my advisor change?

Your advisor and the team that serves you will stay the same. Schwab does not have the power to change your advisor and does not employ anyone at Purposeful SP. Schwab and TD Ameritrade are both outside vendors we work with to protect client assets and custody accounts.

Will my accounts be affected?

Nothing within your TD Ameritrade accounts - amounts, fees, billing, etc. - will change with this transition. Schwab will move over everything within your account and match your account preferences so you don’t need to do anything. Your relationship with your advisor will not change, and we will be here to help answer any questions that you have during the process.

2 minutes of work For You

Your To-Do List

Prior to the conversion there are a few things that you will need to complete:

  1. Confirm you can login to your advisorclient.com account at TD Ameritrade.

  2. Create your new Schwab login credentials when you receive the notification in your advisorclient.com account on (or shortly after) July 31st.

  3. Choose paper delivery or e-delivery in Schwab Alliance.

  4. Let us know if you have any non-PSP third-party standing instructions we can facilitate updating with Schwab.

    • (If you don’t know what this means you don’t have to worry about it)

What we are handling

Your ‘Safe-to-Ignore’ List

If you’ve been reading about the merger and transition online, you may have seen advice to do certain things not included in the above “Your To-do List”. Some of the things we’ve seen advice around, but we are taking care of, include (but are not necessarily limited to):

  1. Completing any needed Schwab paperwork for account opening and transfer.

  2. Updating your tax withholding election standing instructions to meet Schwab’s system requirements.

  3. Updating your third-party instructions with Orion, Right Capital, and our system

  4. Ensuring Schwab has stable data prior to the transition.

  5. Auditing accounts after the transition to ensure account assets and information transferred correctly.

  6. Choosing Schwab’s cash account option for the cash portion of your portfolio (generally less than 1%).

  7. Sitting on hold with Schwab if anything goes wrong (hopefully we don’t have to do this either).

Timeline of Key Events

Transition Preparation

  • July 31 - Create Schwab Alliance login

    • A notification will appear in your advisorclient.com account for you to create login credentials within Schwab Alliance.

  • August 5(ish) - Receive Key Information Packet

    • A "Key Information Packet" will be mailed to you on August 5th from Schwab for each account you hold. This packet will include your new account number at Schwab for each of your accounts along with other key information. (Ahhh! I see what they did there!)

  • August 18 - Last Day to Open Accounts

    • August 18th is the last day to open a new account until September 5th. This doesn’t really impact most clients, but if you are thinking about opening a new account we either want to start the process now or wait until September.

Account Transition

  • August 28 - Transition Begins

    • Data will start to move from TD Ameritrade to Schwab.

    • We will pause trading to give Schwab stable data for the transition.

    • You will still have full access to your funds. Trades for distributions and withdrawals will still occur during this window

  • September 1 - Conversion Begins

    • Accounts will begin being retitled from TDA to Schwab.

    • You will not be able to access either platform until September 5.

  • September 5 - Accounts Available at Schwab

    • Conversion will be completed and your accounts will appear in Schwab Alliance.

    • An "Account Verification Letter" will be sent to you via email or mail (depending on which you choose within your account preferences) from Schwab.

Transition Finalization

  • September 6 - PSP Begins Auditing

    • We will begin our audit process of your accounts to ensure no errors happened in the transition.

  • Mid-September - Accounts Show in Right Capital

    • Once our audit is successfully completed for all clients, we’ll begin connecting your Schwab accounts in Right Capital.

 

If you have any questions during the transition, please reach out to us! We want to make this as smooth a process as possible for you.