Morning with Bernie & Schwab finally rolls out an iPhone application for advisers

Bernie Clark stopped by the office this morning for a visit. He mostly came to discuss the…

Bernie Clark stopped by the office this morning for a visit.
He mostly came to discuss the “Women and Financial Independence Study” that Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. underwrote and announced today.
I guess it slipped his mind to mention that Schwab Advisor Services was going to announce availability of its first iPhone application for advisers later today (we did briefly discuss when the iPad application was going to be out, though no specifics emerged on that front other than reiterating it would be available by the end of the year).

UPDATE: I was snarky and mean above. I apologize. It turns out that Schwab has to wait like everyone else when it comes to Apple Inc. Due to the vagaries of Apple’s application approval (is that something more than alliteration?) process no one at Schwab, including Bernie, knew when or whether their application for advisers would make it onto the virtual shelves of the App Store. Then voilá, low and behold it was there and they shot out their press release at 3.

At any rate, word came out on the iPhone app in the form of a prepared statement at a little after 1500 hours (3 pm Eastern).
It is available today to independent investment advisers that custody assets with Schwab Advisor Services.
With it users can view client account balances delivered real-time from Schwab Advisor Center, including client positions and transactions.

Well all righty then.
The statement went on to say that additional enhancements and features will be made/added based on client feedback.

Now back to our morning chat with Bernie Clark.
This was the first time I have had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Clark (I have met with Neesha Hathi many times {for those non-Schwab advisers she is his right-hand person on the tech front}).
That said, I asked him if he would elaborate on a few things I am frequently asked about by the many Schwab advisers I count on as readers, contacts, confidantes and sources.
First, I asked him what he would say to those advisers that are part of the Schwab Advisor Network that feel threatened at times by the network of Schwab branches and the new franchising system.
“We really don’t differentiate between the SAN firms and the many quality smaller [registered investment advisory] firms we work with,” he said.
He went on to explain that firms that are a part of the SAN are in it due to their “uniqueness,” that they offer some specialty or other that Schwab investor clients have sought out. Because of those specializations and what the firms can offer higher networth clients Schwab relies on them for servicing affluent clients.
Around 200 firms make up the network and with it Schwab does not compete he said.
Servicing of the mass affluent market is another matter though.
“If you are serving the mass affluent market you compete with Schwab and Schwab competes with you,” Mr. Clark added, a bit farther into the discussion.
He explained that among the 300-plus Schwab retail branches that now exist six are currently franchise operations and that by year’s end there will be between 12 and 16.

Far from being viewed as competition the firms making up the adviser network really are Schwab’s only “affluent offering” for its investor clients — in other words they remain the go-to entity for affluent customers in need of holistic advisory services.
I next asked Mr. Clark how he would respond to those adviser readers of mine — as well as the many third-party technology vendors I am continually in touch with — who have lamented what they perceive to be the slow pace of integration work and development among the myriad Schwab Intelligent Integration offerings.
“You have to keep in mind that these are not open-ended API integrations,” he said, explaining that the work is being done in house or through relationships with consultants and, most importantly, Schwab and only Schwab would be responsible for them working.
“Schwab Intelligent Integration has been the majority of our technology spend and we have spent tens of millions on this and have invested for the long haul,” said Mr. Clark, referring to the outlay Schwab Advisory Services has made in terms of its investment in SII development.

Visit the Apple App Store page of the Schwab Advisor Center Mobile application where you find additional screenshots and more information.