Schwab Enlists Several OC Money Firms for Referrals
Seven Orange County money management firms have been tapped for a revised client-referral program of Charles Schwab Corp.
The Schwab Advisor Network started in April and is a revised version of Schwab AdvisorSource, which the San Francisco-based discount brokerage launched in 1996.
Under the program, Schwab steers clients to money managers for a flat payment and shares in fees collected by the firms.
OC firms in the program include: Irvine-based Iwamoto, Kong & Co., Newport Beach-based Spectrum Asset Management and The Keller Group Investment Management Inc. of Irvine.
There are 340 money managers in the program nationwide, down from around 400 in the prior version. Schwab spokesman Lance Berg said the company has set stricter performance standards. Others decided to drop out because the new program no longer served their purposes, he said.
Mark Iwamoto, money manager at Iwamoto, Kong & Co., said that his firm has received 10 clients and assets of around $10 million from the Schwab Advisor Network program.
In the new program, Schwab charges $10,000 annually and shares in the fees that money managers collect from clients referred by Schwab. In the prior program, money managers had to pay $8,000 annually. There was no fee-sharing agreement.
,Rajiv Vyas
