Here you can review a collection of Charles Schwab reviews from fellow Dogs of the Dow investors regarding Charles Schwab. For our list of the best low commission online brokers, take a look at our exclusive list of Top Dog Brokers. And, as always, if you have experience with a deep discount broker, simply fill out our Top Dog Brokers Comment Form and let us all know what you think.
Geordy Rostad says
Pros: Excellent 24/7 customer service. Low trade fees. Large list of mutual funds with extremely low management fees, no trade fees, and minimum buy-in of $1. Excellent research tools and charts including multi-year dividend payout charts showing whether dividends are going up or down from year to year.
Cons: Hard to track performance of a dividend portfolio. They really need to have a view where you can see what your average income per month, quarter, or year would be. They sort of have this on their monthly statements but they need to pull this functionality into their user interface.
Frank J Lanak says
Available personal contact here in US that speak English, great website, trades executed flawlessly, Terrific research tools. No Cons.
Elaine says
Pros: customer service, reporting, trades under limits, low fees, ease of use. Cons: ratings of stocks.
Dianne says
Pros: website easy to use; plenty of online research and education available; user friendly; accessibility; low fees. Cons: none that I can think of.
Harold Bulger says
Lack of current stock knowledge. They are more for allocation and holding your hand than stock expertise.
Lara Rogelio says
Great research and exposure management systems and free reports. Trading Price is higher than competitors.
Kelly says
Online tools are easy to use, research is very good and human tech support is great.
John Alt says
Low fees, also have offices with friendly helpful people, easy to transfer money to their bank to pay bills, ATM card that can be used to get cash at any ATM in the world free, great information for picking and monitoring plus many more.
John Mackey says
User friendly trading platform. Instant response to contact a broker.
Brian says
Schwab Advisors are VERY territorial. I manage my Mom’s accts & mine, but we live more than 500 miles apart & I cannot get “released” from her advisor.
Rich Rainey says
Overall a great online broker with excellent ETF selections. But would like more sector choices – finance, material, miners retail, etc.
CeCe says
Good research. Clear easy navigation. Wish it would not be changed. Schwab could be less costly, more competitive with charges per trade. Could improve on quality of brokers (advisers) offered at independent branches to customers especially those bringing in investments of $500,000 plus.
Keith Storey says
Great software, reasonable cost, advisor if required, lots of perks on their website, stock choosing assisted with numerous charts and comparison data, stocks rated from A-D, strong financially.
Paul says
Good info. Ability to move my money as I want. Tracks my positions from inception. Always has been good to work with.
John says
Pro – very user friendly charting program. Con – no mobile version of charting program.
Davis says
Not the most cost efficient, but their customer service has been excellent for me.
Criss says
Pros: Research, no broker commissions (salaried), reasonable fees, suburb range of offerings, easy site navigation, can’t beat customer service.
Mike says
Pro: help if needed. Con: not many – would always like lower fees (especially to trade low yield speculations)
John Brooks says
I use both Schwab and Vanguard but mostly Schwab because they have a local office and I have a relationship with an account advisor that does a pretty good job.
Reagan says
Every time I call with a question I always get a great answer and never hang up not knowing, whatever the call is about.
Richard Lindholm says
Clumsy account summary data on gain/loss for individual equities in my accounts. Gain/loss is not displayed clearly “to date” for individual stocks – must be calculated by investor.
Paul Witzgall says
Schwab is a reat website for trading. Con: Would be the amount of menus and time to get a broker on the line.
Jeffrey Soderstrom says
Pro: easy to navigate. Con: not enough search tools.
James says
Excellent Customer Service and research information a big plus.
Berry says
Pros: research availability, ease and cost of trades, educational offerings.
Richard says
Solid investing research and suite. Trading fees could be addressed a bit.
Richard Lindholm says
No line by line comparision of cost vs. current value, and gain/loss. Need to slog through pages to get to results for individual stocks.
John says
No sample portfolios for various levels of risk. Low on in-person seminars. They appear to take long-term clients for granted.
Sharon Rall says
Always available, Readily answer questions. Fees fair. Wonderful research opportunities.
Blaine Olney says
Fees are reasonable, website is reasonably easy to use. Customer service has been great.
Ron says
Great 24/7 phone service, even on holidays. Local offices in most areas. Good selection of low cost ETFs and mutuals. Very good research. Lots of nooks and crannies in the web site — not always intuitive. Commissions in line with others. Wish they charged less for non-preferred mutual funds.
Janet Grischy says
Cheap and easy to use with great stock ratings and stock search.
David Zimmerman says
A quality broker made for the self directed investor. Everything is above board.
BJ says
Pros- Very responsive, rates and other terms negotiable, education facilities very good, twice/wk webcast “Charting the Mkts”, Street Smart Edge trading platform.Cons-?
Kenneth Strickland says
Overall good with, fees, range of offerings, research.
Harold Short says
User friendly; flexible and as helpful as I may want and more so at any given time.
Richard F Andree says
Great platform. Easy to do research. User friendly, great customer service. My broker for over 40 yrs.
Max says
Been with them 25 years! Service is great and knowledgeable.
Robert Orchard says
Pro – easy to do trades and move money electonicly. Con – they change and try to update their website and usually make it worse.
Nalin Patel says
Low commision. No one bothers me. Good research dept.
Jeffrey Soderstrom says
The ease of getting info and making trades. Also calling a person if needed.
Cons, not the best charting when looking for investments when selecting characteristics of company’s.
Stephen Lajoie says
Generally was pleased with Charles Schwab until I tried to place an order for Intel (INTC) which is a small dog, and their system balked and said I didn’t have enough cleared funds; but I had more than enough. Schwab said that “some stocks have certain restrictions that may prevent an individual from placing a trade.” A publicly traded company which you can’t trade publicly? This reason not only sounds specious, it conflicts with their computers “cleared funds” message.
George says
Friendly service and never push into stocks.
Yanes says
Easy access, has technical info on stocks, and web and mobile are easyto use. I have been very satisfied with there customer service when I have had to contact them, A+ on that.
Patrick Tracy says
Good office locations. Poor CD choices.
Jim says
I use Charles Schwab, they broke the ice on discounting, but now they have become the large brokage they used to beat. Thier commissions structure today can now be compared to the large full service brokerages of the 80 and 90’s. I plan on shifting soon, but have to admit loyalty to the many commisions I used to pay and Schwab’s service and research has been very good. I think when I can find a better brokerage for option trades and overall sccount service on my families many accounts I will switch. Most of the discount brokers are not structured to be all things to each trader. Most discounts are good at their focus business, some trade off services for lower commissions but I would be logging on to several different sites to trade different accounts between stocks, options, funds and futures to really benefit from most of the best commissions ofered by present discounters.
JR Willard says
Schwab is quick and easy. Their research and ratings seam to be reliable.
Lara says
Pros: Excelent tools for planning investments and research. Cons: Commossion fees higher than competition is not an incentive to trade more frequently.
Bill Fox says
No cons — reasonabel price fast execution.
Lynn Mosher says
Schwab’s customer service is excellent. They have fixed cash transfer mistakes made by other banks by just calling me and checking on how I wanted it handled. All reps have been well-spoken and really helpful.
Carl Wilkey says
Excellent web site and excellent data provided in my searches.
Bill Green Brook says
Pors: Excellent customer service and great trading software. Cons: Lacking research of certain stocks that do not meet their accounting criteria ex. KMI.
Miguel says
Pros: page easy to navigate with research tolos, options trading and good reporting. Cons: slow end of week updates of realized p&l.
Keith Storey says
Long term user of Schwab — have 9 accounts there. Pros: good back up, easily accessiable, good format, resonably priced, good research section too.
Michael Sagalow says
Pros: Reliable. Cons: Platform slow because it has to many bells & whistles.
Robert Poncin says
Excellent customer service and support as well as varied financial, research, and trading capabilities.
James Sturgeon says
Pros: Good research, local branch, ease of online software, low commissions, educational resources. Cons: Limited access to some international exchanges.
Walter Wilson says
No problems, easy to use website and mobile access. Great research tools. Commissions are fairly priced at $8.95 per stock trade.
Jim says
Good Research, good execution and reasonable fees.
David says
Local office very helpful and good, no cost, in office and online education and support.
‘Edge’ trading software a bit difficult to navigate.
Joe says
Fees are reasonable and appropriate, offerings are wide ranging and offer a lot of depth from a number of sources. Customer service is exceptional.
Michael Wong says
Website is easy to use and has useful information. I can quickly tell if my portfolio is up or down.
Ed Rudy says
Excellent research, service and prices.
Patrick Tracy says
Pro is good online service. Con is poor broker advice.
Bill says
Good website, research data, good account control, ease of use.
Michael Kendall says
Good, helpful, people.
Tamilla Simpson says
Overall, they are a great company. I think their commissions could come down a little more, but their service and their website are superior.
Tim Reynolds says
No real assurance of the financial manager’s experience and performance. Extremely easy to trade on Schwab.com.
Leonard Krebs says
Fast trades, low commissions, fast informtion.
Scott Miller says
Great customer service.
Barry Leon says
Like the fact that it has a bank and can do international transfers.
Roiz Valentin says
Some good suggestions. Very little advice what to do, when stock plunges.
Art Swenson says
Schwab does an excellent job. They provide unbiased research sources and 24/7 access to a live person who can resolve problems when I screw something up.
Robert Valois says
Pro: Ease of transactions. Con: Insufficient information in/on account accessible data.
Charles says
New website is sluggish. Lots of research and reports, pretty cheap trades.
Jack Manon says
Schwab lets me manage my own accounts while giving good advise at no fee.
Edwad Bailey says
All pros no cons.
B. Schwach says
Pros: Great responsiveness (customer service), low commissions, willingness to negotiate fees, commissions, etc, on-going software updates, education offerings (in person, online, webinars, etc). Cons: some online views of holdings (Fidelity’s website portfolio views are somewhat better with immediate info on one screen).
Rich Rainey says
Inconvenience of depositing money. Slow crediting buy-sell deposits.
Allen Kanovsky says
Pros – fast efficient trades and a knowledgeable staff.
Thurman Geddie says
Commission reasonable, easy to access & trade.
Tracy says
Pros: cost; research; a person is available to talk to. Cons: when they give advice it is for their products only; I understand that and they all do it, but it always makes me suspicious.
Dan Antonelli says
Easily contacted – many offices – always do as I ask.
Kack Hamilton says
Easy to use. Good research , fees higher than some but not much.
J. Kirby says
Ability to measure investment proformance is poor!
Harvey Beeferman says
Outstanding website, great customer service.
Tom Brown says
Excellent research facilities, commissions reasonable, customer service good.
Ray Bowen says
Easy to use web site and good investment info.
Peter Barrett says
I’ve been with Schwab quite a few years. They’re not the cheaspest but their integrity is #1! That’s very important to me.
Michael Petschel says
Pro – wide range of support systems. Con – a little pricey.
Betty Fleming says
Charles Schwab brokerage services are excellent. Their website is excellent in all respects. But Premium banking offers practically no interest, discouraging their clients from keeping their funds there, which seems very shortsighted to me. I would very much like to see them offer the same interest as other Premier Online Banks and can’t
understand why they do not.
Robert Yacknowitz says
Pro: low fees. Con: not as much advice.
Jay Whit says
Pros: Streetsmart edge, modest fees, good support, good customer service.
Jim Agnole says
Pros: Fair pricing. Education on various subjects. Online and live events.
Paul Jaromscak says
Pro: Easy to use, responsive, inexpensive. Cons: Research is mediocre.
Milton Wetzel says
Very helpful, client savvy and resourceful.
Carter E. Anthony says
Ease of trading; low commissions; good service.
Hartle says
Quick action on buy/sell, fees are a little higher than others, by like a dollar.
Kandis Pettis says
Fees are in line with other online brokers. Active help line, fabulous customer service, and multiple live classes. Website is basically user friendly, but could use a little update. Mobile site not nearly as user friendly or informative as the computer site.
Linda Simpson says
Always helpful when I called them.
Mukesh says
Low commission, quick order by Internet; more diversification and asset allocation, software and access to online research.
Jack Manon says
One will find a lower cost discount broker but won’t find better all around service. Great website with volumes of research materials, knowledgeable 24/7/365 customer service people who do follow up every detail. I’ve tried the big boys and the cheap ones too, Schwab is the better than them all plus a great value.
Clark Knopik says
Pros = customer service
John Hufnagel says
Easy to use website.
Carol Pace says
Pro: Tools and wizards that provide ideas for investing. Easy to use for stocks. Con: On-line not easy to use for options trading.
Robert Boyd says
Excellent fees, service and support.
Steve says
I rarely call my broker. but when I do I get professional, and courteous help.
Viraj Pandit says
Cost can be $5 or lower per trade. Great customer service though. Great free ETF selection. Not so great index fund selection.
Gerald Vangsgard says
Great savings on comissions. No advice.
Ann Phy says
They are helpful, return calls promptly and provide info requested. I know the people personally and it is a good relationship.
Matthew Lau says
Low trading fees, reliable, good service.
Ann Phy says
Convenient, reasonable and I know and trust the people I deal with.
Carter Anthony says
Easy online access. Great customer service. Low commissions.
Harold says
Supplies me with any information I need to make an educated guess whether to buy or sell.
Winston says
Allows reinvestment of dividends. Good website. OK fees.
Thomas Robitaille says
Outstanding service and advice. Always answers the phone when I call.
Sam Warr says
Wish fees were a little lower.
Jay Stillman says
I don’t like the interface for trading derivatives.
Jack Manon says
Great website with volumes of research available. Helpful, pleasant and patient customer service.
Thomas Phillips says
Great Website. Poor customer service.
Barbara Bettes says
Schwab has the best customer service I’ve ever experienced anywhere. Also has extensive research ‘materials.’ Trades are $8.95 which is reasonable given how rich and deep their offerings are. Website easy to use.
Chas Beam says
Fees nominal and fair. Offerings are outstanding.
Ziggy Attias says
Not enough research material. A good stock screener needed.
Ron Englert says
Pros: customer service, range of offerings Cons: fees for options and trades, won’t let me go past level 1 for option trading in my IRA
Richard Gleason says
My broker is a kid with no expericance but I do not realy use him much.
Irving Barrack says
Good service.
Larry Johnson says
Ease of use, online tools, low cost per trade.
Koko Niemi says
Great website, great service.
Tim Reynolds says
Cons: Not staffed with best people. Pros: Ease of use and accuracy of trades.
Robert Bell says
Competent, helpful, and I can speak with a human being. No cons that I can see.
Bob Rodgers says
I use Schwab. I can do and get all the info on my acct that I want. Schwab does not advise me regarding investments but commissions, website useability and customer service is great.
James Tsang says
A little bit expensive.
David Segrest says
Low price, great webpage, seminars.
George Osborne says
Fair price. Good information, good research available. Solid company. I have been a client over 25 years. Tried others – not as good.
Stan Hunter says
Commissions on trade are reasonable and disclosed along with any other fees.
Hung Le says
More tools to research and quick to respond for help. Cares about the clients.
George Osborne says
I believe Schwab is fair, honest, and solid enough to trust.
Koko says
Reasonable trading fees, great website with opportunity for research, excellent customer service.
Carter E. Anthony says
Ease of online trading. Multiple products. Multiple research offerings. Very good desk help in the local office.
Mario says
Pro: foremost is convenience.
Gerald Dinsmore says
Pros: low cost. Cons: not a real time ticker.
Jack Hamilton says
Good research tools, good reporting, good year-end report. The per stock trade cost is a little higher than some of the others.
Zane says
Good customer service.
Jack Mayer says
Good Service.
Steve Jaworski says
Their commissions have become more competitive over the years but their fees are still not the best.
Davidson says
Schwab is an OK bank if you want to have a savings or checking account, but don’t waste your money on becoming a “Private Client”. They provide weak advise and demonstrate lack of accountability. Be warned – stay away from their paid services.
Glen Heinsohn says
I am new to investing and have bought stock and mutual funds through Schwab. I find them as delightfully polite and helpful. My only complaint was they did not cover two mutual funds I wanted but the second choices that they did have, worked out about the same. All 4 funds are not Schwab but Janus ,Pimco and TCW the two stock funds are Janus the bond funds are Pimco and TCW. So overall thus far have been helpful with no SNAFU’s.
Walter Uncle says
I have over 20 years investment experience. Over the last 3 years I have traded with TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab, E-trade and Scotttrade. Also, I have extensive experience with brokerage firms such as Morgan Stanley, UBS Painewebber, Solomon Smith and Barney, Brown Brothers Harriman and Citigold. I do not believe there are regulations in place to protect retirement plans, IRA’s or general savings. I believe “Wall Street” (a term used to describe the financial sector here and around the world) has become incredibly dishonest and unlawful. The SEC and FINRA are failing as such should be replaced by new agencies. My experience with online trading is the tail of two cities I have had great success with E-trade. Scotttrade also appears to perform well, however I do need more time to properly evaluate this company. As far as TD Ameritrade, you have no control over your account; I have had good trades backed out and I have not been able to execute certain trades. Their front page (Balance and Positions) is the weirdest thing I have ever used. They have a special rule that stymies the trader’s ability to navigate their investment and they refuse to fix their problems. E-trade gives you your gain and losses immediately. TD Ameritrade porn’s this data to a third party who TD disclaims they are not responsible for their data you receive. They are making incredible profits and myself and others feel their staff is ether demoralized or in denial. Schwab is worse than TD Ameritrade. This is my experience, I am not endorsing any trading house, however, please be careful with all online brokers.
Alexander Von says
The very best, absolutely the best, they treat me like a king, platinum service every time, this is a copany that will be around for a long time. If they make a mistake they undo it and make it right, everyone is a VIP at Schwab and after my horrendous time at TD ameritrade I now am back where I belong, thank-you Chuck!!!
Tomislav Martinovic says
F*** Chuck! When they decided to screw the little guy, whom they had always promised “No Fees!”, people like me paid to close accounts before having very big fees added. Now I am happily with Scottrade, have seen a zero added to my account and am laughing at Schwab. I only make a few trades a day since time Schwab ripped me off. They will never have another penny of my money. They are lying to you.
David Gillespie says
I am delighted with Schwab’s comprehensiveness and ease of use. Schwab’s rating of stocks is a helpful point of departure, and reseach information is easily accessible. Telephone assistance when needed is competent and courteous.
David Gillespie says
Excellent low cost service, useful research, easy to negotiate website.
Judith Hauser says
Schwab has made two serious errors. 1st on my Roth IRA they posted my 2003 contribution to 2004. 2nd on my joint (non IRA account, when Suntrust bought NCF they gave me cash instead of stock which I had requested by returning the appropriate form by return mail. Because of these 2 errors I am moving my accounts.
Joellen Davis says
Very helpful. Very responsible with my money. Reasonable access to information based on my moderate investment portfolio. I like the fact that Schwab is back at the helm. I use their internet banking services. They do not make mistakes. Trades are handled efficiently.