Management exits pick up in Charles Schwab's retail arm as the discount brokerage is cutting 600 jobs

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Management exits pick up in Charles Schwab's retail arm as the discount brokerage is cutting 600 jobs

charles schwab

REUTERS/Jim Young

Schwab plans to lay off around 600 staffers, or 3% of its current workforce.

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  • In July, as Business Insider first reported, two key execs left Schwab as part of an organizational restructuring. Business Insider has learned of more recent exits in Schwab's retail arm.
  • Chris Thom, an SVP in Charles Schwab's planning & portfolio group and president of the Schwab Private Client investment advice service, and Jennifer Fedora, an SVP who worked with the firm's retail leadership team, are out.
  • The departures come as the brokerage plans to slash some 600 jobs, or 3% of its workforce, citing a "more challenging" operating environment. Schwab is also set to close a $1.8 billion acquisition of USAA's brokerage business next year.
  • Visit BI Prime for more stories.

Charles Schwab is losing at least two senior vice presidents in its retail arm as the discount brokerage cuts costs and hundreds of jobs across levels, internal organizations, and locations.

Those departures fall under the umbrella of areas overseen by Jonathan Craig, a senior executive vice president at Schwab. Craig took over the individual client-focused investor services business as well as marketing responsibilities from Terri Kallsen and Andy Gill when the two exited in July as part of a reorganization.

Chris Thom, an SVP in Charles Schwab's planning & portfolio group and president of the Schwab Private Client investment advice service, has left, along with Jennifer Fedora, who worked with the company's retail leadership team as SVP of investor services field enablement, Business Insider has learned. Toby Roberts, a managing director focused on Schwab's retail mobile app, has also exited.

Thom and Fedora were based in Colorado, and Roberts was based in Chicago.

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On Tuesday, Business Insider reported that a prominent markets and sector analyst had also left Schwab in recent days.

Read more: Charles Schwab's retail head and marketing chief are out - and the firm's still figuring out what's next

Schwab plans to lay off around 600 staffers, or 3% of its current workforce, it said in a statement on Monday. Those job cuts were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Schwab's $1.8 billion acquisition of USAA's brokerage business is set to close next year, handing Schwab both brokerage and managed accounts. An August rate cut by the Federal Reserve is meanwhile piling pressure on Schwab, which rakes in a portion of its revenues from interest on client cash in sweep accounts.

A spokeswoman for Charles Schwab, Mayura Hooper, declined to comment on personnel matters. Multiple requests for comment to Thom and Roberts were not returned. Fedora declined to comment. The website RIABiz first reported Thom's exit.

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Schwab for decades has touted itself as a discount brokerage for the Main Street investor and also enjoyed an ascent as an established player in wealth management. The firm, based in San Francisco, oversaw some $3.7 trillion in client assets at the end of August. That's a 5% increase from the same time last year.

Read more: Charles Schwab is losing a prominent markets analyst as the discount broker gears up to cut 600 jobs

Executive departures

Business Insider first reported in July that Kallsen, Schwab's former retail head, and Gill, the former chief marketing officer, departed as part of a restructuring, with Craig assuming leadership of those responsibilities while a new structure was determined.

Thom, the head of Schwab Private Client, joined the company in 2012, according to industry records. Thom led five teams around the country, according to his LinkedIn profile, and had previously served at USAA in wealth management and financial planning.

Fedora, who was with the firm for a decade and rose from a managing director to an SVP of field enablement, was also heavily involved with Schwab's diversity and inclusion efforts. She led the firm's women's network, according to her LinkedIn profile.

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Roberts, the managing director focused on Schwab's mobile application, was involved with the retail client experience, according to his LinkedIn page. He was previously with Discover Financial Services in a similar role before joining Schwab in late 2015.

Read more: Brokerage Charles Schwab says to cut about 600 jobs

The company has meanwhile also dialed back overseas, with its Singapore office set to close at the end of this year, and its website is already informing investors of the change. Schwab's Australia office longer provided services as of Sept. 13.

The Singapore closure was first reported by Reuters and the news website finews.asia, and the Australian publication Financial Standard first reported the Australian closure. Half a dozen people were employed in the Singapore office, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed source.

Those offices were small in terms of Schwab's overall business, but the closures marked a quick retreat in places where Schwab had only been present for a few years. Kallsen had said on a call with investors in February that Schwab likely would not do much more oveseas expansion, citing regulatory burdens.

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You can contact this reporter at rungarino@businessinsider.com, or with secure communication methods available here.

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