Charles Schwab CEO Walt Bettinger will retire from his position at the end of December after 16 years leading the brokerage, the company announced Tuesday.
Bettinger will be replaced on January 1, 2025 by Charles Schwab President Rick Wurster. Bettinger will remain co-chairman of Schwab's board of directors.
Charles Schwab, 5 years
In a statement, Pettinger cited his 65th birthday next year as a reason to step down and praised Worster's choice.
“The Schwab Board of Directors’ thoughtful and disciplined approach to succession planning helps make this a smooth transition. Rick Wurster and I have worked together on a daily basis for more than eight years. I have complete confidence in his leadership, and I am pleased that the Schwab Board of Directors I chose him as my successor.
In an interview on CNBC's “Squawk Box,” Wurster noted that there would be no immediate change in strategy with the CEO handover.
“I don’t think there will be a transition in the sense that we will continue what we have been doing, which is providing services to our customers and making them happy,” Wurster said.
Since Bettinger took over in 2008, the firm's client assets have grown to $9.74 trillion from $1.14 trillion, and client brokerage accounts have grown to more than 43 million from less than 10 million. This growth is due in part to Schwab's acquisition of TD Ameritrade, which closed in 2020.
Bettinger said on “Squawk Box” that the Ameritrade integration was completed earlier this year and was another reason he believed it was the right time to step down from the CEO role.
Schwab stock rose nearly 150% during Bettinger's tenure, which began in the middle of the financial crisis, but has underperformed the broader market over the past two years.
“I often say that there aren't many CEOs who cut their company's stock price in half in the first 90 days, but that's largely what happened during the financial crisis,” Bettinger said on “Squawk Box.”
Schwab shares were down about 1% in morning trading Tuesday.
