Schwab Says Farewell to Retiring CEO Walt Bettinger
Charles Scwhab’s next chief executive Rick Wurster looks to continue the legacy of current CEO Walt Bettinger.

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New man, same game plan.
Charles Schwab announced this week that longtime CEO Walt Bettinger will retire at the end of this year and continue to serve as executive co-chairman of the board —alongside the company’s namesake. Rick Wurster will take up the helm of chief executive, while also maintaining his current position as president and joining the board. Leadership may be shifting, but Schwab says its business as usual.
“Under Rick’s leadership, our focus will continue to be on doing what’s right for our clients,” a Schwab spokesperson said in an email. “We will continue to grow by doing even more to help our current clients with their financial life — with lending, banking, wealth, self-directed investing, and trading.”
The Game Plan
Over Bettinger’s 16 years in the role, Schwab evolved from a discount broker to a leading financial firm with almost $9.75 trillion in assets under management. With Wurster in charge, Schwab will look to bolster its base of high-net-worth clients and invest in AI to improve workplace efficiency, a spokesperson said.
“In addition to being incredibly bright, Rick possesses a balance of intellectual honesty and curiosity, combined with high personal integrity and character,” Bettinger said in a press release. However, Schwab’s earnings hit a wall this year due in large part to high interest rates:
- In Q2, revenues increased just 1% year-over-year, and bank deposits fell 17%. In order to protect profits, Schwab will rely more on off-balance sheet arrangements with partners like TD Bank to house customers’ deposits, Bettinger said on a conference call in July.
- Schwab’s share price is currently down more than 8% year-to-date. Meanwhile competitors such as Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Interactive Brokers have seen their stocks increase 10.6%, 26%, and 71%, respectively, this year.
What Great Recession? Bettinger stepped into the role in late 2008 and oversaw a strategy that increased the firm’s market cap from about $18 billion when he took over to $119 billion at the end of August. The company’s share price also increased by 400%.
He also led Schwab’s $26 billion acquisition of Ameritrade in 2020 — the largest brokerage acquisition in history — which added millions of new clients to its platform.