Charles Schwab Corp. said net new assets brought to the company by new and existing clients in November totaled $6.0 billion, but declines in the rate environment coupled with slowing client trading volumes are expected to hurt fourth quarter earnings.

The San Francisco company announcement Monday was part of its market activity report for November, which said that total client assets rose 26% from a year earlier and 4% from a month earlier to $1.397 trillion as of Nov. 30.

Client daily average trades fell 27% from a year earlier and 11% from a month earlier to 297,100 as of Nov. 30.

 “Our client metrics remain strong and our business continues to grow,” Joe Martinetto, Schwab’s chief financial officer. “Thus far in the fourth quarter, clients have brought us $15 billion in net new assets and opened 122,000 new brokerage accounts and 39,000 net new banking accounts, and total client assets reached $1.4 trillion by the end of November, up 26% from a year ago.”

Declines in the rate environment have pressured revenues during the fourth quarter. Martinetto said that management fee waivers on its proprietary money market mutual funds could increase by approximately $30 million over the third quarter total of $78 million. This is compounded by the fact that client trading volumes have slowed in recent weeks.

Schwab now expects its fourth quarter earnings per share will be $0.02 to $0.04 lower than its third quarter 2009 results.

But Martinetto remains optimistic: “With strong ongoing growth in our client base and continued signs of improvement in the economy and equity markets, we remain well positioned to generate increased revenues as soon as interest rates stabilize.”