Schwab Unit Starts SMA Platform for Advisers

A subsidiary of Charles Schwab has introduced a managed account platform for independent advisers.

Schwab Institutional, which supplies custodial, operational, and trading support to independent advisers, said it started its Managed Account Access product, a bundled managed account platform that gives advisers access to industry-leading institutional money managers at low minimums and with streamlined account administration.

Managed Account Access lets advisers tap popular managers without having to negotiate separate contracts, fees or minimum account sizes. Prenegotiated account minimums are $100,000 for most equity strategies and $250,000 for fixed-income, and fees start at 1%.

The platform is being started with 22 strategies, including five from Schwab's U.S. Trust unit. Services include manager research and an open-architecture array of money managers. Schwab is in talks with investment managers to join the platform by year-end.

Schwab's managed account platform is the sixth-largest in the industry overall, according to Cerulli Associates, with more than $18 billion of assets. The platform has grown 25% in the last year, including the addition of $1.7 billion of assets in the first half of this year.

Schwab Institutional had $365 billion of assets under custody at June 30, up 18% from the year earlier.