As many of you know, TD Ameritrade was purchased by Charles Schwab in Q3 2020. We think that Charles Schwab is a great company and we look forward to migrating to their platform in the coming months.

The two companies have been working behind the scenes to integrate their two platforms for the past 2 years. In the next 12 months, the migration will be complete with an expected client migration date to happen sometime in Q3 2023 (about a year away!). We are told the migration will happen over a weekend (ie on Friday you will have TD accounts and on Monday you’ll have Schwab accounts). Your investments will remain unchanged, but your monthly statement, client web portal, and other elements will change to the Schwab platform. Below are a few of the changes we’ve seen that require some action on your part (if applicable):

  1. Client web portal: Some of you don’t have a valid web login to TD’s advisor site (www.advisorclient.com). To ensure that you will be migrated over to the Schwab site, clients need to set up a website login (if they haven’t created one in the past). If clients do not set up a website login, they will default back to receiving all communication (monthly statements, trade confirmations, etc.) via paper statements in the mail. We have notified the clients that are impacted by this and TD has also reached out to affected clients.
  2. Advisor Authorized Distributions from IRA accounts: Many of you have given our firm authorization to make IRA distributions on your behalf. By having this authorization on file, you can call us up on the phone and we’ll send you money however you’d like (via ACH, mail, or wire). In the coming weeks, TD will be converting these IRA distribution authorizations to be compatible with Schwab. For those clients with authorizations on their file, we’ll still be able to process distributions on your behalf; however, we won’t be able to deviate from the previous payment method (ie check, ACH, wire) that you’ve selected. TD will be mailing you this notification in the coming weeks.
  3. Roth Solo 401(k) accounts. TD is changing their menu of available accounts to align with Schwab’s platform. Clients with Roth Solo 401k accounts will have to make a decision on those accounts (there are a few options) by the end 2022. We’ve notified and been in contact with the affected clients.

In a nutshell, integrating two massive companies is HARD WORK! The folks at TD and Schwab are working tirelessly to make the integration as smooth as possible. However, we recognize that there will be some bumps and adjustments along the way as the two platforms merge into one. Our goal is to communicate and anticipate what will be required from you (if anything) and make sure you fully understand any changes that may impact you during the integration process. Overall, we expect that most clients will have few (if any) changes that impact them during the migration process.

As part of the migration process, you can also expect an increased level of communication from TD (via letters and emails) to keep you abreast of all the changes. Please don’t hesitate to call or email us with questions during this integration period if you’re confused about any of the changes or what is required on your part (if anything).

Posted in Uncategorized

Leave a Comment