Charles Schwab's CEO Bettinger Announces Retirement, Names President Rick Wurster As Successor

Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE:SCHW) CEO Walt Bettinger will retire at the end of 2024. Rick Wurster, the current president, will succeed him starting Jan. 1, 2025.

What Happened: Bettinger, who turns 65 next year, cited his upcoming birthday as a reason for stepping down. He will continue to serve as co-chair of Schwab’s board. In a statement, Bettinger expressed confidence in Wurster’s leadership, noting their eight-year working relationship, CNBC reported on Tuesday.

Wurster, in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” assured that there would be no immediate strategic changes. “We’re going to continue what we’ve been doing, which is deliver for our clients and delight them,” he said.

Under Bettinger’s leadership since 2008, Schwab’s client assets surged from $1.14 trillion to $9.74 trillion, partly due to the acquisition of TD Ameritrade in 2020. Bettinger mentioned the completion of Ameritrade’s integration as another reason for his decision to retire.

Schwab’s stock has risen approximately 150% during Bettinger’s tenure, despite underperforming the broader market in the past two years. Shares of Schwab were up less than 1% in premarket trading on Tuesday.

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Why It Matters: Bettinger’s retirement comes at a pivotal time for Charles Schwab. In August, Toronto-Dominion Bank reduced its stake in Schwab, selling 40.5 million shares. This move followed TD Bank’s announcement of setting aside $2.6 billion to cover potential fines related to deficiencies in its anti-money laundering program.

The sale reduced TD Bank’s ownership in Schwab from 12.3% to 10.1%, impacting Schwab’s stock price. TD Bank’s decision was influenced by ongoing investigations into its anti-money laundering practices, which have been under scrutiny due to allegations involving Chinese drug traffickers laundering money through the bank.

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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari