Toronto-Dominion Bank forms in Canada via a merger of Bank of Toronto (founded in 1855) and Dominion Bank (founded in 1869; a U.S. office opened in 1919).
How the
Schwab-TD Ameritrade
Merger Happened: A Timeline
1955
Design by Chris Nicholls
Charles Schwab and partners launch investment newsletter (“Investment Indicator”) in San Francisco.
1963
Joe Ricketts and partners start investment banking firm Ameritrade in Omaha.
1971
Schwab’s firm incorporates as First Commander Corp.
Schwab buys all stock of Commander Industries.
1972
Rickets and partners open First Omaha Securities.
First Commander is renamed Charles Schwab & Co.
1973
Fidelity Management & Research (launched in 1946 by Edward C. Johnson II).
1974
Congress passes Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.
First Omaha Securities opens its doors as a discount brokerage firm.
Schwab starts discount-brokerage operations.
1975
SEC bans practice of fixed brokerage commissions.
1977
Thomas Peterffy, now
chairman of Interactive
Brokers Group, buys a seat on the American Stock Exchange and focuses on equity options; he soon forms the T.P.& Co. and Timber Hill.
Schwab is the first discount broker to have its own back office settlement system.
1979
Schwab starts 24-hour quotation service.
1980
Rival Scottrade goes into business.
Schwab joins NYSE.
1981
Schwab is first to offer 24/7 order entry and quote service.
1982
Bank of America buys Schwab for $55 million.
1983
Ameritrade Clearing is formed to provide clearing services for broker-dealers and RIAs.
TD Bank founds discount broker Green Line Investor Services.
1984
Schwab launches 140 no-load mutual funds.
Schwab lets clients place buy or sell orders for mutual funds 24/7.
1986
TD Bank/Green Line buys Gardiner Group Stockbrokers of Canada.
Schwab management buys back the firm for $280 million, goes public and rolls out Financial Advisors Service.
1987
Ameritrade launches automated trades via touch tone phones.
Schwab’s Financial Advisors Service tops $1 billion in assets.
1988
Schwab begins its phone-based brokerage service.
1989
Schwab introduces money market funds.
1990
Meanwhile, rival
E-Trade is founded.
Schwab acquires market maker Mayer & Schweitzer to execute client orders; hosts first yearly national advisors conference (later renamed IMPACT); debuts first network TV ad campaign.
1991
TD Bank/Green Line buys Marathon Brokerage of Canada.
Rival Interactive Brokers incorporates, led by Thomas Peterffy and using Timber Hill electronic network and trade execution services.
1993
Ameritrade buys K. Aufhauser & Co., the first firm to offer online trading (in 1994).
Schwab buys 401(k) plan recordkeeper the Hampton Company, founded by Walt Bettinger; activates first website (Schwab.com).
1995
TD Bank buys Waterhouse Securities of New York; first National LINC conference for RIAs is held.
Schwab’s web trading goes live; Schwab AdvisorSource referral service launched.
1996
Ameritrade runs first ad campaign, which highlights $8 flat-rate trading commission; TD Waterhouse buys discount brokerage Kennedy Cabot & Co. and Jack White & Co.
1998
Ameritrade offers
trading on mobile
devices in partnership
with Sprint; runs an ad campaign featuring Gen X investor Stuart, who says “Let’s light this candle.”
1999
Schwab and U.S. Trust merge; company buys CyBerCorp for servicing active online traders.
2000
Ameritrade buys In TradeCast for $67 million and National Discount Brokers for $154 million.
2001
TD Ameritrade buys rival Datek Online Holdings in a $1.3 billion stock deal.
Schwab introduces Advisor WebCenter, an advisor-branded website development and hosting service; also rolls out Schwab Private Client and Schwab Advisor Network for affluent investors.
2002
Ameritrade offers trade execution guarantee of 10 seconds.
Schwab Bank
goes into business.
2003
Ameritrade redesigns website, adds trailing stops and introduces Amerivest, a financial planning and portfolio allocation tool for investors; TD Bank holds talks to merge Waterhouse with
E-Trade but no deal is reached.
2004
Schwab drops all account service and order-handling fees on retail accounts; rolls out its own funds on third-party platforms; introduces target funds; and launches “Talk to Chuck” ad campaign.
2005
Ameritrade buys TD Waterhouse from Toronto-Dominion Bank and renames the firm TD Ameritrade, with TD Bank keeping a ~40% stake; begins to push asset gathering and ads with actor Sam Waterston.
Schwab strikes deal to sell wealth unit U.S. Trust to Bank of America.
2006
TD Ameritrade and E-Trade reportedly hold merger talks.
Schwab buys the 401(k) Company and Global Real Analytics.
2007
Rickets says he will step down as TD Ameritrade’s chairman; Joe Moglia is set to take his place; Fred Tomczyk is named president and CEO.
Walt Bettinger is named Schwab CEO.
2008
TD Ameritrade buys thinkorswim Group, which includes brokerage and investor education businesses.
Schwab offers commission-free online trading of its own ETFs.
2009
TD Ameritrade adds complex options, futures and foreign exchange trading to its platform.
Bernie Clark is named
head of Schwab Advisor Services.
2010
Schwab introduces commission-free funds; buys OptionsXpress and Compliance11.
2011
TD Ameritrade Institutional rolls out its thinkpipes trading platform and Veo Open Access, its open-architecture platform for RIAs that works with technology from 119 vendors.
Schwab buys asset manager Thomas Partners.
2012
Schwab launches its ETF OneSource platform with commission-free trades of ETFs from most major providers; Robinhood launches with aim to expand free trading.
2013
TD Ameritrade introduces iRebal, portfolio rebalancing software.
2014
TD Ameritrade Institutional launches the Veo One platform in partnership with 85 tech vendors.
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios for investors and Institutional Intelligent Portfolios for RIAs are introduced.
2015
TD Ameritrade names
Tim Hockey as CEO and president.
2016
E-Trade acquires RIA custodial services firm Trust Company of America.
TD Ameritrade buys Scottrade.
2017
Schwab Advisor Services starts a pilot program for its Digital Account Open tool.
2018
Schwab Intelligent Advisory to be
renamed Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium and cost $30 a month (vs. 0.28%
of assets each year); it includes support
from a CFP with a $25,000 investment minimum and $300 initial planning fee.
Mar. 28, 2019
TD Ameritrade CEO Tim Hockey says he will step down in early 2020.
July 22
Schwab strikes deal to acquire assets of USAA Investment Management Company.
July 26
Interactive Brokers announces that it will let investors trade stocks and ETFs without commissions with IBKR Lite, following earlier moves by online brokerages like Robinhood.
Sept. 26
Later, TD Ameritrade makes a similar announcement.
Oct. 1
Schwab says it will eliminate commissions for trades of stocks, ETFs and options.
E-Trade says it also will drop commissions.
Oct. 2
Fidelity moves to zero commissions, says it will put retail investors’ cash into higher yielding alternatives available for new accounts and require zero payment for order flow for stock and ETF trades.
Oct. 10
Schwab Advisor Services introduces Alternative Investment Marketplace, which includes access to third-party platform sponsors that offer private funds.
Oct. 24
Unofficial news starts to circulate about a possible Schwab-TD Ameritrade merger, nicknamed “Schwabitrade.”
Nov. 21
TD Ameritrade names CFO Stephen Boyle its interim president and CEO.
Nov. 25
Schwab makes an official announcement about its planned $26 billion purchase of TD Ameritrade.
Schwab says it plans to set up its new headquarters
in Westlake, Texas,
near Dallas.
Dec. 2
Schwab says Tom Bradley, the former president of TD Ameritrade’s
Retail and Institutional
businesses, is set to join
its Advisor Services in
early 2020.
Dec. 6
A Schwab SEC filing refers to a second Justice Department probe into possible antitrust issues with the deal; Fidelity launches real-time fractional shares trading of stocks and ETFs.
Jan. 29, 2020
Morgan Stanley says it is
buying E-Trade in a
$13 billion stock deal.
Feb. 20
Schwab and TD Ameritrade release a supplement to their joint prospectus/proxy to help resolve eight lawsuits concerning an “incomplete and misleading registration statement.”
May 15
Schwab completes $1.6 billion USAA-related acquisition.
May 26
Schwab says the Justice
Department approved its deal
with TD Ameritrade; Plus, TD Ameritrade shareholders vote on the deal; their two-thirds vote supporting it supersedes a Delaware lawsuit that aimed to block it.
June 4
Schwab Stock Slices, which let retail clients buy partial shares of a single stock or up to 10 stocks at once with no commissions, is launched.
June 9
Schwab wraps up purchase of Motif Investing’s technology and intellectual property; also introduced an online resource center to help RIAs hire next-gen and other staff.
June 24
Dani Fava, head of
innovation for TD
Ameritrade Institutional, departs (and later joins Envestnet).
July 15
Skip Schweiss, TD Ameritrade Institutional’s managing director of Retirement Plan Solutions and Advisor Advocacy, leaves the firm.
Aug. 5
Robinhood says its June
results, at 4.3 million
daily average revenue
trades, surpass those
of its publicly traded rivals.
Aug. 10
Schwab rolls out a free self-guided digital financial planning tool for investors and financial planning hub.
Aug. 20
Federal Reserve approves Schwab acquisition of TD Ameritrade.
Sept. 30
Morgan Stanley wraps up purchase of E-Trade.
Oct. 2
Schwab completes purchase of TD Ameritrade for $22 billion; the full integration of the two firms, though, should take 18–36 months; its new headquarters will move from San Francisco to Westlake, Texas, on Jan. 1, 2021.
Oct. 6
Schwab says TD Ameritrade Institutional President Tom Nally and seven other TD Ameritrade executives will leave the firm; Schwab plans to have the 19-member Schwab Executive Council lead the combined entity.
Oct. 9
