The Charles Schwab Corporation has been in the investment business since the 1970s. It started as a subsidiary of Commander Industries in 1971. By 1973, Chuck Schwab and a few partners bought all the Commander stock and renamed the company Charles Schwab & Co. From the 1980s onward, the company was a leader in the industry, using technology to be an innovator in investing. The company, for example, was the first in the 1980s to have 24-hour, 7-day-a-week order service.
The Charles Schwab Corp. specializes in investor advice and services, helping clients manage mutual funds and other financial products. Work is done via phone, online or in one of the company's thousands of branches.
The company is based in San Francisco, but it has branches around the world. Many clients have a designated financial manager with whom they have a one-on-one relationships with, though the corporation provides plenty of business-to-business financial and investment counseling, too.
With thousands of offices in the United States as well as branches in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and services geared toward more of Asia and Latin America, Charles Schwab has tried to position itself as a multi-cultural leader in the investment community.
In 2009, Charles Schwab faced allegations of wrongdoing by the N.Y. Attorney General's office in the corporation's dealings in the sale of its auction rate securities. The company denied any wrong-doing.
The Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation was established in 1987 and is a separate entity from the corporation. The foundation supports kindergarten through Grade 12 programs, the arts, human and social services and other needy causes.