Charles Schwab Corp., the fifth-largest ETF issuer, has named its next chief executive officer, current president Rick Wurster, who will step into his new role Jan. 1.
The Westlake, Texas-based financial services conglomerate announced the news Tuesday morning, describing it as “part of a multi-year succession plan” that includes the Dec. 31 retirement of current CEO Walt Bettinger.
The executive transition follows the June retirement of Bernie Clark as head of Schwab Advisor Services after more than 25 years with the company, including 15 as the head of the registered investment advisor business.
Clark was replaced by Jon Beatty, the chief operating officer of Schwab Advisor Services.
Wurster, who has been president since 2021, will retain the president title when he takes over the CEO role. And Bettinger will continue to serve as executive co-chairman of Schwab’s board of directors.
Schwab Asset Management has 31 ETFs that combine for $375 billion. Two-thirds of those ETFs are slated for share-price splits on Oct. 11 in a move aimed at driving appeal among financial advisors and retail-class investors.
Bettinger, who has been the CEO since 2008, has overseen a growth in client assets to $9.74 trillion from $1.14 trillion when he took over.
Schwab’s Market Capitalization Soars
The client brokerage, banking and workplace participant accounts grew to 43.2 million from 9.3 million. And Schwab’s market capitalization has grown to approximately $119 billion from $18 billion in 2008.
Bettinger also oversaw the acquisition of rival custodian TD Ameritrade in 2020.
The company did not make anyone available for an interview for this story, but in a prepared statement, Bettinger said, “As I approach my 65th birthday in 2025, the time is right for me to transition from day-to-day duties and focus on my role as executive co-chairman of the Schwab board of directors.”
Founder and co-chair Charles R. Schwab described Bettinger’s tenure as “the most significant growth in the company’s history.”
“He has earned the right to determine his retirement as CEO,” Schwab said in a prepared statement.
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