Are you an RIA?

Submitted by Marc.Jones on October 2, 2017

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Today's students are the future of the RIA industry. Schwab is committed to developing and driving young talent to RIA firms such as yours. Our summer internship program is one of the ways we do this. We designed the eight-week program to provide undergraduate students in financial planning programs with real-life work experience and equip them with a well-rounded understanding of the inner workings of an RIA firm.

Your opportunity

As an RIA and client of Schwab, you have the opportunity to connect with the next generation of RIA industry talent.

  • Host an intern—For interns, the time they spend at an RIA firm office is the highlight of their eight-week rotational program.  If your firm is located in the Phoenix area and you’d like to host an intern in July, please contact your Schwab Relationship Manager for more details.
  • Meet the interns—We think many high-potential employees of the next generation need to better understand why working for an RIA firm is a worthy career aspiration.  Who better to hear from than you or other members of your firm?  If you would like to join the interns for an informal roundtable lunch in our Phoenix office and share your perspectives and insights, please contact your Schwab Relationship Manager.
  • Hire an intern—Recruit program alumni who are interested in opportunities at RIA firms. We maintain a resume book, and your Schwab Relationship Manager can provide you with more details.

What do RIA interns learn at Schwab?

Through a series of educational training sessions, interns gain experience in areas such as Schwab's role as a custodian, client service and support, trading support, portfolio construction, and financial planning. The following summary provides a sample of the various rotations and training sessions from our most recent program. Each week is different and has been designed to build upon the lessons of the prior weeks.

Week 1 Intern orientation & RIA overview
  • Distinguish Schwab's history, strategy, and culture
  • Review client onboarding, relationship management, and client experience
  • Introduce the RIA model; RIA Benchmarking; economic model
  • Understand the guiding principles for advisory firm success
  • Develop facilitation and presentation skills; attend presentations and discussions with RIAs (ongoing throughout the 8 weeks) 
Week 2 Schwab Advisor Services™ (AS) custody and service experience
  • Learn SchwabAdvisorCenter™; Preview quality client experience support calls; introduction to service teams
  • Initiate Schwab Intern Investment Challenge (ongoing through week 6); Strategic Planning Session
  • Acquire networking and consultative skills; create an elevator pitch; learn positive language
  • Discuss fraud prevention; risk and controls
  • Attend presentations and discussions with RIAs (ongoing throughout the remaining 7 weeks)
Week 3 AS client support
  • Review client support services (i.e. Schwab Alliance; advisor enrollment; cost basis and client reporting; Trust, International, and Retirement Business services);
  • Discuss Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Operational Due Diligence and Charles Schwab Investment Management; Schwab Managed Portfolio Team
  • Understand complex and managed accounts; alternative investments; Schwab Advisor Portfolio Connect™
  • Enhance effective email communication
  • Introduce technology capstone (weeks 3-7); Salesforce; CRM 
Week 4 Professional and industry skills development
  • Discover Service with Emotional Intelligence; enhance resume writing skills; participate in advisor case study exercises
Week 5 RIA firm on-site experience
  • Attend RIA firm on-site visits (3 days) – introduction to the firm’s business, service models, operations, client experience, and marketing strategies
  • Participate in RIA industry mock-interview
  • Review technology scorecard 
Week 6 Portfolio consulting & financial planning
  • Engage in portfolio consulting and construction; financial planning overview and case study; Schwab Advisor Network®
Week 7 Trade support and networking
  • Learn about equities; mutual funds; options; ETFs; trading platforms
  • Attend SOLUTIONS®
  • Conduct mock-client meetings
Week 8 Professional development
  • Prepare and practice final presentations; present  to AS senior management 
Weeks 1-8 Final presentation development
  • Understand the concept of firm differentiation and its value
  • Research industry growth projections and potential effects on the marketplace
  • Develop innovative ideas that will enable the success of future RIA firms
  • Collaborate with teammates to prepare and deliver an engaging presentation

Why hire alumni of the Schwab Advisor Services RIA Internship Program?

Alumni of the Schwab Advisor Services RIA Internship Program have gained a comprehensive understanding of and training in the RIA model and custodial relationship. These driven individuals also bring real-world work experience within an RIA firm. If you custody with Schwab, you can leverage our RIA Intern Program Alumni Resume Book to help source your next hire. The alumni resume book lists individuals who have completed our intern program and are now actively seeking employment with RIA firms.

Find Top Talent 

Schwab’s Career Opportunity Service is an online employment database developed specifically to help independent investment advisors in their search for new talent. The service also helps connect advisors to students seeking internships.

Key Features

  • Easy-to-complete online job posting
  • Access to a searchable database of financial services professionals 
  • Message Center to communicate directly with candidates of interest
  • Automatic email alerts about new candidate listings

Getting Started

We’ve made it easier than ever to create your career listing. 

Easy 2-step process.

  1. Create a personal access code and provide your contact details.
  2. Input information about your available position.

Use our Listing Worksheet to help you gather the right information:
Career Opportunity Listing

Please review our Frequently Asked Questions for additional information about the service. 

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