What's New: Schwab Alliance
Schwab Advisor Center® has digital tools and resources to help you onboard new relationships, support your clients, and scale your business. Below you can learn about the latest enhancements and resources, or explore recent updates by clicking on a topic.
Overview
Schwab Alliance is a version of the schwab.com website customized specifically for clients of advisors. You can customize it with your firm's branding, choose the information your clients see, and more. Most importantly, Schwab Alliance is the key to empowering your clients to electronically approve everything from new accounts to move money transactions.
Use these resources to get an overview of the tool; continue scrolling to see the latest enhancements.
- Materials to help you explain Schwab Alliance to your clients >
- A brochure that walks clients through the process of getting Schwab Alliance access >
- A guide to your clients' Schwab Alliance experience so that you can answer their top questions >
July 2021 (0621-1XF4)
We've improved your clients' experience when they call the Schwab Alliance team
The Schwab Alliance team has added new features to the phone system your clients encounter when they call for help with their accounts:
- Enhanced automated service. Previously, clients were asked to enter their account numbers when calling in. Now the system associates their phone number with the relevant account numbers automatically.
- Speech recognition for easier routing. The system now asks callers to explain what they're calling about—instead of asking them to choose from a preset menu of options—and then intelligently routes them to the appropriate service team member based on their answers.
- Self-service options. Once clients have authenticated via voice ID or by answering knowledge-based questions, they can obtain certain information without contacting a live representative, including account balances, stock quotes, and more.
These enhancements are designed to make your clients' experience easier and more efficient while maintaining Schwab's high security standards.
June 2025 (0625-1BPA)
Clients have access to the new RMD Center on Schwab Alliance
All clients who have access to Schwab Alliance can now view an enhanced required minimum distribution (RMD) experience.
This new interface gives clients at-a-glance insights into their RMD status for the current year. It displays distributions at the client level, instead of the account level, providing clients with a more holistic overview. Clients can see:
- Total RMD
- Withdrawals to date
- Remaining amount that must be withdrawn to meet the annual RMD requirement
- Scheduled withdrawals (this applies only to non-advised accounts)
Clients whose accounts at Schwab are all advised see a view-only version of the RMD Center. Clients who have one or more non-advised accounts see the Take My RMD link, which enables them to take distributions from their retail accounts only.
October (1024-TDCX)
New, mobile biometric login option for Schwab Alliance
Now your clients have a new, convenient, more secure option when logging into Schwab Alliance. The new method enables them to add an authentication step to their login process. A client enters their login ID as usual, but instead of entering a password, they receive an authentication message on the Schwab Mobile app. The client uses their device's biometric verification to indicate that they approve the login attempt, and they are then able to access their account as usual.
This additional security step gives the client the option to significantly enhance their account's security, even if a bad actor learned their login ID and password, the fraudster would be unable to access the account without mobile authentication.
To take advantage of this new option, your clients should log into Schwab Alliance, go to the Security Settings page, select Login Preferences from the menu, and then choose Log in with a notification to my mobile device.
Once a client makes that change, when they enter their login ID the system automatically sends a notification to the Schwab Mobile app, asking the client to provide their biometric data. Schwab Alliance then loads normally, with no need for the client to enter a password.
October 2023 (1023-3ZBX)
Schwab Alliance: Information at your client's fingertips
We've redesigned the Schwab Alliance Account Summary page to deliver a modernized experience for your clients. The new layout focuses on getting your clients the most useful information they need right away and displays important messages, frequently used links, and your logo and contact information—now available on both the Schwab desktop and mobile experiences.
The new features include:
- Advisor branding across devices: Along with the desktop experience, the mobile app has been updated to prominently display your logo and contact information on key pages. This new upgrade reinforces your branding across devices and delivers a consistent experience for your clients.
- Message highlights: The messaging module, which highlights important client communications, is conveniently accessible on the Accounts Summary page. Your clients can now review their messages without having to navigate to the Message Center for their time-sensitive communications.
- Quick links: Various topics will rotate in this section throughout the year, spotlighting key information, learning opportunities, and available actions.
June 2023 (0523-3R4H)
Clients can create or use existing Schwab Alliance credentials with DocuSign®
The next major enhancement to DocuSign on Schwab Advisor Center is here.
Now clients can use their existing Schwab Alliance credentials in the DocuSign workflow to authenticate themselves. Clients who don't currently have active credentials can create them without leaving the DocuSign environment.
For clients who choose not to use Schwab Alliance for authentication, we have reinstated pairing of text-based (SMS) and knowledge-based authentication for envelopes created through the Schwab Advisor Center DocuSign workflow or the DocuSign console. This change is required to maintain our strong security standards and to protect firms and clients from active fraud attempts specifically targeting SMS-based authentication for DocuSign approvals.
Please note: You can temporarily change this authentication method within the workflow to enable clients to verify through SMS only, but we will be making the SMS/KBA combination mandatory in the future. To choose SMS only, open the DocuSign console, go to the Identity Verification dropdown menu that appears under each signer, and choose SMS.
We have also made several enhancements to the workflow itself to make it even easier to use DocuSign on Schwab's platform. The most notable of these improvements are the new template groups that help you organize envelopes based on actions (like opening accounts or account maintenance) when the same signers are required for all forms.
Our interactive guide has been updated with information about these new enhancements, including a step-by-step walk-through of a client's experience when using Schwab Alliance or SMS/KBA authentication to verify their identity during the approval process.
May 2023 (0523-3R4H)
Schwab Alliance—new navigation, better results
We have made key changes to the Schwab Alliance navigation to give your clients easier access to popular topics and the key resources they use most.
In response to your feedback, learn what we've done to make your clients' experience even better:
- We elevated Move Money to the main top-level navigation for quicker access. Transfers & Payments is now the default page your clients see first. And with our three levels of customization, you can assign a view that allows a client to deposit funds or, in some cases, withdraw funds from their account.
- The new Profile icon now gives your clients a simple all-in-one place to manage personal information and customize account preferences. Clients can update contact and beneficiary information, as well as adjust profile settings, security features, alert settings, and more.
- Navigation has been consolidated to the top of the page and now has more concise labels. Some topics have been rearranged to give clients an at-a-glance understanding of more important subtopics.
- A new Support icon provides a quick way for clients to find assistance or to contact a Schwab representative.
We hope that Schwab Alliance continues to complement the working partnerships you have with your clients and that these changes make it even easier for them to find the information they need.
March 2023 (0323-3JT6)
Clients use their existing credentials to begin the approval process
Now sending a digital envelope for your clients to eAuthorize triggers a message in Schwab Alliance that clients with existing credentials can use to begin the approval workflow. This Schwab Alliance message is sent in addition to the email that clients currently receive. Once clients initiate the process, the experience is identical—whichever option they choose.
By logging into the Message Center to initiate the approval workflow, clients can feel confident that they are protected by Schwab Alliance's multilayered security protocols. In fact, many clients may see using Schwab Alliance as a more convenient option for handling approvals.
Once you send the envelope, clients can log into Schwab Alliance and open the Message Center to begin the approval process. Clients will find the approval message in the Message Center, accessible from the top menu.
November 2022 (1122-20T1)
For advisor use only. For general educational purposes.
Any investments reflected are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be nor should they be construed as a recommendation to buy, sell, or continue to hold any investment. Screen shots are for illustrative purposes only, may be historical in nature, and should not be used as a basis for any investment decision.
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