What's New: Security
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.
Fraudsters don't take holidays
For most of us, the holidays are a joyous time for relaxing with family and friends. But this season is also the busiest time of year for cyber criminals, who are eager to take advantage of our generosity and distraction. To protect yourself, your clients, and your firm, keep an eye out for the following fraud threats.
Charity scams. Scammers pretend to represent a legitimate charity and encourage generous clients to send them money. Advise your clients to research charities before making a donation—check for a valid taxpayer identification number, for example. They should watch out for pressure tactics, requests for gift cards or wire transfers, and especially requests for banking or credit card information over the phone, via email, or through a suspicious URL.
Senior and vulnerable investors. At this time of year, senior clients may reach out for charitable donations, required minimum distributions, monetary gifts, or other needs. When they do, listen for any signs of cognitive decline, ensure they have a trusted contact on file, and verify their beneficiary information. Unfortunately, holiday contact with family and friends can give unscrupulous people an opportunity to exploit elderly clients for cash gifts or loans. Listen for signs of emotional distress and be wary of a sudden interest in a client's finances by those around them.
Fake website and search engine optimization scams. In recent months, we've seen an uptick in impersonations of trusted institutions, including Schwab. Be sure your clients are on the lookout for impostors posing as Schwab employees and contacting them via phone, email, text message, and even social media. Some criminals create realistic-looking websites that appear to be for Schwab or another institution. When clients follow a link and enter their credentials on these sites, their information may be stolen, or they may be exposed to phishing attacks aimed at their data and assets.
Schwab offers an array of resources to help you protect your firm and clients from these and other cybercrime tactics. Visit the Fraud page of the Cybersecurity Resource Center.
December (1224-8FVL)
New interactive fraud training and other materials now available
As we all know too well, fraud is on the rise around the world. And no industry is under greater threat from these criminals than financial services. Protecting your firm and clients is our number-one priority, and we are always working to provide you with the training and support you need to educate and defend your clients and staff from fraud threats.
We are pleased to announce a new set of training courses that cover the most important information your employees need to know to recognize and combat common fraud. The four courses cover:
- Safeguarding your firm
- Protecting your clients
- Defending senior investors
- Responding to a data incident
These in-depth courses are the perfect introduction for any member of your firm, and we encourage you to make them part of your onboarding and continuing education processes.
The courses are just one part of our comprehensive fraud prevention offering. Be sure you take advantage of the many other materials available for your firm and clients:
- Quarterly webcasts covering the latest developments in the fraud landscape, plus tips and best practices for recognizing and preventing them
- Semimonthly live training sessions that offer in-depth reviews and information about unique threats aimed at your staff and clients
- The Cybersecurity Resource Center's fraud page on Schwab Advisor Center, as well as the newly updated cybersecurity page on advisorservices.schwab.com; both feature educational PDFs, videos, and customizable brochures that you can update with your firm's branding and distribute to your clients
August (0824-HATH)
Enhanced security requirements for all logins help keep your firm and clients safe
As part of our ongoing effort to protect your clients and firm, we are now requiring two-factor authentication for all Schwab Advisor Center users.
For years we have required two-factor authentication for users with access to trading, move money, and other sensitive areas of the site and have encouraged it for other Schwab Advisor Center users. Due to the evolving nature of security threats, we are making this safeguard mandatory to log into the site.
If you have not yet set up two-factor authentication for your account, click the Welcome menu at the top of the screen, choose Authentication Device, then follow the simple instructions. You can complete the process in just minutes.
To ensure that there are no interruptions to your firm's daily workflow, we ask that you encourage everyone to perform this update as soon as possible.
If your firm uses authentication devices other than the Symantec VIP app and you need additional devices for users who have not yet activated two-factor authentication, please contact your firm's security administrator, who can order more from Schwab.
November 2022 (1122-20T1)
Spacer
Get ready: Schwab's new insurance requirement
We're guessing you have insurance for your car, your home, and your health—but what about your business? Financial firms are appealing to fraudsters, and incidents aren't slowing down. Sure, you probably have a well-rounded cybersecurity plan in place (if you don't, why not?), but having the right insurance can be a powerful tool in your effort to protect your clients' assets.
That's why we implemented a new insurance policy requiring that all advisory firms that work with us carry an aggregate minimum of $1 million of insurance coverage to protect against errors and omissions, social engineering, theft by hackers, and, if applicable, theft by employees.
Over time we'll ask you to confirm that you have the required insurance (in fact, you may have already heard from us). If you already have coverage that meets the requirement, you can let us know now , and we'll take you off our list.
It's okay if you don't yet have insurance that meets the requirement, but we suggest that you get started now—it can take about 90 days to get the right coverage in place. We have some materials that can help on our insurance resource page.
April 2022 (0422-2URE)
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.
Schwab Advisor Services™ includes the custody, trading, and support services of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. ("Schwab"), a registered broker-dealer and member SIPC, and the technology products and services of Performance Technologies, Inc. ("PTI"). PTI and Schwab are separate companies affiliated as subsidiaries of The Charles Schwab Corporation, but their products and services are independent of each other. PTI’s integration solutions integrate data about accounts custodied at Schwab.
API integration is available through Schwab OpenView Gateway®, which is provided by PTI. Single sign-on is provided by PTI. Daily data files and trading integration are available through Schwab. Schwab OpenView Gateway® and Schwab OpenView MarketSquare™ are services of PTI.
References to third parties (whether such parties are vendors participating in a service of PTI or independent advisors using a service of a participating vendor) are not an endorsement or recommendation of, or an opinion (favorable or unfavorable), or advice about, or a referral to any product or service of any third party. Advisors are solely responsible for evaluating, selecting, and purchasing products and services offered by third party vendors. Unless indicated otherwise, third parties are independent and not affiliated with PTI or its affiliates.
Schwab Performance Technologies® ("SPT") provides technology solutions to independent investment advisors, while Schwab provides them and their clients with custody, trading, and related support services. SPT and Schwab are separate companies affiliated as subsidiaries of The Charles Schwab Corporation, but their products and services are independent from each other.
Schwab Advisor Portfolio Connect™ is a product of SPT.
Institutional Intelligent Portfolios ("IIP") is a technology and service platform made available by SPT to independent advisors who maintain a business relationship with Schwab Advisor Services.
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. and Charles Schwab Bank are separate but affiliated companies and subsidiaries of The Charles Schwab Corporation. Brokerage products, including the Schwab One® brokerage account, are offered by Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., Member SIPC. Deposit and lending products are offered by Charles Schwab Bank, Member FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender.
Schwab affiliates earn revenue from the underlying assets in Institutional Intelligent Portfolios® accounts. This revenue comes from managing Schwab ETFs™ or Schwab Funds® and providing services relating to certain third-party funds that can be selected for the portfolio, and from the cash feature on the accounts. Revenue may also be received from the market centers where ETF trade orders are routed for execution. Tax-loss harvesting is available for clients with invested assets of $50,000 or more in their Institutional Intelligent Portfolios account. Clients must be enrolled to receive this service. Cash balances held in the Sweep Program at Schwab Bank are eligible for FDIC insurance up to allowable limits per depositor, per account ownership category.