Charles Schwab is one of the largest investment services firms in the U.S., holding $11.90 trillion in client assets across 38.5 million active brokerage accounts. Schwab serves two main customer groups: individual retail investors and independent registered investment advisors (RIAs). Individual investors use Schwab for self-directed brokerage, managed investing and financial advisory, trading, and banking. Roughly 16,000 independent RIAs use Schwab as their custodian and back-office infrastructure provider. Schwab operates through two segments: Investor Services (retail brokerage, workplace retirement plans) and Advisor Services (custody and support for RIAs). Schwab's largest revenue source is net interest income, earned by collecting uninvested client cash (sweep deposits) and deploying it into interest-earning assets. Schwab also earns asset management fees on proprietary money market funds, ETFs, and managed investing solutions, as well as trading revenue from options, futures, and fixed income transactions. Equity and ETF trades are commission-free. Schwab's growth strategy centers on attracting net new assets and deepening client relationships by cross-selling wealth management, banking, and lending products — particularly pledged asset lines (PALs), which allow clients to borrow against their portfolios. Schwab is also expanding into spot cryptocurrency trading and acquiring Forge Global, a private market trading platform, for approximately $660M.