Charles Schwab Extends Pact with J.P. Morgan

Charles Schwab announced it has extended its agreement with J.P. Morgan to provide Schwab clients with access to a range of J.P. Morgan's fixed income securities.

In a release on March 7, Charles Schwab said that the agreement, originally signed in 2010, gives Schwab's 9.1 million client brokerage accounts access to J.P. Morgan's new issue and secondary municipal bonds and corporate debt securities. Schwab clients have had access to more than 800 new corporate issues through J.P. Morgan since 2011. In 2013, total orders for these corporate new issues saw an increase of 70 percent over 2012, and the total face value of those orders well more than doubled in that time.

"Retail demand for access to this traditionally institutional product has exceeded our expectations," said Peter Crawford, senior vice president at Charles Schwab. "The response has been significant, and I'm thrilled that we're continuing this successful program with J.P. Morgan."

Crawford continued, "We believe this agreement has been an important step on the road to changing a market that previously was the near-exclusive domain of institutional investors."

As access to bond issues has become possible for more investors, he noted, demand and participation by both retail clients and Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) has grown "dramatically," particularly in the area of new corporate bond issuance.

Additionally, since the agreement was put in place, Schwab clients have participated in nearly 1,200 negotiated and competitive municipal deals, placed more than 12,300 orders and invested more than $1.9 billion in new issue municipal securities offered by J.P. Morgan.

"Our fixed income issuer clients have benefitted from exposure to one of the largest retail brokerage platforms in the country," said Paul Palmeri, head of Public Finance at J.P. Morgan. "We are pleased to be able to continue bringing Schwab clients access to our fixed income primary and secondary offerings."

Charles Schwab is a longtime advocate for increasing access to the bond market for retail investors. Schwab BondSource offers access to more than 36,000 new issue and secondary bond offerings from more than 200 dealers, including J.P. Morgan, and connects investors to multiple bond trading platforms.

In 2013, J.P. Morgan underwrote approximately $438.8 billion in the global debt markets, according to Dealogic, and approximately $53 billion in the U.S. municipal markets, according to ThomsonReuters.

Through its operating subsidiaries, The Charles Schwab Corp. provides a range of securities brokerage, banking, money management and financial advisory services to individual investors and independent investment advisors. Its broker-dealer subsidiary, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC), and affiliates offer a range of investment services and products including mutual funds; financial planning and investment advice; retirement plan and equity compensation plan services; compliance and trade monitoring solutions; referrals to independent fee-based investment advisors; and custodial, operational and trading support for independent, fee- based investment advisors through Schwab Advisor Services. Its banking subsidiary, Charles Schwab Bank (member FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender), provides banking and lending services and products.

J.P. Morgan is the marketing name for JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its subsidiaries and affiliates worldwide.

More information:

www.aboutschwab.com

www.sipc.org

www.schwab.com

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