nVest Advisors has employed the services of TD Ameritrade as one of our client account custodians for several years. In the fall of 2019, Charles Schwab acquired TD Ameritrade, and since then, the two custodians have operated independently while their management teams have labored behind the scenes to seamlessly combine the companies into a much larger Charles Schwab. After a thorough custodian review in late 2022, nVest Advisors has established its custodial relationship with Charles Schwab in preparation for this transition.
The current time frame for a final merger, in which our client accounts at TD Ameritrade will convert via positive consent to Charles Schwab, and TD Ameritrade will formally cease to exist as a separate entity, is Labor Day weekend of this year, roughly 4 months from this posting. To help facilitate a smoother transition for our operations from one custodian to the other, to ease the learning curve of new incoming clients, and to provide consistency for our existing clients whose accounts are currently at TD Ameritrade, nVest Advisors is implementing the following procedural changes related to our use of each of these custodians as the final merger approaches:
New Clients
Effective May 15, 2023, all new retail clients who would normally utilize TD Ameritrade for our investment management services will instead have their accounts opened at Charles Schwab. This will allow our new clients to need to become familiar with only one custodian, instead of spending a few weeks at one custodian, only to be transitioned very quickly to another.
New ERISA Workplace Retirement Plans
Effective May 1, 2023, any new workplace retirement plans that would have previously been placed at TD Ameritrade will instead be opened at Charles Schwab.
Existing Clients using TD Ameritrade
Existing clients whose accounts are at TD Ameritrade will continue to fully utilize TD Ameritrade until the date of conversion (on or about September 4, 2023). Any additional new account needs for our existing clients will continue to be opened at TD Ameritrade until August 18, 2023. This will ensure that all of our clients’ household accounts transition at the same time.
Effective August 18, 2023, we will no longer be able to open new accounts at TD Ameritrade, so we will also honor that blackout period in our own operations and will delay the opening of any needed new accounts for TD Ameritrade-held households until after the full conversion to Charles Schwab.
TD Ameritrade clients will soon receive a Schwab Merger Opt-Out Notice
In the next few days, our clients whose accounts are currently held at TD Ameritrade will receive a mandatory Negative Consent Notice. This is a formal announcement of the specifics of the merger and a schedule of dates related to your accounts moving to Charles Schwab. There is nothing our clients need to do regarding this notification – your accounts will be automatically transfered to Charles Schwab on September 1, 2023 unless you opt-out.
We are committed to your total satisfaction as an nVest Advisors client, and are excited by the new features and services this combined, much larger custodian will provide. Charles Schwab has created a website to answer your questions about the merger, and is updating it regularly, but if you have specific questions or concerns about this merger, please do not hesitate to reach out to us!
