nough said?
Posted on 08/15/2004 6:16:22 PM PDT by narses
SAN FRANCISCO — Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. dropped more than 5,000 invitations in the mail late last week to financial advisers officially proclaiming that former President Bill Clinton will serve as keynote speaker at the firm’s annual adviser conference in Philadelphia in November.
Then the executives of the San Francisco-based broker held their collective breath.
The heads of Schwab Institutional are well aware that by and large, these independent advisers hold conservative political views. The Schwabies also know that the last time Mr. Clinton was slated to speak at a financial services conference, there was such an uproar from clients that his appearance was canceled.
Yet Schwab executives are wa-gering that times have changed.
“This is a very different time,” said Michelle Swenson, senior vice president of Schwab Institutional in San Francisco.
The choice of Mr. Clinton for Schwab’s IMPACT 2004 conference November 7-10 drew raves from several advisers.
“He’s hot; his book is hot. [Schwab is] clearly spending big bucks,” said Tom Burkhart, chief executive of The Savant Group in San Francisco, which has $550 million in assets.
“Attendance is going to boom,” said Ken Bakar, principal with AssetMark Investment Services Inc., a Pleasant Hill, Calif., firm with $5 billion under management.
“Knowing Bill is coming might help me change my mind” about attending the conference, said Robert D. Smoke, principal with Seton Smoke Capital Management in Greenbrae, Calif., which has more than $300 million in assets under management.“You can have your views of him personally, but I think he’ll provide insight, even with his biases.”
Filling Pottruck’s shoes
In fact, many advisers said they are more concerned about who will fill a pivotal speaking role at IMPACT that was vacated by Schwab’s departing chief executive, David S. Pottruck. They added that their political concerns are secondary regarding the conference.
These advisers see Schwab in a troubled state because its business model and leadership are in flux. They believe that the conference needs a speaker of authority to address the firm’s problems.
For the past several years, Mr. Pottruck has delivered the speech that many advisers consider the key address at Schwab’s annual conference.
He was known to level with advisers about the direction in which Schwab was headed and how the firm’s plans might compete with their business.
Advisers said they will be satisfied only if chief executive and founder Charles R. Schwab fills in for Mr. Pottruck.
“There’s no question; he’s gotta speak,” Mr. Bakar said of Mr. Sch-wab. “I would think it’s critical — kind of a state of the union.”
Ms. Swenson said she can’t promise that Schwab Institutional can deliver Mr. Schwab.
“Who will cover that topic is [to be determined]. It won’t be Dave,” she said. “Why wouldn’t Chuck be a big feature?” Mr. Burkhart asked. “I think he has to be; I’d want people to know he’s still interested, prominent and that he cares.” Mr. Burkhart said that he bases his sentiments partly on the fact that he joined a conference call last week during which Mr. Schwab told advisers that he might hold the reins as chief executive for a very long time.
‘Chuck’ as speaker
Dennis Miller, president of Miller/Russell and Associates Inc. in Phoenix, said that he agreed with Mr. Burkhart.
“I think that this would be an especially appropriate time for Chuck to articulate what he views to be the future of the company,” said Mr. Miller, whose firm has $725 million in assets under management. “I don’t think advisers think the company is in trouble, but it’s a time of change, and some of that change affects us.”
Mr. Miller said advisers want to know, for instance, how committed Schwab is to keeping its branches open in light of recent closings, because they depend on them for referrals.
He added that due to the close ties he keeps with the company, he is concerned about whether Schwab can keep its name and reputation unsullied.
Ram Kolluri, president of GlobalValue Investors Inc. in Princeton, N.J., disagreed about the importance of Mr. Schwab’s speaking at the conference.
“There is a problem. The leadership needs to make a case” for why the company is headed in the right direction, said Mr. Kolluri, whose firm has $150 million in assets under management. “It doesn’t matter who speaks.”
Were Mr. Schwab to jump into the speaking fray, it would be a big departure from his past practices. He has generally chosen to utter a series of platitudes about how important advisers are as partners of Schwab, then hustle off the stage, advisers said.
“He [typically] says about nothing” at IMPACT, said Ken Schapiro, president of Condor Capital Management in Martinsville, N.J. The firm has just under $500 million in assets under management.
“Pottruck knew the business inside and out,” Mr. Bakar said.
“Chuck is a figurehead; he doesn’t have his finger on the pulse of the business,” Mr. Bakar added. “He’s not the most articulate speak-er in the world, but I think it’s im-portant that he speaks.”
The last time Mr. Clinton was slated to speak at a financial services conference — in February 2001 at New York-based Morgan Stanley’s Global Leveraged Finance Conference in Boca Raton, Fla. — Morgan Stanley pulled the plug on his appearance because clients complained. Mr. Clinton had recently pardoned financier Marc Rich, and there were revelations that the former president received gifts from the billionaire fugitive’s ex-wife.
Morgan Stanley chairman Philip J. Purcell fired the person who decided to book Mr. Clinton in 2001.
Ms. Swenson said that the choice of Mr. Clinton this year was made primarily by her and her boss, Deborah D. McWhinney, president of services for investment managers at Schwab Institutional. She said they didn’t seek approval from Schwab’s board.
Advisers see the choice this time around as interesting in a presidential election year because Mr. Schwab himself is conservative, which is reflected by the presence on the company’s board of George P. Shultz, who served as President Reagan‘s secretary of state.
Mr. Schwab has also traditionally served up a steady diet of Republican politicos at IMPACT conferences.
Last year, former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani served as the keynote speaker in San Francisco.
Meanwhile, Mr. Schwab has also rubbed elbows with President Bush and was rumored to be on the short list for Treasury secretary last year.
“We didn’t go after Clinton because he’s a leading Democrat” but because he is a compelling speaker, Ms. Swenson said.
Well, time to find a new discount broker.
Ping
This will be a (ME/I) speach.
Try Success Trade Securities, $5 bucks per trade and user friendly.
Why didnt Schwab ask George Bush 41? That would have been more relevent, especially due to Jr's tax cuts.
"(KERRY IS A NARCISSISTIC LIAR, GOLDBRICKER, AND TRAITOR!) "
You missed so many things. He is a flag burning scum as well.
Hillary Rodham Clinton
(July 3, 2004)
Charles Schwab has donated a ton of money to politician, mainly Republicans.
http://newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?st=CA&first=Charles&last=Schwab
Bump.
C'mon Schwabies....move your accounts, and let the Charlies know why....
Reason #27 of why I use Scottrade.
nough said?
Very bad idea. Will not consider Schwab when I'm looking at discount brokers.
The family only has three accounts with them, but it's time to move on.
Schwab is now just another Clinton Rump Schwab.
Yup!...mines not a big one with them..but it will be closed tomorrow!!!
Schwab will be doing a lot of swabbing to clean up after this horn dog.
Hey Schwab, GREAT move. Who's your next spokesperson, Martha Stewart?
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