Pine Moves $500M in Assets from Fidelity Investments to Charles Schwab
What happened
In 2020, Pine moved approximately half a billion dollars in client assets from Fidelity Investments to Charles Schwab. The move was made to avoid a potential yearly custody fee, which could have been around $200,000 for the firm or passed on to clients at rates of $250 per account or 0.05% of account assets. Charles Schwab pledged not to collect a custody fee.
Why it matters
The shift highlights ongoing industry questions regarding transparency in custody costs within the U.S. fee-only financial planning channel, which manages nearly $4 trillion in assets under management. The decision by Pine reflects a strategy to mitigate high custodial expenses.
Who's involved
- PineThe firm that moved client assets to avoid custody fees.
- Fidelity InvestmentsThe former custodian from which Pine moved client assets.
- Charles SchwabThe new custodian that pledged not to collect a custody fee.
Who could feel it
Possible knock-on effectsThese are possibilities Brind reasoned out, not predictions, and not advice. Most are not stated in any report.
- Fidelity InvestmentsSpeculative
Fidelity Investments could face a reduction in assets under custody and associated revenue.
Keep exploring
The entities involved
- Pine
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Fidelity Investments
US American multinational financial services corporation
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Charles Schwab
professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering