Who Schwab buys from and sells to
Largest US retail brokerage and custodian for independent advisors; earns mostly on client cash.
Part of Government Net Interest Payments spending
Buys from 3
- TD BankTDpays fees for swept client cash under the IDA through 2034$977m bank deposit account fees (FY2025 10-K)
- Citadel Securitiespays for and executes retail equity and option orders
- VirtuVIRTthe same, for a smaller share of order flow
Sells to 2
- Retail investorsbrokerage, banking and sweep accounts
- Registered investment advisorscustody and trading for independent advisors' clients
Where the chain could break
- Net interest margin depends on clients leaving cash in low-yield sweep accounts
- Bank balance sheet holds long-dated securities that lose value when rates rise
- Payment-for-order-flow revenue exposed to SEC market-structure rules
Competes with
- Fidelityretail brokerage and RIA custody
- Morgan StanleyMSE*Trade and the advisor-led wealth business
- RobinhoodHOODyounger active traders
- BlackRockBLKETF assets, against Schwab's own index funds
Mapped by hand from filings and company reporting, as of October 2026. It shows the relationships that matter most, not every contract: most are never disclosed, and agreements change.