Your opportunity
The Wealth and Advice Solutions enterprise defines and executes Schwab’s holistic wealth management strategy delivering personalized advice and investing solutions to Schwab Retail and RIA clients. As investor demand for advice continues to grow, integrating wealth and advice strategy, products, expertise, and capabilities, allows Schwab to not only deliver a more comprehensive set of solutions and enhance the overall client experience, but also strengthen our ability to attract and retain some of our more affluent investors — a key and highly competitive segment within our industry.
The Wealth and Advice Solutions organization is comprised of includes Schwab’s Third-Party Platforms, Schwab Wealth Advisory, Digital Advice and Planning, Sales and Client Engagement, Schwab Advisor Network, and Offer Management and Pricing.
In this newly created role, we are recruiting a senior legal leader to support the Wealth & Advice Solutions enterprise encompassing more than $150 billion in assets under management. This enterprise has experienced tremendous growth and is expected to continue to expand its reach and service offerings including discretionary offerings and personalized indexing, as well as the digitalization of these and other products and programs. The Managing Director and his/her team will play a highly visible leadership role for the enterprise in this developing area of the law and important focus area for the firm. The leader will build the foundation and internal alignment for the future on key legal topics. As an advocate internally and externally, the MD will promote Schwab’s vision and values through a legal lens and share Schwab’s impact story as a corporate citizen.
Key Outcomes
- Lead all legal advice efforts for Wealth and Advice Solutions initiatives with particular focus on separately managed accounts, model portfolio initiatives, and investment advisory offerings for individual clients.
- Serve as a direct leadership role in the continued growth of our wealth & advice solutions products and initiatives, including support of potential acquisitions and integration of those acquisitions into existing Wealth & Advice solutions framework and programs.
- Developing and driving comprehensive, long-term legal strategies balancing risk and business objectives.
- Deliver advice on all operational matters, including trading, and custody, related to the wealth advisory business.
- Mentoring and developing a team of lawyers. Prioritize the team's workload, set goals, with realistic as well as ambitious deadlines to help them navigate our fluctuating and ambiguous business environment.
- Working cross-functionally with attorneys from other legal teams such as privacy, litigation/arbitration, regulatory, banking, and marketing. Keeping internal partners abreast of important industry and product-related regulations.
- Ongoing support and development of digital advisory offerings, personalized indexing and high net worth client products and programs including advising senior management on new and current business strategies and products; potential risks and mitigation of those risks; operational matters; applicable new, existing and changing regulatory requirements, and legislative and regulatory developments impacting the business.
- Develop a close partnership with the Compliance team ensure accurate process and procedures are in place to meet applicable regulatory requirements.
- Interface directly with the Wealth & Advice Solutions senior management, participate in relevant governance committees and oversight, and interact, as needed, with outside counsel and regulators, to assist in meeting Wealth and Advice Solutions’ and Schwab’s objectives.
What you have
Required Experience
- 15+ years of legal experience in asset and wealth management business including people leadership. Deep business and legal experience with the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the regulatory environment applicable to registered investment advisers and the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the regulatory environment applicable to mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, and exemptions relating to private funds and investment advisory programs.
- A demonstrated track record of effective development and implementation of retail digital and wealth advisory products, preferably for or within a bank holding company or large financial services firm.
- Law degree (JD, LLB or equivalent) from an accredited US law school. Admission to and in good standing with the state bar of at least one U.S. state.
- Thrives on initiating, building and cultivating strong authentic relationships inside and outside the group; highly collaborative; navigates and activates alignment across organizational silos.
- Extraordinary interpersonal and communication skills; phenomenal ability to communicate information effectively internally and externally, including to non-legal audiences, and to drive cross-functional alignment and action.
- Ability to handle multiple assignments simultaneously with effective resolution of conflicting priorities and experience advising business and technical teams on launching new products and features and in negotiating complex commercial deals.
Preferred Experience
- Ability to use strategic and analytical capabilities to make sound, timely decisions based on client and field input supporting and maintaining a strong risk and control environment including evaluating risk versus expense versus the client experience.
- Strong client relationship management and negotiation skills required with the ability to assess and effectively communicate processing capabilities and identify alternative solutions for clients and business partners.
- Combination of strategic, practical and creative problem solving plus; “systemic” thinker who can connect all the dots, taking the initiative and resulting capabilities from concept to execution.
- Confidence and courage in business and talent decisions, actions and communications with a demonstrated ability to take decisive action when needed, including championing ideas, position or dissent.
- Strong emotional intelligence/maturity and senior level executive presence.
- Experienced in effectively assessing, selecting and developing talent for the firm; build and lead diverse teams; adept at providing balanced, direct and actionable feedback to employee.
- Creative problem-solver with the ability to stay calm under challenging circumstances.
- Execution oriented attitude with the humility, drive, and strong growth orientation.
- Facilitate a team-based approach to subject matter management and knowledge sharing, and comfort with a flexible, agile environment emphasizing collaboration and team performance over management hierarchy.
What’s in it for you
At Schwab, we’re committed to empowering our employees’ personal and professional success. Our purpose-driven, supportive culture, and focus on your development means you’ll get the tools you need to make a positive difference in the finance industry. Our Hybrid Work and Flexibility approach balances our ongoing commitment to workplace flexibility, serving our clients, and our strong belief in the value of being together in person on a regular basis.
We offer a competitive benefits package that takes care of the whole you – both today and in the future:
- 401(k) with company match and Employee stock purchase plan
- Paid time for vacation, volunteering, and 28-day sabbatical after every 5 years of service for eligible positions
- Paid parental leave and family building benefits
- Tuition reimbursement
- Health, dental, and vision insurance
