New Schwab Institutional Industry Report Reveals Affluent Investors Have a High Degree of Trust in Independent Investment Advisors Affluent Investors Rank Investment Performance Seventh Behind Advisor Trustworthiness and Competence; 90% Would Refer Their Advisors to Others SAN FRANCISCO, May 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nearly 90 percent of affluent investors working with an independent investment advisor are "very satisfied" with the level of "trustworthiness" of their advisor according to new industry research developed by Moss Adams and Advisor Impact for Schwab Institutional. The report, "Key Strategies For Building Optimal Client Relationships: Analysis Of Advisor End-Client Feedback", also reveals that a full 90 percent of clients surveyed would be comfortable providing referrals to their financial advisor. The report summarizes Advisor Impact and Moss Adams findings from more than 6,000 responses from clients of advisors over a two-year period, one of the most comprehensive advisor client studies of its kind. The survey focused on two key questions about the client service provided by advisors: What do your clients expect from you? How well are you meeting those expectations? Among the other report findings are: -- Investment performance is not the most important aspect of service for advisors' clients -- it ranks seventh behind issues such as advisor trustworthiness and competence. -- On average, just seven percent of the respondents say their accounts are at risk (at risk meaning they are neutral or dissatisfied with the overall relationship with their financial advisors). For clients with more than $500,000 in total investable assets, five percent are at risk. -- Nearly half (47%) of respondents with more than $500,000 in investable assets say they have never held a family meeting to discuss plans for their estates. -- The majority of respondents (59%) say communications from their advisors with an educational focus are more valuable than client appreciation events. -- Roughly 60 percent of respondents say they are comfortable discussing their plan or portfolio with a member of the team other than their primary financial advisor. -- Sixty-three percent of respondents indicate that the frequency of contact with their advisor meets their needs. "This one-of-a-kind study makes it clear that affluent investors who work with advisors are extremely satisfied and have a strong and trusting relationship with their advisors," said Ann Simon, vice president of Schwab Institutional. "Building client loyalty has a direct and measurable impact on revenue, and we're pleased to be able to support advisors with the tools they need to further enhance the loyalty their clients feel toward them." Key Strategies for Satisfaction The report provides key findings and analysis, along with actionable steps advisors can take to build optimal relationships with their clients. The strategies focus on: -- Maximizing client loyalty. Highly satisfied clients remain loyal and profitable. This section discusses the importance of focusing on a core offering and outlines how to manage client expectations. -- Unlock the untapped revenue opportunities. Client profitability improves when there is opportunity to sell additional products and services, generate referrals and earn a larger percentage of clients' investable assets. This section outlines three steps to improving a firm's revenue-building opportunities. -- Systematically gather feedback. By defining a service model and gathering actionable feedback there is opportunity to continually reinforce how a firm meets expectations and reinforces its value. The report provides a sample self-assessment to help firms structure a survey to gather client satisfaction and client opportunity data. "Key Strategies For Building Optimal Client Relationships: Analysis Of Advisor End-Client Feedback" is the latest in a series of Schwab Market Knowledge Tools(TM) (MKT) reports, an ongoing program of industry research reports, white papers and guides from Schwab Institutional designed to keep investment advisors on the forefront of trends and competitive challenges facing the industry today. Offered exclusively to Schwab Institutional clients, the MKT program delivers relevant and timely information for future business planning. About Schwab Institutional Schwab Institutional, a division of Charles Schwab & Co. Inc., is a leading provider of custodial, operational and trading support for independent fee-based investment advisors. Client assets custodied with Schwab Institutional increased 16 percent to $352 billion between March 31, 2004 and March 31, 2005. These assets, managed by the approximately 5,000 independent advisor firms Schwab Institutional serves, represent approximately one-third of total customer assets custodied with The Charles Schwab Corporation as of March 31, 2005. About Moss Adams Moss Adams LLP provides accounting and management consulting services to advisory firms throughout the US, Canada and Australia. With a particular expertise in the financial services industry, Moss Adams has provided consulting services to more than 1,200 investment management firms, broker-dealers and financial advisors on matters related to compensation, organizational design, valuation, mergers and acquisitions, financial management, strategic planning and leadership development. Moss Adams is the eleventh largest accounting and consulting firm in the U.S., with a staff of 1,100, including 180 partners. For more information on Moss Adams, visit http://www.mossadams.com/industries/sin. About Advisor Impact Advisor Impact, Inc. provides research, training and tools to help financial advisors to improve client loyalty and profitability and is a leading provider of research on attitudes and trends among investors and advisors. Advisor Impact's very successful Client Audit program, designed to gauge satisfaction and identify additional opportunities among existing clients, is offered in partnership with Moss Adams. In addition, Advisor Impact developed The Business Success Kit, a guidebook to improved practice management and provides on-going training focused on assessing and improving client profitability. Incorporated in 1998, the firm works with advisors in the US, Canada and the United Kingdom. For more information go to http://www.advisorimpact.com/. About Charles Schwab The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE/Nasdaq: SCH), through its operating subsidiaries, provides securities brokerage and financial services to individual investors and the independent investment advisors who work with them. With over 7 million individual investor accounts and more than $1 trillion in client assets, The Charles Schwab Corporation is one of the nation's largest financial services firms. Its subsidiary Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC) provides a complete range of investment services and products, including an extensive selection of mutual funds; financial planning and investment advice; retirement plans; referrals to independent fee-based investment advisors; and custodial, operational and trading support for independent fee-based investment advisors through its Schwab Institutional division. Its subsidiary Charles Schwab Bank (member FDIC) provides banking and mortgage services and products. The corporation's other operating subsidiaries include U.S. Trust Corporation (member FDIC) and CyberTrader(R), Inc. (member SIPC) .These companies' Web sites can be reached at http://www.schwab.com/, http://www.schwabbank.com/, http://www.ustrust.com/, and http://www.cybertrader.com/. DATASOURCE: Charles Schwab CONTACT: Lindsay Tiles of Charles Schwab, +1-415-667-3997, or Web site: http://www.schwab.com/

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