Walter “Walt” Bettinger, President and Chief Executive Officer of Charles Schwab Corporation, speaks at the 2015 Fortune Global Forum in San Francisco, California, Tuesday, November 3, 2015.
David Paul Morris | David Paul Morris Bloomberg | Getty Images
Charles Schwab The company announced Tuesday that Chief Executive Walt Bettinger will retire at the end of December after 16 years leading the brokerage.
Bettinger will be succeeded by Charles Schwab President Rick Wurster on January 1, 2025. Bettinger will continue to serve as co-chairman of Charles Schwab's board of directors.
Charles Schwab, 5 years
In a statement, Bettinger cited his 65th birthday next year as the reason for his resignation and praised Worster's choice.
“The Schwab Board of Directors' thoughtful and rigorous approach to succession planning will help make this transition a smooth one. Rick Worster and I have worked together every day for more than eight years. I have every confidence in his leadership and I am very I am pleased that the Charles Schwab Board of Directors has selected him as my successor,” the statement said.
In an interview with CNBC's “Squawk Box,” Worster said there would be no immediate change in strategy after the CEO handover.
“I don't think there will be a shift as we continue to do what we've been doing, which is serving our customers and keeping them happy,” Worster said.
Since Bettinger took over in 2008, the firm's client assets have grown from $1.14 trillion to $9.74 trillion, and its client brokerage accounts have grown from less than 10 million to more than 43 million. Part of this growth is due to Charles Schwab's acquisition of Ameritrade, which closed in 2020.
Bettinger said on “Squawk Box” that the integration of Ameritrade was completed earlier this year, which is another reason why he believes now is a good time to step down as CEO.
Schwab's shares have risen about 150% during Bettinger's tenure, which began in the middle of the financial crisis, but have underperformed the market over the past two years.
“I often say that not many CEOs cut their company's stock price in half in the first 90 days, but that's pretty much what happened to me in the financial crisis,” Bettinger said on “Squawk Box.”
Shares of Charles Schwab rose less than 1% in premarket trading Tuesday.