When Charles Schwab founded the corporation which bears his name, he and his team experienced a relentless stream of obstacles from the very beginning, through his company's astonishing growth, and in the crucible of the stock market's steady ups and downs. In his memoir, Schwab writes about his passion to open the clubby world of Wall Street investing to Main Street—so all Americans can go from being earners to investors and owners as well. He opens up about his struggles with dyslexia and how he not only worked through it, but ultimately embraced it. Schwab talks about the challenges of his first year into his discounted stock trading crucible: living in a small apartment in Sausalito with his wife, Helen, and their new baby, carrying a six-figure debt and a stack of personal loans with scarce resources and no roadmap to manage the company's growth. He recounts Schwab's sale to Bank of America—the merger that almost doomed his organization—and the timely leveraged buyout he crafted to regain independence. He also shares memories of the nail-biting days of the 1987 stock market collapse just weeks after the company had gone public; the dot-com meltdown of 2000 which led to the company reinventing itself; and how risk management protected clients during the financial crisis in 2008 and propelled company growth. Charles Schwab turned a democratizing idea into an industry-changing reality, thanks to unwavering principles, perseverance, and optimism that has always been at the heart of being… Invested.
Charles Schwab—Founder, Author
Published by Penguin Random House
"I've admired Chuck Schwab for a long time. When you read this book, you'll understand why."
—Warren Buffett
Buy the book from your favorite store:
"Invested is a must-read for anyone interested in working in a business or becoming an entrepreneur."
Sir Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Group
"To say Charles Schwab is an entrepreneur is actually an understatement. He really is a revolutionary."
Phil Knight, Co-Founder, Nike
"…you'll be hard-pressed to find one so interesting, inspiring, and educational as this one!"
Steve Forbes, Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, Forbes
"This is a fascinating story…about the never-ending evolution of an entrepreneurial company, but even more about personal learning from that experience…"
George P. Shultz, Former Secretary of Labor, Treasury, and State
Learn more about the company that Chuck built.
Not too long ago, the average person didn't always feel welcome in the world of investing.
It was expensive. It wasn't always clear who benefited most from a recommendation, the broker or the client.
And a regular person actually controlling their own financial destiny?
That would have seemed groundbreaking.
Then Chuck started this firm. Our firm.
Based on a simple question, "Isn't there a better way?"
There is.
Schwab was built around a simple idea: Put the client first.
Lots of companies say that, but we work to keep clients at the heart of everything we do.
By offering a better, more modern way to build and manage wealth.
We believe investors deserve nothing less.
It means taking a more human approach in financial services.
Treating clients the way they expect to be treated.
We always try to look at the world through our clients' eyes.
We believe our business should be about service, not sales.
Service is the heart of who we are.
It means offering a more intelligent way to invest.
Making sure clients have a variety of sound options that combine the best of what people and technology have to offer.
By using both technology and people, we help make investing easier and more accessible for people who live closer to Main Street than Wall Street.
It also means offering access to high-quality products, services, and insights—all for very low costs.
After all, costs matter—a lot. That's why we offer some of the lowest cost products in the industry.
Our entire business is rooted in a strong belief—
That investing has the power to transform lives.
And that everyone deserves a partner that will champion their goals with passion and integrity.
Looking ahead, we're confident we offer a better way to invest.
One that is more human, more intelligent, and lower cost.
That's what modern means to us.
For those of us who work here, this isn't just business, it's our passion, our purpose.
We show up every day to help people.
Help them turn their questions into answers.
Engagement into action.
And opportunity into ownership.
That's the Schwab way.
And that's what we mean when we say.
Ask questions.
Be engaged.
And own your tomorrow.
"…Schwab is a place that I think has deep empathy for people who start out in life with meager beginnings…but they have a spirit, a spirit about the opportunities out there…"
"…I studied investments quite a bit through school and got to know the landscape pretty well back then…It was very much closed off to the common man…"
"And I began becoming very aware of all the kinds of abuses that I saw towards individual investors…"
"And so…I started to form in my own mind, the kind of company I wanted to develop, one that was really focused on individual investors…"
"…That mission of ours was to make it more and more open, for the public to invest and discover…"
"…So we laid out to bare all the costs…and that's why all of a sudden…we saw floods of people, average people coming to firms like Schwab."
"And it was this transparency that really, I think, above everything else made the public see the advantage of dealing with firms like ourselves…"
"Investing is—in a country like America—is absolutely essential for almost everyone…"
"And when you go to investing, it requires engagement…"
"…Engagement is about commitment. It's about spending time on the things that are really important to you. This means asking tough questions, doing your homework."
"…There's nothing more powerful for someone to accept the fact that they are truly the owners of their own future…"
"And owners are engaged. They don't let someone else run their life. They run their own life. They take full responsibility for their outcomes."
This book may not answer all your personal questions about investing, but we certainly can. Just visit Schwab.com, or call 877-375-2934 to speak to a Schwab investment professional.