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Charles R. Schwab and David S. Pottruck: Schwab's E-Gambit
But the gutsy gambit quickly catapulted Schwab's online-trading business into the stratosphere. All told, Schwab's 30%-plus share of the Internet-trading market is now as large as those of its next three rivals combined. Its total assets are up 32% from 1997, to $461 billion. And with earnings also growing at a fast clip, even Wall Street has finally come around: The company's shares have nearly tripled since September, pushing its market capitalization to $27 billion, higher than even brokerage giant Merrill Lynch. How do the pair split the load? Pottruck, 50, heir apparent at the firm he joined in 1984, handles the company's day-to-day operations. He has led Schwab's move to incorporate the Internet into everything the firm does, such as delivering financial data to customers. That leaves the 61-year-old founder freer to focus on overall strategy and serve as the advertising pitchman. To keep growth up, the twosome are now moving overseas and transforming the discounter into a new kind of full-service firm. In hopes of capturing many of the inexperienced investors who have flooded into the market of late, they're offering everything from advice and research to an array of mutual-fund choices. It's another bold gambit--though this time around the doubters are few.
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Updated Dec. 30, 1998 by bwwebmaster
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