Your Privacy Is Not for Sale
Schwab does not and will not sell your personal information to anyone, for any reason.
Effective July 1, 2010
At The Charles Schwab Corporation and its affiliates and subsidiaries (“Schwab,” “us,” or “we”), we’re committed to protecting the privacy of information we maintain about you. Below are details about our commitment, including the types of information we collect, how we use and share that information, and your ability to limit certain information sharing. This Privacy Notice applies to customers; retirement, other employee benefit, or stock option plan participants (“participants” includes beneficiaries under the plan and certain other employees); and other consumers with whom we have a relationship, as well as to former customers and participants. Throughout this Privacy Notice (for the purposes of this Privacy Notice only), “customers” includes retirement plan participants and other consumers with whom we have a relationship, unless specifically noted otherwise. The information we collect and how we may use it may vary depending upon the product, service, or Schwab affiliate involved. For example, Schwab may have an agreement or policy with investment advisors, employers, or plan sponsors that further limits the sharing of your personal information.
How We Collect Information About You We collect personal information about you in a number of ways.
Application and registration information. We collect personal information from you when you open an account, enroll in one of our services, or participate in a Schwab promotion. We may also receive personal information from your employer or retirement or other employee benefit plan sponsor where Schwab has been hired to provide services to your company’s benefit, stock option, or similar plan. We may also collect information about you from third parties such as consumer reporting agencies to verify your identity, employment, or creditworthiness, or to better understand your financial needs. The information we collect may include personal information, including your Social Security number, as well as details about your interests, investments, and investment experience.
Transaction and experience information. Once your account has been opened, we collect and maintain personal information about your account activity, including your transactions, balances, positions, and history. This information allows us to administer your account and provide the services you or your employer or plan sponsor have requested.
Website usage. When you visit our websites, we may use devices known as “cookies,” graphic interchange format files (GIFs), or other similar web tools to enhance your web experience. These tools help us to recognize you, maintain your web session, and provide a more personalized experience. To learn more, please click the Privacy link on the Schwab website(s) you use.
How We Share and Use Your Information Among Schwab Affiliates
The term “Schwab” refers to a family of affiliated financial services companies that are owned by The Charles Schwab Corporation. These include, but are not limited to:
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., a broker-dealer
Charles Schwab Bank, a retail bank, including Charles Schwab Trust Company, a division of Charles Schwab Bank
Charles Schwab, Hong Kong, Limited
Charles Schwab, U.K., Limited
Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Inc.
Schwab Retirement Plan Services Company
Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc.
Charles Schwab Investment Advisory, Inc.
Schwab may share information we collect about you within our family of companies to help:
Provide you with better service or to perform services on your behalf;
Respond to communications from you (or as you authorize or request);
Make it more convenient for you to open a new account.
At any time, you may instruct Schwab not to share information about you with our affiliates for certain purposes, as explained below under “How to Limit the Sharing and Use of Your Information.”
How We Share Your Information Outside of Schwab
We may share your information with outside companies and other third parties in certain limited circumstances, including:
To help us process transactions for your account;
When we use other companies to provide services for us, such as printing and mailing your account statements;
When we believe that disclosure is required or permitted under law (for example, to cooperate with regulators or law enforcement, resolve consumer disputes, perform credit/authentication checks or for risk control).
Certain Schwab affiliates and subsidiaries may also enter into a joint-marketing agreement with another financial institution in order to provide you with a Schwab-branded financial product or service.
How to Limit the Sharing and Use of Your Information
You may choose to limit the information we share about you among our affiliates and joint-marketing partners for marketing purposes. If you choose to do so, Schwab will not share with our affiliates consumer reports and other personal information about you that may be used to determine your eligibility for credit (for example, information about your income, profession or employment status); allow our affiliates to market their financial products or services to you based on eligibility information they receive from another Schwab affiliate; or share personal information about you with an outside company for joint-marketing purposes. You may exercise this choice by contacting us at the numbers in the “Contact Us” section. You only need to contact us once, and your choice will be honored across all of Schwab.
Your choice will be applied to you as an individual and will automatically be extended to all of your accounts at Schwab.
If you have a joint account, you may limit the sharing of information on behalf of another account holder but only in relation to the joint account.
You may choose to limit the information we share with affiliates at any time, and that choice will remain in effect until you tell Schwab to change it. If you have previously provided Schwab with this information with respect to your current accounts, you do not need to provide it again.
Regardless of your choice, please be aware that Schwab will continue to share information among our affiliates that identifies you (such as your name and Social Security number), as well as information about your transactions and experiences with us, to perform services on your behalf, to respond to communications from you, or, if you are a customer of an affiliate, to offer you products or services.
Schwab also allows you to limit marketing from the Schwab affiliate(s) with which you have a relationship. This is separate from your affiliate-sharing choice. You may do so by calling Schwab at the customer service number listed on your account statement. These preferences will remain in effect for at least five years, after which time Schwab may ask you to update those preferences and may contact you for marketing purposes.
Safeguarding Your Information—Security Is a Partnership
We take precautions to ensure the information we collect about you is protected, and is accessed only by authorized individuals who are trained regarding Schwab’s privacy and information safeguarding practices. Schwab maintains physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that comply with federal standards to guard your nonpublic personal information. To learn more about our security measures and the measures you need to take, please click the Privacy link on the Schwab website(s) you use.
S.E.C. Rule 14b-1 Preference
Unless we receive your objection, Schwab may be required under the provisions of Rule 14b-1 of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as applicable, to release your name, address, and number of shares to the issuers of securities you hold through Schwab. If you object, you will not receive any corporate communications from the issuer other than regulatory mailings required to be sent to all holders, which you will receive from us. If you wish to exercise this preference, please contact us at the number listed in the “Contact Us” section.
Charles Schwab, U.K., Ltd. Customers
Charles Schwab, U.K., Limited (“Schwab U.K.”) introduces residents of the United Kingdom or Switzerland to Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab U.S.”).
Schwab U.K. and Schwab U.S. process your personal information in accordance with the privacy policy of Schwab. In addition, our use of your personal data may be subject to various privacy laws of the United Kingdom, including the Data Protection Act 1998. When you open an account with Schwab U.S., you specifically consent to your data being transferred outside of the European Economic Area and to Schwab’s use of your personal information in accordance with Schwab’s privacy policy, with the following exceptions:
The “Website usage” paragraph does not apply to the schwab.co.uk website.
Schwab may use email to communicate with prospective customers, with their permission.
Contact Us
To change your privacy preferences, provide us with updated information, report suspected fraud or identity theft, or for any other questions, please call us at 00800-0826-5001 (U.K. clients) or 0800-563711 (Swiss clients).
Corporate Plan Relationships
Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Inc.: 800-724-7526
Stock Plan Services: 800-654-2593
Call 0800 917-1039 (U.K.)
Send us an email