Charles Schwab move creates financial hub in North Texas
Financial giant Charles Schwab will acquire competitor TD Ameritrade for $26 billion — that’s big news in the financial world, but it’s “enormous news” for Westlake.
The northeast Tarrant County town will be home to the merged headquarters, according to Schwab’s announcement on Monday. The release was not specific on a timeline, but combining the two companies could take 18 to 36 months. The deal, subject to regulatory approval, should close in the second half of 2020.
The move solidifies Westlake as a financial hub for Texas and the region, said Jon Sasser, a city spokesman. Fidelity Investments and Deloitte University also have offices in Westlake.
“We say Manhattan has Wall Street but Westlake has ‘Y’all Street,’” Sasser joked. “This is unparalleled not only in DFW but also Texas.”
Schwab has a sizable presence in Dallas-Fort Worth already with about 2,300 employees, including some already working at the Westlake campus, which is under construction.
It is unclear how the merged headquarters will affect those employees or others across the country. Schwab spokeswoman Mayura Hooper did not provide details and said it was “too early to comment on any specifics.” The company’s statement said a small percentage of San Francisco employees would relocate, but the company was committed to keeping a substantial operation in the Bay Area.
Ameritrade employs about 2,300 workers at its Omaha headquarters. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, a former Ameritrade executive, said the announcement created uncertainty and he would work to “personally make the case to Schwab to stay committed to Omaha,” according the to the Omaha World-Herald. The company built a $123 million campus on 78 acres in Southlake in 2018.
Alliance Texas
Though it’s unclear when or how many Schwab employees will call North Texas home, Hillwood president Mike Berry said it is becoming increasingly obvious that the region is a financial center pulling powerful institutions. Hillwood developed AllianceTexas and Circle T Ranch, where Schwab is located.
Between Schwab, Ameritrade and Fidelity, Berry estimated at least 13,000 work in financial services at Circle T on the east end of the 26,000-acre Alliance development. Farther to the west near Alliance Airport, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services finished a 200,000-square-foot office last year and employs a few thousand more.
“That’s a pretty interesting ecosystem here when you think about it,” Berry said. “I’m not sure a lot of people understand that there is really a growing financial sector in the region.”
Schwab came to Westlake in 2017 when founder Charles Schwab, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and leaders from Westlake and surrounding cities gathered at the Circle T Ranch to celebrate the beginning of construction of the $100 million complex. Phase one of the project was completed earlier this year and phase two, which brings the campus up to 1.2 million square feet, should be done by 2021.
The property is on the line between Tarrant and Denton counties, about 23 miles north of downtown Fort Worth.
Once completed, the Schwab campus could house about 6,000 employees, Berry said. The company has about 20,000 working in 10 centers and more than 365 retail branch offices.
Berry said the growing financial hub was a sign that well-established and respected companies felt confident about the Fort Worth area.
“This means that these kinds of companies are confident they can attract and retain talent to the region,” he said.
Ameritrade deal
Schwab announced the relocation Monday along with news the San Francisco-based brokerage company acquired TD Ameritrade in an all-stock deal.
“This will allow the combined firm to take advantage of the central location of the new Schwab campus to serve as the hub of a network of Schwab branches and operation centers that span the entire U.S. and beyond,” the company said in a release.
The deal would combine two of the biggest players in the industry.
The tie-up creates a company so big, however, that it may draw sharp scrutiny from antitrust regulators. The combined company would have more than $5 trillion in client assets under management.
“With this transaction, we will capitalize on the unique opportunity to build a firm with the soul of a challenger and the resources of a large financial services institution that will be uniquely positioned to serve the investment, trading and wealth management needs of investors across every phase of their financial journeys,” Schwab CEO Walt Bettinger said in a prepared statement.
This story was originally published November 25, 2019 at 12:11 PM.
