We were excited to hear the news that Schwab plans to purchase TD Ameritrade, the investment custodian where we manage our client's accounts. Both companies are top notch providers of services to both clients and independent Registered Investment Advisors, which includes Gallant Financial Planning. We anticipate more technology tools and investment options, lower trading costs, and enhanced services for clients and advisors alike. Schwab just hired one of TD's best senior VPs to head their smaller advisor services and we are a big fan of Tom Bradley.
What this means for our clients mostly will be some future paperwork to change from being a customer of TD to a customer of Schwab (and we'll handle all of this for our clients). We'll continue to use the best investments available for client portfolios (including Dimensional Fund Advisors, Vanguard, and iShares funds) and now have the opportunity to add some of Schwab's in-house low cost, high quality funds as appropriate.
We'll post updates as the transition to Schwab progresses (once the regulators approve the purchase). Integration of the two companies is not expected to start until the second half of 2020, once the purchase details have been completed. The integration is expected to take between 18 and 36 months. [As you may have heard, Schwab recently purchased the investment arm of USAA in 2019, and this process has been going smoothly.]
In addition, we also will be reviewing information from the professional organizations that we belong to for any recommendations they have about how best to align our business practices and client services with this merger.