U.S. discount brokerage Charles Schwab announced that it will shut down its Singapore office, less than two years after its opening.
Charles Schwab Singapore has placed a notice on its website telling visitors and clients «it will cease to provide services and will close its office in Singapore». When contacted by finews.asia, the company confirmed that it will cease operations in Singapore at the end of the year.
«Because Charles Schwab Singapore will no longer be licensed to hold accounts, all client funds must either be transferred to a new broker-dealer or liquidated and returned to clients. We are committed to working with clients to transition their accounts, which must occur by December 31st,» it said in an e-mail reply through a spokesperson.
Email Notifications Sent
Meanwhile, clients of Charles Schwab Singapore have received emails yesterday evening, notifying them of the closure of its Singapore office.
«This is a big surprise, (and) also poses a problem for me as I have quite a few stocks and treasury bills with them,» commented one affected customer on local forum Hardwarezone.com.
Review of Footprint
«Our long-term international strategy is to focus on regions where we can most effectively and efficiently serve retail investors at scale. As we reviewed our footprint outside the U.S., we have made the decision to concentrate our resources on markets where we can most effectively serve clients and where we can do it most efficiently for the firm,» the spokesperson added.
«As a result, going forward we will focus on growing our business in Hong Kong/China, Latin America and in the United Kingdom and Europe – utilizing our office in Hong Kong, our Latin American service center in Coral Gables, FL, and our office in London, in addition to the U.S.-based international service teams.»
Office Opened In 2017
In November 2017, the U.S. brokerage house shook the local scene with the promise of «no trade-offs for investors between quality advice, price and customer experience».
The launch of its Singapore office came after the integration and accounts migration from optionsXpress, a derivatives trading platform that the firm acquired in 2011. In May, Charles Schwab Singapore's chief executive told finews.asia that he has «seen an uptick in customers approaching Schwab Singapore with sizeable asset portfolios».
