Charles Schwab (SCHW) said early Friday that its first-quarter profit grew 36% while revenues increased 16% from a year ago. Schwab's RIA custody business–Advisor Services–had higher net new assets in the quarter compared to last year, while its Intelligent Portfolio robo-advisor platform ended the quarter with $6.6 billion total in its retail and advisor versions.
The firm's Q1 2016 earnings were $412 million, or $0.29 per share, up from $302 million, or $0.22 per share, in Q1 '15. The earnings net analysts' expectations and represented the highest year-over-year jump in Schwab's earnings history, the company said. Sales beat estimates at $1.76 billion, up 16% from Q1 2015.
The firm also reported that assets in its Intelligent Portfolios platform, or "digital advice," as CEO Walt Bettinger called them, expanded 25% from 2015′s fourth quarter to the $6.6 billion level. Schwab Intelligent Portfolios was launched in March 2015; Schwab Institutional Intelligent Portfolios was launched in June 2015.
Total client assets for the firm as of March 31 were $2.56 trillion, up 2% from the prior quarter and 1% from a year ago. Advisor Services assets grew 2% from last year to $1.18 trillion, while retail assets grew 1%, to $1.38 trillion.
Furthermore, according to Bettinger, assets in Schwab ETF OneSource supermarket reached $52.3 billion, "growing at a 50% compound annual growth rate since inception [in February 2014]." The firm has added 14 ETFs to this program in 2016, including those with a strategic beta, currency-hedging and fixed income focus.
