Charles Schwab (SCHW) has been trying to convince exchange traded fund firms to enlist in a new trading platform that would let Schwab clients trade ETFs for free, Reuters reports.
“ETF providers, however, have been reluctant to sign on to Schwab’s plan because they would have to pay the firm a marketing fee they say is too high, according to people with knowledge of the discussions,” reports Jessica Toonkel at Reuters.
Financial services giant and online broker Schwab also manages its own lineup of ETFs. Schwab ETFs hold $8.3 billion in assets, while the total U.S. ETF market is about $1.3 trillion, according to XTF.
Schwab already lets its customers trade its own ETFs commission-free, and some ETF providers have similar arrangements with online brokers.
But Schwab would be the first to create a commission-free ETF supermarket with funds from multiple firms, Reuters reports.
Schwab is proposing that ETF providers pay the brokerage distribution and marketing fees in the range of 0.05% and 0.10%, but the range is too high for many providers to turn a profit, according to the story.
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