The Charles Schwab-Citadel PFOF Relationship
Charles Schwab, despite its reputation as a more traditional retail brokerage, receives significant PFOF payments from Citadel Securities and other wholesale market makers. Schwab's 2020 acquisition of TD Ameritrade created the largest U.S. discount brokerage — making its PFOF arrangements with Citadel among the most significant in the industry.
The Financial Scale
In ongoing, Charles Schwab received hundreds of millions annually in payment for order flow. This payment came primarily from Citadel Securities in exchange for routing Charles Schwab customers' equity orders to Citadel for execution. Citadel paid this amount because it expected to extract significantly more value from executing Charles Schwab's customers' orders — through spread capture — than it paid for the order flow. The difference represents value extracted from Charles Schwab customers through execution quality degradation.
Regulatory Actions
No major PFOF enforcement action. Continues PFOF arrangements.
What Charles Schwab Customers Should Know
Charles Schwab customers can find out how their orders are routed by accessing the broker's SEC Rule 606 quarterly report, typically available in the "Legal Disclosures" or "About" section of the broker's website. For investors concerned about PFOF, alternative brokers that route to exchanges directly — including Fidelity (for equity orders) and Interactive Brokers (with direct routing option) — are available.