Charles Schwab acquires TD Ameritrade and will move headquarters from poop capitol San Francisco to Westlake, Texas

Days of Sunshine Blog:

Charles Schwab has been headquartered in San Francisco since its Sacramento-born founder established the company in the 1970s. Alas, that is no more. Charles Schwab announced today that it was acquiring TD Ameritrade, and in the process, it is moving its headquarters to … wait for it… Westlake, Texas.

The company says that it will still keep some of its workforce in the city (for the time being), but this is a major loss for the city (and the State of California). The company was already intent on moving its operations to Texas, and with the new acquisition is picking up major facilities in other low-cost states. Divesting from California just became a lot easier.

Schwab personally made $100,000 in campaign donations to oppose 2018’s Proposition C, which raised taxes on companies’ gross receipts over $50 million to fund homelessness services. The city has become a magnet for homeless and drug addicts, and now has more drug addicts than children enrolled in public high schools.

Schwab is only the latest major defection telling San Francisco (and the State of California) to pound sand. Not to point out the obvious here, but this investment adviser is literally following all the money to Texas.

In June, North Face finished moving from Alameda to Denver. In April, the McKesson Corporation – which sells medical devices and pharmaceuticals, and is one of the largest companies in the world – ditched San Francisco for Los Colinas, Texas. In June of last year, Bechtel – the massive engineering firm that created San Francisco’s BART transit system – moved to Virginia. Before that, Jamba Juice moved to Frisco, Texas.

San Francisco’s economy is now almost completely built on the tech industry. From a government perspective, having a highly concentrated economy makes the city’s tax structure very fragile. While it may seem like high times in San Francisco now (literally and figuratively), the next recession will likely have a profound impact on the city. That should be of even more concern to folks there, as government services are already breaking them in a robust economy. Demand for government services only increases during a recession.
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The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports:

Financial giant Charles Schwab will acquire competitor TD Ameritrade for $26 billion — that’s big news in the financial world, but it’s “enormous news” for Westlake.

The northeast Tarrant County town will be home to the merged headquarters, according to Schwab’s announcement on Monday. The release was not specific on a timeline, but combining the two companies could take 18 to 36 months. The deal, subject to regulatory approval, should close in the second half of 2020.

The move solidifies Westlake as a financial hub for Texas and the region, said Jon Sasser, a city spokesman. Fidelity Investments and Deloitte University also have offices in Westlake.
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Schwab has a sizable presence in Dallas-Fort Worth already with about 2,300 employees, including some already working at the Westlake campus, which is under construction.

It is unclear how the merged headquarters will affect those employees or others across the country. Schwab spokeswoman Mayura Hooper did not provide details and said it was “too early to comment on any specifics.” The company’s statement said a small percentage of San Francisco employees would relocate, but the company was committed to keeping a substantial operation in the Bay Area.

Ameritrade employs about 2,300 workers at its Omaha headquarters. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, a former Ameritrade executive, said the announcement created uncertainty and he would work to “personally make the case to Schwab to stay committed to Omaha,” according the to the Omaha World-Herald. The company built a $123 million campus on 78 acres in Southlake in 2018.
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The combined companies will have roughly $5 trillion in customer assets under management.  The Schwab office space in Westlake is expected to handled up to 6,000 office workers.  Schwab had opposed the increased tax rate imposed by California to deal with the homeless in the area.  The employees who move to Texas will find much more affordable housing.