The Charles Schwab Corp.’s big move to the North Texas is getting closer.
The financial services company announced Tuesday it expects to move its corporate headquarters designation from San Francisco to Hillwood’s Circle T Ranch in Westlake, effective Jan. 1. The company has now closed its acquisition of TD Ameritrade, creating a massive player in the space.
Already, Schwab has more than 2,500 employees at its Westlake campus, and approximately 2,000 employees in Southlake are at TD Ameritrade’s location, according to a spokesperson. The locale was picked and designed as a more centrally located hub.
“We remain in the planning stages of the integration and have no decisions to announce about future plans at this time,” the spokesperson said, noting the process is expected to take between 18 and 36 months from the close of the transaction.
While North Texas has been the destination point for many companies looking to relocate their headquarters, the move by Schwab is particularly significant for the region. It’s one of the big names in the financial services sector – and beyond — bringing a company that boasts nearly $50 billion in market valuation.
It’s also part of the ongoing exodus from California to Texas. McKesson, a Fortune 500 company that assists the health care industry, moved its San Francisco headquarters to the Irving last year. Core-Mark Holding Co., which provides products and services to convenience stores, moved its headquarters to Westlake last year from the same city.
Just last month, Adriana Cruz, executive director of Economic Development and Tourism for Gov. Greg Abbott’s office, said the office has 196 active relocation or expansion projects in its pipeline right now.
While Schwab is making the shift, it does not anticipate any impact on the “vast majority” of San Francisco-based roles.
The combination of the two companies creates a firm with approximately $6 trillion in client assets across 28 million brokerage accounts, it said.
Until the integration is complete, Schwab and TD Ameritrade will continue to operate separate broker-dealers to serve their respective clients.