Charles Schwab Nabs Top Spot in Barron's Brokerage Survey.

Business Editors

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 4, 2002

Cited for Its Wide Range of Client Offerings,

Schwab is the Leader Among Online Brokers;

Active Trader Services Also Praised

Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. has bested 21 other brokers in Barron's 7th annual ranking of online brokers. Schwab was cited for offering investors a variety of ways to place trades -- in person, on the phone and online -- and for its wide range of offerings. "Schwab's success as an online broker is indicative of our commitment to the needs of our clients," says President and Co-CEO David S. Pottruck. "Even as we expand our selection of advice and other full service offerings, Schwab remains committed to delivering the best that the Web has to offer in online research, planning, trading and portfolio monitoring. We are very pleased that Barron's quantitative technique for evaluating investor benefits concluded that no online broker offers as much to clients as Schwab."

In addition to acknowledging Schwab for giving investors a full range of investment services as well as a variety of ways to access them, Barron's reviewer, Theresa Carey, gave the company credit for upgrades made to its research and planning tools, noting that Schwab "allows you to generate reports by typing commands in plain English," and to further "customize reports by asking for specific information such as analyst ratings or price-earnings ratios." MyResearch Report garnered points because of the personalization it offers investors allowing them to create customized reports based on their own research and analysis preferences.

Barron's also liked Schwab's services for active traders including the ability "to place trades in multiple accounts simultaneously." Also praised was OptionStreet(TM), an integrated site that gives options traders expanded trading tools, potential price improvements on certain trades, and educational resources on options strategies, and then lets them build, price and place orders all in one spot.(1)

About Charles Schwab

The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCH), one of the nation's largest financial services firms, serves 7.9 million active accounts with $830.1 billion in client assets. As of the fourth quarter of 2001, Schwab has 4.3 million active online accounts with $341.2 billion in client assets. Through Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC/NYSE), U.S. Trust Corporation, CyberTrader, Inc. (member SIPC/NASD), Schwab provides a full-service investing experience to clients through 429 domestic offices, 5 regional client telephone service centers and automated telephonic and online channels. The Charles Schwab, U.S. Trust and CyberTrader Web sites can be reached at www.schwab.com, www.ustrust.com and www.cybertrader.com, respectively.

(1) Options carry a high level of risk and are not suitable for all investors. Certain requirements must be met to trade options through Schwab. Please read the Options Disclosure Document titled "Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options" before considering any option transaction. Email Schwab (under Account Services), call your local Schwab office, or write Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. at 101 Montgomery Street, San Francisco CA 94104 for a current copy.