Walt Bettinger Charles Schwab President and CEO

Talk to Walt.

Chuck Schwab and John Coghlan made a bold bet in 1995 buying a little-known TPA back office named the Hampton Company. At the time, the buzz was that Schwab [see profile] wanted to be "top five in five" in the 401(k) business. Instead, the dotcom bubble inflated and first Coghlan, then David Pottruck, left Schwab and Walt Bettinger -- who founded Hampton as a 22-year-old -- has the top job.

Under Bettinger, Schwab is making an impact in the ETF space, both as a fund sponsor and a distributor. Last year, the San Francisco-based firm kicked off a price war when it priced its proprietary ETFs' commission at nothing. Schwab's OneSource mutual fund supermarket, the granddaddy of the industry, remains the leader for fund firms reaching fee-based advisors. 

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