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US: Schwab-TD Ameritrade merger targeted by antitrust suit

By  |  January 2, 2020

After Charles Schwab announced in November a deal to acquire TD Ameritrade, some RIAs voiced concerns the merger would reduce competition and innovation among the companies that serve as custodians to independent advisors.

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    Now an RIA has rolled those concerns into an antitrust lawsuit challenging the deal.

    BlackCrown Inc., a small RIA that advises on mergers and acquisitions, filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Dec. 18, Bloomberg Law reported this week. The suit was docketed on Monday.

    Both Schwab and TD Ameritrade are among the top custodians to independent advisory firms, holding the assets of the firms’ clients and providing other services.

    The lawsuit claims the planned merger would amplify concentration in a business already dominated by only four companies, according to Bloomberg Law. “But the harm does not stop here,” the suit says. “The merger would also have a significant impact on innovation.”

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