Development of the Charles Schwab Trading and Technology Lab Underway at the Paul Merage School of Business, University of California, Irvine11:30 EST Tuesday, January 15, 2013 (Business Wire) -- The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW): Charles Schwab Executive Vice President Bernie Clark with Dean Andy Policano at the UC Irvine Groundbreaking Ceremony. (Photo: Business Wire)   WHAT: The University of California, Irvine broke ground on the planned Charles Schwab Trading and Technology Lab, the cornerstone of a new 78,000-square-foot building to be located within the University's Paul Merage School of Business. Once completed, the planned lab – announced recently at Schwab's IMPACT® 2012 conference - will offer students the ability to receive high quality training and educational tools in the areas of investment and wealth management.   The building itself will include a new 300-seat auditorium, 70-seat and 90-seat case study classrooms, a multi-purpose classroom, an executive conference room and twenty group study breakout rooms.   The development of this hands-on learning environment is made possible by funds from The Charles Schwab Foundation to build the facility and a donation of technology each by Schwab Performance Technologies® and Schwab Intelligent Technologies™.   WHO: Bernie Clark, executive vice president and head of Schwab Advisor Services, is available to discuss Schwab's philanthropic and advocacy efforts in the independent registered investment advisor (RIA) space.   Commenting on the groundbreaking, Clark said, “Schwab is thrilled to be supporting academic institutions to cultivate highly skilled, future business leaders and in turn to support and advance the independent advisor industry.”   WHEN: The groundbreaking ceremony took place at the University's Paul Merage School of Business on January 9, 2013.   HOW: The Charles Schwab Trading and Technology Lab will provide a tutorial environment, complete with demo data, so that students can receive hands-on experience using the technology as well as learn about a wide range of advisor activities from business development and client service to investment management and back office operations.   The new state-of-the-art lab is being designed to mimic the environment and layout found at a securities trading floor, allowing students to access the latest financial market data, along with superior tools and services such as interactive trade stations featuring Bloomberg, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Thomson/Reuters, Matlab, Factset, eSignal, TV monitors streaming global financial news and tickertape.   Schwab has also donated a technology package for use in the new facility, which includes license seats to Schwab Performance Technologies' PortfolioCenter® - one of the most widely used portfolio management applications available in the financial services industry and access to SchwabAdvisorCenter.com, the website used by RIAs who custody assets with Schwab Advisor Services. Schwab is also including the Schwab OpenView Gateway™ and the Schwab OpenView Workflow Library from Schwab Intelligent Technologies - recently developed solutions focused on helping advisors better serve their clients by integrating technology and best practices workflows.   Schwab Advisor Services engages in a wide range of efforts to support and advance the independent advisory industry. Activities include donations to non-profit organizations and universities, as well as providing a voice in Washington, D.C. on regulatory and public affairs issues impacting RIAs. Schwab Advisor Services also established the IMPACT Awards in 2006 to honor advisors and firms that have advanced the industry through their visionary leadership, operational excellence and technology innovation. Schwab is the driver behind RIAStandsForYou.com, a multi-media national advertising campaign with a local marketing strategy that aims to support the independent RIA category and increase awareness of the independent advisory model among high net-worth investors. Schwab Advisor Services includes the custody and trading services of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“CS&Co”), a registered broker-dealer and member SIPC, as well as the technology products and services of Schwab Performance Technologies (“SPT”) and Schwab Intelligent Technologies (“SIT”). CS&Co, SPT and SIT are affiliated as separate subsidiaries of The Charles Schwab Corporation, but their products and services are separate and independent of each other. About Charles Schwab The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) is a leading provider of financial services, with more than 300 offices and 8.7 million active brokerage accounts, 1.6 million corporate retirement plan participants, 857,000 banking accounts, and $1.92 trillion in client assets as of November 30, 2012. The company was ranked ‘Highest in Investor Satisfaction With Self-Directed Services' in the 2012 US Self-Directed Investor Satisfaction StudySM from J.D. Power and Associates. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides a full range of securities brokerage, banking, money management and financial advisory services to individual investors and independent investment advisors. Its broker-dealer subsidiary, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC, www.sipc.org), and affiliates offer a complete range of investment services and products including an extensive selection of mutual funds; financial planning and investment advice; retirement plan and equity compensation plan services; compliance and trade monitoring solutions; referrals to independent fee-based investment advisors; and custodial, operational and trading support for independent, fee-based investment advisors through its Advisor Services division. Its banking subsidiary, Charles Schwab Bank (member FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender), provides trust and custody services, banking and lending services and products. (0113-0561) Investment products offered by Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. are not insured by the FDIC, are not deposits or obligations of Charles Schwab Bank, and are subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of principal invested. More information is available at www.schwab.com and www.aboutschwab.com. Follow us on Twitter: @Schwab4RIAs Read our corporate blog: SchwabTalk Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20130115006235/en/ Charles SchwabAnita Fox, 415-667-1308anita.fox@schwab.comorThe Neibart GroupSarah Gormley, 718-875-2122sgormley@neibartgroup.com