Insider trading is a serious offense in financial markets, often making headlines when executives or investors profit from non-public information.
When it comes to Charles Schwab, there haven’t been any blockbuster insider trading scandals directly implicating the firm or its top executives.
However, that doesn’t mean Schwab’s history is completely squeaky clean – there have been related regulatory actions, compliance issues, and some scrutiny of insider stock trades.
This article will break down what has happened, provide a timeline of notable cases involving Charles Schwab, and explain how Charles Schwab approaches insider trading compliance.
Case 1: 2019 Merger Speculation and Options Activity
The first notable controversy involving Schwab dates back to late 2019, during its landmark acquisition of TD Ameritrade. On November 25, media reports revealed Schwab’s plan to acquire its rival for approximately $26 billion.
Immediately, Schwab’s stock jumped nearly 8%, while TD Ameritrade’s shares also soared.
But what stood out wasn’t just the size of the deal, it was the trading activity that occurred just before the news broke.
Analysts tracking the options market noticed a sharp increase in call option purchases on Schwab stock days prior.
These bullish bets paid off handsomely once the deal was announced.
Commentators were quick to highlight the coincidence. When you see large volumes of targeted options trading right before major news, it often raises suspicions of insider knowledge.
Although no formal charges were filed and the SEC made no public findings, the incident planted early seeds of concern.
It also marked the start of Schwab being viewed as a company whose insider trades warranted closer examination.
Case 2: 2023 Banking Crisis and Insider Stock Purchases
Three years later, in March 2023, Schwab was in the news again, this time during a banking crisis triggered by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). As fear swept the markets, Schwab’s stock took a major hit. Concerns over its bond exposure and deposit base sent shares into a tailspin.
In an unexpected twist, insiders didn’t sell. Instead, they bought. Between March 14 and 17, at least nine Schwab insiders, including CEO Walt Bettinger, purchased company stock on the open market.
Bettinger publicly disclosed buying 50,000 shares, calling it a show of faith in Schwab’s long-term stability. The market responded immediately, shares rebounded 12% on the same day.
These insider purchases were the opposite of a typical insider trading scandal – rather than profiting from non-public bad news, insiders were stepping in amid public bad news to bolster the stock.
There were no allegations of wrongdoing in these trades; in fact, they were disclosed and seen as good-faith efforts to stabilize market confidence.
Case 3: Late 2023: Congressional Trade Ahead of Earnings Surprise
By the second half of 2023, Charles Schwab’s stock had largely recovered from the banking turmoil earlier that year. But even as markets stabilized, scrutiny around insider trading persisted, this time involving a new type of actor: elected officials.
One trade in particular drew attention. According to the Capitol Trades database, Representative Morgan McGarvey (D-KY) purchased up to $15,000 worth of Schwab stock on October 5, 2023. On the surface, the transaction appeared routine. However, what followed raised questions.
Less than two weeks later, on October 16, Schwab reported better-than-expected earnings and unveiled a plan to cut $1 billion in annual expenses. The news sparked a positive market reaction, with SCHW shares rising approximately 5% in a single day.
The proximity of McGarvey’s purchase to the earnings announcement prompted speculation. While the trade was modest in size and there is no public evidence suggesting he had advance knowledge of the company’s plans, the timing aligned too closely with the stock surge to go unnoticed.
Finance-focused media outlets and market observers on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) highlighted the trade as another example of the growing scrutiny around congressional stock activity.
Capitol Trades even tweeted about McGarvey’s move, implicitly posing the question: “lucky timing or something else?”.
Though this instance did not result in an investigation or allegation of wrongdoing, it underscored how much attention is now paid to the intersection of politics, policymaking, and financial markets.
Even relatively small trades can trigger public reaction, especially when they align with major market-moving events.
Case 4: Heavy Insider Sales in 2024–2025
Following the chaos of 2023, Schwab’s stock gradually recovered throughout the year and into early 2024. But then another trading pattern caught public attention, this time, a sustained wave of insider selling.
Between early 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, Schwab insiders collectively sold more than a million shares, generating over $80 million.
Co-founder Charles R. “Chuck” Schwab alone sold nearly 695,000 shares for about $56 million. Former CEO Walt Bettinger sold another 465,000 shares, worth around $38 million.
Other senior executives followed suit, including members of the board and leadership team. Importantly, during this entire stretch, no significant insider purchases were reported.
Now, insider sales aren’t inherently problematic.
Executives routinely sell stock for personal reasons, diversification, taxes, estate planning. And many use 10b5-1 trading plans, which are pre-scheduled and legally approved. But the lack of buying and the sheer volume of sales raised concerns.
Observers noted that Schwab insiders sold roughly $82 million in stock during the period, while buying only about $2.3 million. The imbalance fueled speculation. Some interpreted the mass selling as a lack of confidence in Schwab’s near-term outlook, especially amid broader economic uncertainty and rising interest rates.
Despite the media buzz, no regulatory action followed. All trades were publicly disclosed, and there was no suggestion of illegal behavior. Still, the optics reinforced the idea that Schwab’s insider activity was worth keeping an eye on.
Case 5: 2025 Tariff Reversal and Alleged Political Favoritism
The most dramatic twist came in April 2025. This time, the controversy centered not on Schwab executives, but on Charles “Chuck” Schwab himself, in connection with former President Donald Trump.
It started with a steep market decline caused by Trump’s surprise announcement of aggressive new tariffs.
Then, on April 9, he reversed course, pausing the tariffs for 90 days. Stocks soared. The S&P 500 rose more than 9% in a single day.
That same day, Trump posted on social media, “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!”
Hours later, a video from the Oval Office Trump openly boasted to a group of NASCAR drivers that his friend Charles Schwab “made two and a half billion today” thanks to the market rebound.
Lawmakers quickly accused Trump of tipping off friends to the tariff reversal. Senator Chris Murphy tweeted that an insider trading scandal was brewing.
Two other members of Congress, Sen. Ruben Gallego and Rep. Adam Schiff, sent an official letter calling for an urgent inquiry into “whether the President, his family, or other members of the administration engaged in insider trading or other illegal financial transactions” around the tariff U-turn.
Even independent Sen. Bernie Sanders chimed in, arguing that if someone knows the market is about to jump, “you’re going to buy a hell of a lot of stock” in advance.
The insider trading allegations here were unmistakable: that Trump’s cryptic public hint and subsequent policy move allowed insiders (like Schwab) to reap huge gains on positions taken before the news.
It’s worth noting that Charles Schwab is a billionaire whose fortune is largely tied up in markets, so a big market rally would naturally boost his net worth regardless.
There has been no evidence disclosed that Schwab or others in the room executed specific trades based on private information from Trump.
In fact, legal experts pointed out that Trump’s initial “great time to buy” post was made publicly on social media, which complicates any insider trading case.
As of mid-2025, this incident has not led to any confirmed legal charges.
Regulatory Context and Enforcement
Despite repeated flare-ups, Schwab has not faced insider trading penalties from regulators. The SEC and DOJ actively monitor insider activity, and they’ve stepped up enforcement of misuse involving 10b5-1 plans. But as of now, Schwab executives haven’t been charged.
The company has, however, faced other regulatory actions. In 2022, Schwab paid $187 million to settle charges related to its robo-advisor disclosures. In 2018, it paid $2.8 million for failing to flag suspicious transactions.
These cases weren’t tied to insider trading, but they show that Schwab is no stranger to compliance scrutiny.
In terms of insider trading, the most serious action to date has been political. not regulatory. The calls for investigation after the Trump episode remain unresolved, and whether they will lead to legal consequences is still unknown.
Tracking Insider Trades: The Rise of Public Tools
One reason these insider trades and allegations have gained so much visibility is the rise of public tracking tools that make insider activity easy to monitor.
Platforms like Quiver Quantitative and Unusual Whales compile data directly from SEC filings, allowing anyone, from institutional analysts to retail investors, to track trades by company executives, politicians, and major market players in real time.
According to Quiver Quant, Charles R. Schwab (the company’s founder) has sold roughly 6.3 million shares of $SCHW stock since 2021, generating an estimated $478 million in proceeds. During the same period, Schwab insiders as a group bought just 312,000 shares, while selling around 8.6 million, a glaring imbalance that’s hard to ignore.
These numbers are readily available on Quiver Quant’s dashboards, which break down each transaction by date, amount, and filing time.
Similarly, Unusual Whales, known for flagging unusual options trades and congressional stock transactions, also played a role in the April 2025 saga.
The platform noted “extremely suspicious” trading activity in the options market just before Trump’s tariff announcement , suggesting that some traders positioned themselves to profit from the coming market jump.
This kind of analysis lent weight to the calls for an investigation, as it indicated possible advance knowledge circulating among certain investors.
By leveraging such tools, reporters and even hobbyist analysts on social media were able to shine a light on patterns that might otherwise remain buried in regulatory filings.
Conclusion
Charles Schwab Corporation has become a frequent subject of insider trading speculation. From merger leaks and banking crises to political chaos and algorithm-tracked trades, each situation brought a unique set of questions.
What connects them is timing, trades that seem too good, too perfect, or too conveniently aligned with big news. Though none have resulted in insider trading convictions, the ongoing scrutiny reflects how perceptions of fairness and transparency shape public trust.
As modern tools and political oversight intensify, Schwab and its insiders will remain under the microscope. And while selling stock isn’t a crime, doing so under a cloud of suspicion can damage reputations just as quickly.
For now, the verdict isn’t legal, it’s public.