New Yorkers' Savvy Slips on Money Matters

New Yorkers' Savvy Slips on Money Matters
In World's Greatest City of Know-It-Alls, Schwab Survey Finds Financial Smarts
Fall Short of Street Smarts; Most Say They Need Help, But Few Seek It 


NEW YORK, March 28  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- New Yorkers take pride in their
street smarts -- where to find the best slice of pizza or the fastest way to
get across town -- and they're never shy about giving their advice. But when
the subject is money management, the world-famous New York savvy seems to
seriously slip, according to a new survey released today by Charles Schwab &
Co., Inc. (NASDAQ:SCH)(NYSE:SCH).

The Schwab New Yorkers' Financial Know-How Survey, conducted in February,
probed Manhattan residents and workers about their relationship with money, how
savvy they feel about managing it, their comfort with investing, and their
attitudes about giving and getting advice.

While the majority of New Yorkers know how to find a cab on a rainy day (56
percent), can tell you where to get great ethnic food (59 percent), and have no
problem multi-tasking in all aspects of their lives (66 percent), fewer than a
third:

   *    are confident in their ability to choose investment products like
        mutual funds and stocks (26 percent)
   *    build an investment portfolio to achieve long-term goals like
        retirement (32 percent), or
   *    protect an investment portfolio against risk (28 percent).



In addition, more than half (54 percent) of New Yorkers said they wish they had
a better handle on their financial situation, and 68 percent said they need a
great deal or some guidance with their personal finances -- yet barely one out
of three (36 percent) turn to a financial advisor or broker for help.

The B-train vs. Bonds

New Yorkers' reluctance to seek financial guidance is on track with their
general attitudes about giving and getting advice.  Nearly six in ten New
Yorkers (58 percent) are extremely or very comfortable giving advice to others,
but only one in five seek advice and guidance from specific professionals. 
Lawyers (22 percent) and clergy or spiritual advisors (22 percent) were cited
most frequently, with financial advisors coming in third at 19 percent. Yankees
fans are significantly more likely to seek advice than Mets fans (71% vs. 58%)
and significantly more likely than Mets fans to be knowledgeable about how to
build an investment portfolio to achieve long-term goals such as retirement
(39% vs. 27%), and about how to choose investment products (31% vs. 18%).

Yet there is a clear need for advice about money management. Four in 10 (40
percent) Manhattan residents and workers feel they have a better handle on the
New York transit system than on their personal finances; almost a third (30
percent) report that the extent of their investment know-how is knowing where
Wall Street is; and more than a third (34 percent) feel they would need to win
at Lotto in order to meet their long-term financial goals, such as retirement.

"We're here to help bridge the gap between street smarts and financial smarts,"
said Keith Huber, manager of the Charles Schwab branch at Rockefeller Center.
"With eight branches throughout Manhattan, we feel we're uniquely positioned to
offer New Yorkers the personal attention and professional advice they need to
get as comfortable with their personal finances as they are with everything
else."

Getting Guidance Pays Off for Some New Yorkers

Those New Yorkers who do make use of a financial professional are significantly
more likely to feel savvy about their personal finances than those who don't
(51 percent vs. 38 percent) and to be knowledgeable about how to manage
day-to-day finances and debt (71 percent vs. 60 percent); build an investment
portfolio to meet long-term goals (43 percent vs. 25%); choose investments (38
percent vs. 20 percent); and protect their investments against risk (37 percent
vs. 22 percent).

Schwab opened its first Manhattan branch in 1984. Since then, Schwab's
Manhattan presence has expanded to eight locations: Wall Street, Penn Plaza,
Grand Central, Park Avenue, Rockefeller Center, and the Lower East, Upper East
and Upper West Sides. Two of these are new branches -- One Madison Avenue (at
23rd Street) and 2308 Broadway (at 81st Street) -- and three of the others were
renovated during the past year.  The Financial Consultants who staff Schwab's
Manhattan branches focus on one-on-one relationship services and advice.

About the Schwab New Yorkers' Financial Know-How Survey

Conducted by StrategyOne, the survey polled 501 residents and workers in
Manhattan 18 years of age and older. The data was weighted to be representative
of city census data for residents and workers of Manhattan. Interviews were
conducted by telephone from February 18, 2005 - February 28, 2005. The margin
of error for the total sample is +4.4 at the 95 percent level of confidence,
which means that in 95 out of 100 times when a sample of this size is drawn,
the results would not vary by more than 4.4 percentage points in either
direction.

About Charles Schwab

The Charles Schwab Corporation, through its operating subsidiaries, provides
securities brokerage and financial services to individual investors and the
independent investment advisors who work with them. With over 7 million
individual investor accounts and more than $1 trillion in client assets, The
Charles Schwab Corporation is one of the nation's largest financial services
firms. Its subsidiary Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC) provides a
complete range of investment services and products, including an extensive
selection of mutual funds; financial planning and investment advice; retirement
plans; referrals to independent fee-based investment advisors; and custodial,
operational and trading support for independent fee- based investment advisors
through its Schwab Institutional division. Its subsidiary Charles Schwab Bank
(member FDIC) provides banking and mortgage services and products. The
corporation's   other operating subsidiaries include U.S. Trust Corporation
(member FDIC) and CyberTrader(R), Inc. (member SIPC) .  These companies' Web
sites can be reached at http://www.schwab.com/, http://www.schwabbank.com/, 
http://www.ustrust.com/, and http://www.cybertrader.com/.

Brokerage products: Not FDIC insured. No Bank Guarantee. May Lose Value. 

DATASOURCE: Charles Schwab



CONTACT:  Sarah Bulgatz of Charles Schwab, [phone]; or Mary

Griswold of Edelman Public Relations, [phone]



Web site:  http://www.schwab.com/ 




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