Schwab Clients Busier, Richer Last Month

Charles Schwab Corp. said Thursday that average trading by fee-paying customers rose 19% in November to 120,900, and that figure is up 84% during the last 12 months.

Schwab, the largest U.S. online broker, said customer assets rose 7% during the month to $461 billion, and average daily trades through the company’s Mutual Fund OneSource service, for which there’s no fee, rose 5% to 39,200.

The San Francisco-based company also said it is lowering the cost of a service it offers to provide customers with securities research from Credit Suisse First Boston and Hambrecht & Quist Group.

Schwab said customers who enroll will get a 60-day free trial and then pay no more than $29.95 a month, down from $49.95 a month. Some active customers will receive the service free, Schwab said.

On Monday, No. 2 online brokerage E-Trade Group Inc. reduced the price of its stock research service, featuring BancBoston Robertson Stephens analysts, from $24.95 to $5.95 a month.