Your 401(k) may include a self-directed brokerage account.
Only about 1 in 8 401(k)s in Utah and Texas offer it, and most employees have never been told it's there. It's part of your 401(k) that you simply turn on. Once it's on, you can hold individual stocks, bonds and ETFs, even gold and silver funds, alongside your regular funds. And if you want it, professional advice from an advisor you choose. We read the annual reports 401(k)s file with the Department of Labor to find the ones that have it. Yours may be one.
The only public search of 401(k) filings for this benefit that we know of.
What it is
Schwab calls it a Personal Choice Retirement Account, or PCRA: a self-directed brokerage account inside your 401(k). It takes your 401(k) from the funds your company picked to the whole market, and it opens the door to professional advice on your 401(k). The money never leaves your 401(k) and keeps the same tax treatment.
the short list your company picked
stocks, bonds, ETFs, even gold and silver funds, inside the same 401(k)
Most people assume an option like this is for someone with more money than them. Schwab sets no minimum for the account. Some 401(k)s set their own, so it's worth a quick check.
What good advice is worth
Through the Schwab PCRA, you can get professional advice on your 401(k). Small balance or large, you can work with an advisor you choose, right inside the 401(k).
Vanguard's research puts the value of good advice at about 3% a year, on average, over time. In one large study, the people furthest behind on their savings gained the most from help.
How to find an advisor, and what to ask. Or ask us, and we'll help you find one.
How we know your 401(k) has it
Every 401(k) files an annual report with the U.S. Department of Labor. When the 401(k) includes a self-directed brokerage account, the report says so, and the audited financial statements usually name the provider. We read those filings so you don't have to. Here is the line from one Utah employer's 2024 audit:
Three ways to use it
- Run it yourself.Choose individual stocks, bonds and ETFs, even gold and silver funds, alongside your regular funds. Here's exactly how to turn it on.
- Get advice.Every fund in your 401(k) already has a manager you never meet. Through the Schwab PCRA, you can work with an advisor who knows you.
- Hand it off.Your 401(k) may even let that advisor manage it for you. Schwab's form lets them trade, never withdraw, and the money never leaves your 401(k).
Many people start one way and change as they go.
Why you haven't heard of it
Your employer can't give investment advice, so nobody at work can walk you through it. They point you to the funds your company picked and stop there.
That's what we're here for. For more than 20 years, our team has worked with the Schwab PCRA. We're the experts on how it works and how to make the most of it.
90-second explainer
Questions people ask
Is this legit?
Yes. The Schwab PCRA is part of your own 401(k). Everything we tell you about your 401(k) comes from the annual report it files with the Department of Labor, and we show you the page. You'll also see it on your 401(k) website. Ask us and we'll show you where.
What does it cost?
Checking your 401(k) is free, and so is asking us. In the Schwab PCRA itself, Schwab charges no account fee. Online trades of U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs are $0. Thousands of no-transaction-fee mutual funds are $0 to buy online, and new-issue CDs and Treasuries are $0 online. A trade placed by phone with a Schwab broker is $25, and some mutual funds charge up to $49.95 to buy. Your 401(k) may add its own fee; Utah's state 401(k), for example, charges $12 a quarter. Tell us your employer and we'll find out what yours charges.
Will you tell me what to invest in?
That's a question for an advisor, and we'll get you to one. We can show you how to connect your own advisor to the Schwab PCRA in your 401(k). If you don't have an advisor, or yours isn't set up to advise you on it as a fiduciary, we can connect you with one who is. The introduction is free, and it's up to you. Ask us.
I already have an advisor.
Good. Your advisor may be able to help you with it, if a few things line up. Ask them three questions:
- Are you a fiduciary for me at all times when you advise me?
- Do you work with the Schwab PCRA inside 401(k)s, or only with accounts outside them?
- Can you be authorized on my Schwab PCRA? That takes a Schwab Advisor Services relationship, and my 401(k) has to allow it.
Three yeses, and they can advise you on it. Your 401(k) may even let them manage it for you, and the money never leaves your 401(k). If any answer is no, that's common, and you still have options: we can connect you with an advisor who works with the Schwab PCRA. It's up to you. Not sure how yours stacks up? Send us their name and firm, and we'll check for you.
I'm close to retirement.
You can usually keep your money in the 401(k) after you retire, brokerage option included. Worth knowing before you roll anything anywhere. Ask us how it works in your 401(k).
What's it called in my 401(k)?
On your 401(k) website, look under investment options for "Schwab PCRA," "Personal Choice Retirement Account," "brokerage" or "self-directed." Sometimes it's a level down. Or check here and we'll tell you what the filing says.
It's already yours. Find out what it does.
Have a question?
Ask us anything about the Schwab PCRA in your 401(k). We answer every question, usually the same day. Got an email from Aimee? Just reply to it.