How to Copy Trade on Charles Schwab

Step-by-step guide · 5 min read

Link your Charles Schwab account to RelayTrades and configure exactly how the strategies you subscribe to interact with it. Schwab’s broad market access pairs with RelayTrades’ server-side rules so every routed order respects the limits you set, and your assets never leave Schwab’s custody.

Copy trade on Charles Schwab in 5 steps

1. 01

   Sign up and connect your Charles Schwab account

   Create an account at app.relaytrades.com, then connect your Charles Schwab account through SnapTrade. SnapTrade is a secure brokerage-connection service, so your Charles Schwab login is never shared with RelayTrades. Once connected, RelayTrades automatically detects what your Charles Schwab account is enabled to trade (stocks, ETFs, and options).

2. 02

   Choose a strategy to follow

   Browse the available traders and strategies, review their historical metrics, and subscribe to the one(s) you want to copy. Some strategies are free to follow; others are paid by the trader who runs them.

3. 03

   Set your sizing and safeguards

   Before any trade copies, decide how it maps to your account: a sizing multiplier (or maximum position size) so a larger account's trade scales sensibly to yours, your routing mode (auto-copy or manual approval), and risk controls, maximum exposure, daily-loss caps, and slippage protection. Set up your one-tap kill switch here too. Every rule is enforced server-side before an order is placed.

4. 04

   Let trades route to your own Charles Schwab account

   When the trader places a trade, RelayTrades relays the signal in about a second and places the matching order in your own Charles Schwab account, scaled to your settings. Your funds never leave your Charles Schwab account, RelayTrades only routes the orders you have chosen to follow and never takes custody or discretionary control.

5. 05

   Monitor and stay in control

   Track your positions and profit/loss from the dashboard. You can switch any strategy to manual approval, pause automation, or use the kill switch to halt all activity and flatten open positions on your Charles Schwab account instantly. You can revoke the Charles Schwab connection at any time.

Why Charles Schwab works well with RelayTrades

• Full custody stays at Schwab. Your capital remains in your Charles Schwab account. RelayTrades provides automation support and safeguards, not capital management.
• Configure before you copy. Set sizing multipliers, time windows, stop-loss and take-profit defaults, and choose automated or manual routing for each strategy.
• Full audit trail. Every signal and routed execution on your Schwab account is logged so you can review exactly what happened and why.

New to copy trading? Read how copy trading works or see the Charles Schwab copy trading overview.