Charles Schwab has announced that it will purchase TD Ameritrade in a $26 billion deal.

On its own, Charles Schwab currently holds about $3.7 trillion in client assets. Its acquisition of TD Ameritrade will bring Schwab's total to about $5 trillion in assets. ThinkAdvisor reports that, in addition, "Schwab has also announced plans to spend another $1.8 billion on USAA's brokerage and managed portfolio accounts, which have some $90 billion in client assets."

Schwab and TD Ameritrade both have expressed intent to transition toward zero commissions. With this change, industry expert Jon Henschen anticipates "huge savings" for clients of advisors, though he says it's unclear what the response will be from large clearing firms.

Smaller advisors and RIAs have expressed uncertainty about how this acquisition will affect them as the firm grows.  Still, JMP Securities analyst, Devin Ryan, told FinancialPlanning.com, "We think that 1+1 would equal more than 2 in a combination between Schwab and Ameritrade and would create an even stronger competitor."