msf, you are absolutely correct! My Schwab assigned Personal Account Representative has previously informed me that there is a list of local FAs, that they can provide to me, if I want to work with someone locally. We have not gone down that path "yet", but we have discussed it as an option. The important thing for me is to involve my wife in these decisions, and to ensure she is part of the decision, whatever that may be. And concerning the "option" of switching my banking arrangement to an online experience with Schwab Brokerage, that has been discussed periodically on these financial forums in the past, and it has been adopted by a few posters I know very well. If it was just a decision I was making for myself, then I would look at it in more detail. But Banking in my situation, is always "joint" banking arrangements, and I always have my wife's input/participation in those decisions. We have been married over 50 years, and I know how frustrated my wife is with online financial processes, and she would never agree to online, joint banking systems. Just because it is possible to do it, does not mean it is something that you should do, especially if it will upset and be resisted by your wife.

If it seemed like I was pushing you to bank at a brokerage, I apologize. I was responding to a statement that banking should be left to banks. Since some brokerages capably provide most banking services, then if one's brokerage is convenient and if one is comfortable with this idea, banking and investing through one institution can simplify things.
FWIW, I see there is a fee-only advisory firm (via NAPFA) in Tyler that can work through Schwab. This is just a suggestion of something to explore if you haven't done so. Tyler does seem to be rather removed from much of the financial industry so as you stated, there aren't many options for face-to-face transactions.
People have been suggesting alternatives because bank-affiliated advisors may wind up costing more than independent advisors, in terms of fees, in terms of limited offerings, in terms of recommendations (conflicts of interest). Here's an old Forbes opinion piece that goes into this.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robrussell/2016/01/18/should-you-trust-a-bank-with-your-investments/
That's not to say it is impossible to find a financial advisor at a bank who meets your needs. Just be careful. Given the stringent constraints you're working with (geography, wife's capabilities, comfort level, interest in brick and mortar) it sounds like you're doing the best you can.

DT, you know I like and respect you, but often it boils down to your wife and extremly limited options in a 10-mile radius.
What would happen if there was only one lousy bank and nothing else?
I think the best choices long term are mutual funds. If I'm gone, my wife has to drive to the local Schwab and meet with our local rep so he can sell all other funds and do the following.
Another possibility could be that I grow old and decide to implement it anyway. I can do it all online.
I'm not letting any bank (even not BofA + Merrill) or CU hold my money except 3-6 months cash.
In order to make my wife's investment decisions easier, I set up a written plan for her to invest in only 3 funds. I only trust 2 choices indexes + Vanguard funds managed by Wellington for long term hold. Wellington Management is the oldest, it's conservative, team style, and not one dominant manager, with a very cheap expense ratio. Since our money isn't with Vanguard, we would have to own the more expensive funds(not Admiral), but it's still cheap.
For a younger age, until age 75 and still having a taxable account...50% VWINX(40/60)...taxable=20% VWAHX(HY Muni)...30% VSMGX (60/40 invested in 2 US + 2 international indexes). Since HY Muni bonds are hybrid, this portfolio is more like 40/60.
Older than 70-75 or taxable account is gone: 40% VWINX(40/60)...30% VWEHX(HY Corp)...30% VSMGX(60/40). Since HY Corp bonds are hybrid, this portfolio is more like 35/65(stocks/bonds).
As long as I'm managing the portfolio, I will be using my style.

FD, what you and your wife do in the future is a private and personal issue, that you will have to resolve. Other poster opinions will be based on their unique situations. I am absolutely sure, my wife and I will go down our own unique path, and I am absolutely sure my wife would not be willing to tolerate a "written plan" that involved mutual funds that "I" trust, or would tolerate. She will live her life, with "her" tolerances, and based on some arrangement that she accepts. The type of situation that she most often quotes to me, is that of what several of our lifelong close friends have--they have a "financial advisor" who works for an investing firm. Our friends do not have the investing skills to perform self-directed investing decisions. My wife will need a professional to hold her hand, attempt to meet her financial wishes, and try to avoid investing decisions. Our friends will be her "support system", and I will be a "cherished memory" who is not available any longer to help her.
Now, the current topic has become the idea that it would be good to have all banking activities rolled into the brokerage umbrella that we have developed with Schwab. I know my wife, I know her needs, I know her frustration level, I know her financial skills, and I know what she would prefer. All she knows is banking activities, tied to local brick and mortar banks, located close to our residence. That is what our friends do with their banking as well, including a friend who uses Schwab for his investments. My wife would be very resistant if I tried to impose online banking, through Schwab brokerage. Others know what will work for them, maybe very different than my situation with my wife--that is fine and none of my business.

@dtconroe, I remember discussing this some years ago. At the time, you had indicated that Fido office was 2 hours away in Dallas, but there was a 2-3 person local Schwab broker/office - did that close?

Yes, it closed, and all the Schwab Account information was reassigned to a "new" personal account representative in the Dallas area. We had switched from a Fido office in Dallas, to the Schwab office in Tyler, for access and convenience for my wife. My wife was very willing to make the 10 minute drive to the Tyler Schwab office, to meet staff, and know who to meet with when necessary. When Schwab closed in Tyler, I was back to the same predicament we had with Fido. That is very frustrating regarding brokerage services for my wife, and I sure am not going to switch my local banking services to Schwab and further complicate financial access and convenience issues for my wife.
I may be more obsessed with a financial system, that is user friendly for my wife, than others are. If something happens to me, I don't want to leave an emotionally distraught spouse, struggling with a financial arrangement that is online, scary, and intimidating for her. I keep banking local and enough money in local banks, so she can take a 10 minute drive to the bank, and ask a local bank representative to "help" her make necessary changes to reflect my demise. She can't do that easily with Schwab, does not have the online skills to handle that, and does not want to make a 4 hour roundtrip drive to a Dallas office in very congested traffic.

In reading the various recent posts regarding banks and brokerages, I assume everyone's spouses have the skill sets, to do all the financial transactions online, without your direct assistance? With regard to Schwab, there is no local Schwab office where we live, so everything related to Schwab is online activity. When I have attempted to "train/educate" my spouse to be able to conduct online activities, she gets frustrated and upset, because it is not simple to her. Her response to my educational efforts with her is: "Just write it down and if something happens to you, I will try to call the toll free number and do my best to figure it out". We do have a designated person with Schwab, that we can contact for our Schwab account, and he has requested that we visit him at his office, to discuss brokerage account details--he is located 2 hours away in Dallas, in a very congested setting. Making a 4 hour round trip drive to Dallas to meet and talk to this Schwab representative is not a very appealing activity for my spouse or me.
My spouse is "old school", familiar with brick and mortar banks that are close and convenient, with a real person she can visit and talk with regarding financial matters. Doing that online is intimidating to her, is complicated to her, and it is scary to her. But everyone's situation is different, and maybe your spouses are comfortable and able to do that online independently, without your assistance when necessary.

Good point. My guess would be that 90% or more of the public lacks the skill-set evident regularly on this forum. I’m convinced that a few here trade C/Ds, stocks & ETFs in their sleep at night. Things not only your wife but most would be uncomfortable doing. Certainly there is a wide variance here as well - but most would appear far above the norm.
When I bought a new car a month ago, at first the local dealer balked at taking a check written on my Fido C/M account, preferring funds be wired. But it was the last day of the month (Saturday) and they were pushing to get the car out, so broke their house rules and accepted the check. Gosh - haven’t run into this before. I’ve never wired funds (at least in recent memory). I’d imagine it can be done online but might take an extra day?
I don’t write checks on the Fido C/M often. Mostly for large purchases, taxes, home infrastructure. I also keep a bit of cash in a TOD account at Fido just so I can keep the “invested” cash (part of overall portfolio) separate from that earmarked for near term expenses. Could be done on paper, but simpler this way. Easy to move the $$ back and forth. Up until a few months ago Fido defaulted cash into a lower interest rate offering. I think it was an FDIC insured bank account. But thanks to @msf’s comments and those of others here we have learned that there is now a way to bypass that default setting and have C/M and TOD accounts kept in a higher yielding money market fund.

In reading the various recent posts regarding banks and brokerages, I assume everyone's spouses have the skill sets, to do all the financial transactions online, without your direct assistance? With regard to Schwab, there is no local Schwab office where we live, so everything related to Schwab is online activity. When I have attempted to "train/educate" my spouse to be able to conduct online activities, she gets frustrated and upset, because it is not simple to her. Her response to my educational efforts with her is: "Just write it down and if something happens to you, I will try to call the toll free number and do my best to figure it out". We do have a designated person with Schwab, that we can contact for our Schwab account, and he has requested that we visit him at his office, to discuss brokerage account details--he is located 2 hours away in Dallas, in a very congested setting. Making a 4 hour round trip drive to Dallas to meet and talk to this Schwab representative is not a very appealing activity for my spouse or me.
My spouse is "old school", familiar with brick and mortar banks that are close and convenient, with a real person she can visit and talk with regarding financial matters. Doing that online is intimidating to her, is complicated to her, and it is scary to her. But everyone's situation is different, and maybe your spouses are comfortable and able to do that online independently, without your assistance when necessary.

@dtconroe,
I am requoting my previous post for reference. I never had any bad experiences with CUs when I was their customer.

I can endorse CU as financial institutions, especially for their excellent customer service. I have dealt with them over the years. I never had large enough invested with them to worry about their balance sheet or how NCUA works. It seems they get into trouble far less than regional / community banks. Do your DD.
In the interest of full disclosure, I stopped doing business with them when cyber attacks of US businesses became more prevalent. Just my luck, a few years after I closed my account, Patelco CU had a cyber attack and my info was compromised.

Use banks or CU for banking services. Use brokerages for brokerage banking services.
Why not use a brokerage for banking services?

In 1977, Merrill Lynch took a gamble with a concept known as a CMA (cash management account). This blending of banking and broker services into a one-stop-shop for financial services ...

https://www.sri.com/press/story/75-years-of-innovation-cash-management-account-cma/
Several brokerages offer cash management services. You can write checks and use a debit card from a Schwab brokerage account - you don't need Schwab bank for this.
https://www.schwab.com/content/how-to-order-new-debit-credit-card
You're not going to get a safe deposit box or take out a loan at a brokerage. But for your basic cash management and notary services, ISTM a brokerage can do just as well. And by using a brokerage for these services, that's one less account to have to deal with.

One should avoid bank or CU financial advisors. They typically have high commissions & push a narrow group of products or firms' own products.
A general salaried advisor at Fido or Schwab may offer better free, no obligation opinions.
Use banks or CU for banking services. Use brokerages for brokerage banking services.

Probably valid observations "in general" but would not work for my wife, in times of bereavement, in Tyler, Texas. I have to work with the cards I am dealt, including my wife's rigid resistance to travel 2 hours, to meet a stranger at a brokerage, that she has no history with. I have an opportunity to use this specific Financial Advisor, who my wife knows and trusts, and that has a much greater odds of succeeding. We can talk in generalizations all day long on these threads, but individual posters have to decide on what will work, for their specific circumstances

One should avoid bank or CU financial advisors. They typically have high commissions & push a narrow group of products or firms' own products.
A general salaried advisor at Fido or Schwab may offer better free, no obligation opinions.
Use banks or CU for banking services. Use brokerages for brokerage banking services.

It looks to me that a big CU is a better choice for safety. I use Penfed for their credit cards. It is federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration.
I would not select a small CU for large amounts of Certificate of Deposit to get a small extra %.
It's similar to MM. In a very risky market, I have used Fed MM and not the highest paying MM who can be locked.

FD, I have other "agendas" going on here beside the attractive Share Certificate/CD offering. I am trying to develop a "process" of setting up some local resources for my wife to use, in case I die and my wife needs to deal with financial life, in my absence. My wife hates investing, but loves CDs from experiences managing her parents CDs when they were at end of life. At the Kelley Credit Union, they happen to have a licensed Financial Advisor she would trust, because he is the son of an old friend she use to work with. For my own piece of mind, and to address some increasing anxiety my wife has with how to handle financial resources in my absence, this is a viable plan for her to learn more and be prepared to be successful without me.
These threads often have a lot more unique individual issues that impact each poster/investor, than just what asset products to use or not use, or what investing strategy will be the most productive.

I can endorse CU as financial institutions, especially for their excellent customer service. I have dealt with them over the years. I never had large enough invested with them to worry about their balance sheet or how NCUA works. It seems they get into trouble far less than regional / community banks. Do your DD.
In the interest of full disclosure, I stopped doing business with them when cyber attacks of US businesses became more prevalent. Just my luck, a few years after I closed my account, Patelco CU had a cyber attack and my info was compromised.

BaluBalu'
Thanks for your personal experience, and I am sorry for your bad experience. I totally agree with "Do your DD". I have never experienced issues with Credit Unions that you experienced, but just like Banks, Credit Unions should be researched. My "bad experiences" have occurred with Banks. Woodforest National Bank use to be my primary bank, until I experienced Identity theft issues. Someone got into my checking account information, wrote some huge and numerous bad checks over the course of just a couple of days, forcing me to file a Police Report, get a new Drivers License, and close my banking account. In the process of dealing with these issues, the local police department informed me that they had many similar problems with Woodforest National Bank and encouraged me to get a new bank with better security for depositor accounts. Of course, I experienced numerous "bank problems" during the 2007/2008 financial crisis, with several banks that went bankrupt and had to close--the most well known bank was the Countrywide Bank, where I had several CDs. Fortunately, my CD investments were okay with FDIC protections, but it took a little time to clean up the Countrywide mess! I did my Due Diligence on local credit unions in Tyler, and although I have been using another Credit Union (CASE Credit Union), it was not as good as Kelley Credit Union when it came to Share Certificates/CDs. As you said do your Due Diligence, and gather some quality information before making your financial decision.

I can endorse CU as financial institutions, especially for their excellent customer service. I have dealt with them over the years. I never had large enough invested with them to worry about their balance sheet or how NCUA works. It seems they get into trouble far less than regional / community banks. Do your DD.
In the interest of full disclosure, I stopped doing business with them when cyber attacks of US businesses became more prevalent. Just my luck, a few years after I closed my account, Patelco CU had a cyber attack and my info was compromised.

Just a little additional information on Credit Unions. Credit Unions are very "similar" but not identical to banks. Credit Unions offer the same wide array of products that Banks do--checking accounts, savings accounts, credit cards, debit cards, bill pay, Share Certificates/CDs, and they offer a wide range of loans such as car, mortgage, and personal loans. They have government insurance protections (NCUA), which is virtually identical to FDIC for Banks. Almost every mid-size city or larger, will have several different credit unions that should be evaluated for customer service, financial health, and slight variances in interest rates and fees that accompanies their products.
Yesterday, I visited the Kelley Community Credit Union in Tyler, Texas, a city of about 100,000 in population, one of the fastest growing cities in Texas, and a very popular city for Retirees. Kelley Credit Union has a very new and attractive brick and mortar facility, much nicer than the Bank I use. It also has more staff and more professional services in its facility, than the bank I use--for example they have a Professional Licensed Financial Advisor, who previously worked for Morgan Stanley, which my Bank does not have. The main reason I went to this Credit Union is because they offer one of the highest one year "non-callable Share Certificate/CDs at 4.5%, higher than what I can get at my Bank or at Schwab Brokerage. They were very professional and informed me of a special incentive program, if I use several of their products (checking accounts, debit cards, Direct Deposits, E-Statements, and at least $15,000 in deposits and loans) which would lead them to add" .3% to the existing 4.5% Share Certificate/CD so that the actual rate would be 4.8%.
This is a quality and low risk option for my investments, and you may find similar options from a Credit Union in your area!

I heartily agree with you, dt, that individual circumstance has a great deal of impact, at least in principle, on one's financial positioning, what one considers 'risky', and how much risk one is willing to incorporate into one's investments. All of that in addition to one's personal comfort level for allocation. So, yes, I would agree that the advice one may receive online is distorted by those, often absent, details, or by their variability amongst participants.
Almost everyone means well, but it is as if we have different native tongues, and are, nonetheless, trying to explain our thinking. Over time, we come to understand the particular point of view of a recognizable poster, but we certainly need to be circumspect with regard to 'strangers', lest we be misunderstood (and, therefore, mislead). My own circumstances are enough different, that I hesitiate to offer advice without tons of qualification!

racqueteer: "Risk is an odd and variable concept. People tend to view things which haven't exhibited poor outcomes as being "riskless", but just because something hasn't manifested, does not mean that its potential isn't present. Unless you believe in "something for nothing", good performers are taking risks; whether obvious or not. We simply don't observe the consequences of that risk until something goes wrong. Absence doesn't imply nonexistence."
I have read this post a few times, scratched my head a bit about the various applications in the financial world, with it kind of reminding me of the "Deep Thoughts" skits on Saturday Night Live. In the investing/financial world, I am not sure you can avoid the impact of financial factors associated with "risk" that contributes to what you do with other financial decision making. For example, posters often take very strong positions regarding investing in equities, various categories of bond oefs, the importance of investment grade designations for various bond investments, financial health ratings for various banks and their products, role of various fixed income categories that have government insurance protections (FDIC,NCUA) for institutions like banks and credit unions, compared to some brokerage products like Brokerage Money Market funds. In the mutual fund world, standard deviation is commonly used measure to establish the "riskiness" of bond oefs, but often only within that category of bond oefs.
One of my personal issues is how social security and company pension programs impact how much "risk" one will take in other types of investments, such as equities and bond oefs. How much do those pension programs form "safety nets" that allows an investor take more risks in other categories of investing. I have no company pension support payment, my social security payments are relatively small (some of my employers were not participating in social security). I try to use CDs and comparable "low risk" investments to form my safety net, since I do not have a safety net pension program in financial assets. It can all be very different for different investors/posters, and yet when people make posts, you rarely have a comprehensive and detailed set of information about that poster/investor, that forms the basis for giving away free financial advice to others.

You may have seen the news that the 39th President Jimmy Carter passed away after about 2 years under home hospice care.

U.S. stock exchanges will close on Thursday, January 9 in observation of a national day of mourning in honor of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who died on Sunday at the age of 100.
The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq announced the closures on Monday, a customary gesture to honor deceased presidents.
The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association has recommended an early close on Jan 9 for the U.S. bond market at 2:00 p.m. ET/1900 GMT.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/wall-street-close-jan-9-honor-president-jimmy-carter-2024-12-30/

It is better to understand the basics and contemplate than to eat what product selling financial institutions feed us. (loop back to YBB's post re ratings and securitization). No disrespect specific to VanEck intended (I use their products.)

I agree with @yogibearbull’s explanation of how CLOs work. If he meant to ascribe blame for the Great Financial Crisis to CLOs I must have missed it. Do your own research. No need to trust VanEck.
Here’s an article from Wharton
Here’s one from the Financial Times
From JP Morgan
Yes, Investment grade rated CLOs entail more risk than highly rated corporate bonds. No. They did not cause or contribute to the GFC. No. You should not own them unless you understand the risk / reward trade-off and think they in some small way complement your overall investment portfolio. Just don’t conflate them with CDOs. No one benefits from such inaccurate unfounded inferences.

It is better to understand the basics and contemplate than to eat what product selling financial institutions feed us. (loop back to YBB's post re ratings and securitization).
No disrespect specific to VanEck intended (I use their products.)

Human beings need reminding the same thing every few years to protect them from themselves. By now, in the minds of many, GFC is just an acronym devoid of the depth of its true meaning.

All the more reason to understand the difference between CDOs which caused the 2007-2009 financial crisis and CLOs which did not.
If you were invested to a significant degree when the GFC began (late 2007) it’s pretty hard to forget. I recall a chance meeting on the street in early ‘08 with an aquantence from my high school years, then retired, who recounted the pain he and his wife were going through having lost about half their life savings in a matter of months, (Some “high-yielding” mutual fund as I recall.)