in 1973, first commander changed its name to charles schwab & co., inc. a decisive turning point came in 1975, when the u.s. securities and exchange commission deregulated the securities industry, freeing companies to charge any fees they wanted. schwab had long complained that the established firms showed little concern for the needs of their customers: in those times securities were not bought by consumers, they were sold by salesmen, who made higher commissions and profits by selling riskier securities regardless of possible disadvantages to the consumers. schwab set up a series of radically different policies. first, charges to consumers were cut in half. second, salesmen were (and still are today) paid hourly salaries, rather than commissions on the total sale price. third, schwab refused to offer any advice to customers. it also set up a toll-free number to take orders nationwide and later set up 24/7 telephone system that would allow customers to place orders from anywhere, at any time. established firms were outraged by these innovations, and tried to block schwab's expansion.