Financial Advisors Making their Mark at Credit Unions

There are a great many headlines about “the Great Resignation” and employees simply walking away from careers. But what if “the Great Resignation” is really “the Great Reevaluation” instead? There are indications that some people are leaving jobs as a result of reflection on their career and priorities, or that they simply want a change. 

And some financial advisors are among those same people. 

Such reflection could be one of the reasons why investment programs located in credit unions are seen as an attractive opportunity for financial advisors for building or evolving their careers. A recent Financial Advisors Magazine article profiles the current momentum for financial advisors joining these investment programs. 

Financial Advisor Magazine talked with CUNA Brokerage Services Inc.’s president, Rob Comfort, about how financial advisors can succeed by providing financial advice to credit union members. “Credit unions are the most underleveraged opportunity in the financial industry for advisors,” Comfort said. Investment programs located in credit unions “are the next great opportunity for advisors to offer their services, in part, because the credit union movement is growing, and so few members have access to wealth management services. The members have critical needs for the services that advisors provide.”

Why Credit Unions Are Expanding Their Business

According to the article, Credit Unions Seen As Opportunity for Financial Advisors, advisors associated with investment programs located in credit unions are expanding their businesses at an accelerated pace, as providing wealth management services is key to the core missions of credit unions and helps them build loyalty with members. Credit unions are known for helping people of all income levels,” Comfort said “Only about 500 advisors work at investment programs located in credit unions now. We want to reach a broader audience. We want to help credit unions market their wealth management services.”

To help with that strategy, CUNA Brokerage Services, Inc., a subsidiary of the CUNA Mutual Group, recently formed an alliance with LPL Financial. By aligning CUNA’s 85-year history of providing financial services to credit unions and their members with LPL’s extensive experience serving financial institutions, CUNA Brokerage Services gained tools, platforms, and specialized support for their financial professionals – and, ultimately, enhanced financial advice for their members.

“By combining CUNA Mutual Group’s expertise in client experience and data-driven strategic consultation for investment programs located in credit unions and advisors with LPL’s leading platform, we will deliver an advisor and customer experience unique to the credit union industry,” Comfort said. “We are committed to helping more consumers make financial decisions that work for them, and we will continue to build, buy or partner to do so.”

Why LPL

As a leading provider of investment program services, LPL Financial works with banks and credit unions to navigate the regulatory environment, broaden offerings, and allocate resources more effectively. LPL tailors a menu of products, tools, and resources to the specific objectives of financial institutions, including: 

• Training tools
• Investment products and platforms
• Research
• Tailored service and support
• Technology solutions

Additionally, LPL can assist financial institutions in attracting and retaining quality advisors, increasing household penetration, and strengthening cross-sell potential for other services. 

Learn all the ways LPL Financial collaborates with and empowers financial institutions as well as their program managers and financial professionals by visiting Financial Institution Support for Banks & Credit Unions.

LPL is the No. 1 provider of third-party brokerage services to banks and credit unions (2020-2021 Kehrer Bielan Research & Consulting Annual TPM Report). 

Disclosures

The views and opinions expressed by LPL Financial Advisor(s) may not be representative of the views of other Financial Advisors and are not indicative of future performance or success. Neither LPL Financial nor the LPL Financial Advisor can be held responsible for any direct or incidental loss incurred by applying any of the information offered.