Navigating the Data Landscape: How Financial Advisors and Credit Unions Can Collaborate for Enhanced Member Services

In today’s digital world, credit unions should be continually seeking innovative ways to enhance member services and deepen member relationships. An often overlooked and missed strategy is leveraging consumer-permissioned data to tailor product and service offerings to the membership. The biggest challenge for the credit unions that try to implement this strategy is the data accessibility. Credit unions often do not have the data collection technology or the members’ desire to share data due to no perceived value. One solution for credit unions is to utilize their wealth management offering to gain access to the required consumer-permissioned data. 

Members are often motivated to share data with their financial advisor and online wealth platform by a combination of factors which revolve around trust, personalization of services, and the value they derive from the advisor-client relationship. Logically, the more information a member can share with his/her advisor, the more personalized the advice they will receive. 

Superior financial advisors gather a wealth of data in the course of their client interactions, which, when shared ethically and securely with credit unions, can lead to more personalized and effective financial solutions. Below, we aim to explore the types of data collected by financial advisors and how this data can be shared responsibly with credit unions to benefit members.

Financial advisors have access to a myriad of data on a continuous basis that provides deep insights into a member’s financial life. This can be securely collected and shared to mutually benefit the member and the credit union.

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Held Away Assets and Investments
Savings & Checking Accounts: account insights across institutions.
Investment Accounts: Information on stocks, bonds, mutual funds, retirement accounts (401(k)s, IRAs), or other investments.
Real Estate Holdings: Details of property ownership, including primary residence and investment properties.

Liabilities and Debts
Mortgages and Real Estate Loans: Information on home loans, property mortgages, etc.
Consumer Debt: Credit scores, credit card balances, personal loans, and other consumer debts.
Student Loans: Details of any outstanding student loans, including balance info, payments, and interest rates.
Business Loans: Insight into small business loan or credit information. 

Insurance Information

• Life Insurance
• Auto
• Renters
• Home
• Property & Casualty
• Disability
• Business

Financial Goals and Objectives
Short-term Goals: Goals to be achieved in the near future (e.g., buying a car, saving for a vacation, new home down payment, residential remodeling).
Long-term Goals: More distant objectives (e.g., children's education, vacation home, retirement planning, household/family goals).
Estate Planning: Wills, trusts, estate planning documents, and intentions.

Retirement Plans and Goals
Retirement Savings: Details of retirement accounts and pensions.
Retirement Goals: Desired retirement age and lifestyle expectations.
Social Security Data: Information on expected social security or other government benefits.

Credit unions, equipped with the detailed data collected during the financial planning process are uniquely positioned to cross-sell products and services that are closely aligned with their members' specific needs and life stages. By analyzing this data, credit unions can gain profound insights into their members' financial situations, goals, and preferences, enabling them to tailor their offerings more effectively.

Credit unions can further leverage this data to conduct personalized marketing campaigns, sending tailored communications to members about the products and services that align with their identified needs and preferences. This strategy of using data-driven insights to cross-sell not only leads to increased product uptake but also strengthens the overall relationship between the credit union and its members, paving the way for long-term member retention and satisfaction. As long as the credit union has a cooperative wealth management program in place and puts in the effort to reach out to members, there is major upside potential to be had.



Get In Touch!
Interested in offering a wealth management program to your membership or reviewing your current program? Please contact Michael McDermott, Head of Program Management at 708-487-1458 or email.