Credit unions, as member-owned financial cooperatives, focus on offering safe places for you to store and invest your funds, helping it to grow. In addition to federally insured investments that provide up to $250,000 of protection, you may have the opportunity to diversify your savings and investments accounts while accessing services that may not be offered elsewhere.
Credit union investments offer several key advantages over bank or independent wealth manager investments, most notably lower fees that allow you to invest more money into your portfolio and potentially achieve faster financial growth.
Many credit unions provide special savings and investment accounts that can help you save for emergencies or education expenses. These low-risk shares often yield higher interest rates on investments and can add great flexibility to any overall portfolio strategy.
Finally, when selecting a credit union that provides investment management tools online, such as investment tracking tools. These will make tracking investments and reviewing performance easier throughout the day and night – and may give you peace of mind knowing your investments are being professionally overseen by an experienced team of professionals.
Credit unions typically specialize in helping their members understand their personal risk tolerance and aligning investment strategies with financial goals, as well as offering tailored advice about suitable high-yield savings and investment vehicles for you to consider. In addition, if you need assistance organizing your finances further they can also develop debt repayment plans and improve credit histories.
Credit unions typically offer higher savings rates than banks due to having lower operating expenses and passing on savings directly to members. Furthermore, many credit unions provide access to mutual funds – an indirect form of lending which enables you to benefit from the overall performance of an entire group of investments – allowing members to reap returns off an entire portfolio at once.
Credit unions differ from traditional banking in that they are subject to federal oversight, so their spending must be closely scrutinized, which may result in lower yields on savings and investment products.
Credit unions also provide investment planning services through CUSO Financial Services, L.P.* (CFS). CFS investment representatives can help manage your IRA, 401(k), college savings account, estate planning needs and more. They can help determine your personal risk tolerance, create personalized asset allocation recommendations using MoneyGuidePro and help guide sound decisions using tools such as eVision(r).