OXNARD, Calif. – CBC Federal Credit Union has selected CuVantis Wealth Planning to provide fee-based financial planning and investment advisory services to members.
As CUToday.info earlier reported here, CuVantis is a newly formed CUSO formed by three former credit union retail brokerage execs and consultants. CuVantis said it completely foregoes commission-based products to focus solely on financial planning and investment advisory services.
“We’re excited about this partnership and what it means to our members,” said Patrick Miller, CEO of CBC. “The basic model that credit unions have used to offer investment services hasn’t changed in almost 30 years, and truthfully, it has some challenges. We feel the CuVantis model is much more aligned with credit union philosophy, offers a better experience for members and has the potential for a significantly better financial return for the credit union. It’s a win-win all the way around.”
The Three Founders
CuVantis was formed in 2018 by Keith Weber, CEO; Bob Millington, COO, and Dodd McGough, EVP of compliance. According to Weber, the difference between CuVantis and other providers is the basic philosophy that forms their approach to the business. “It’s similar to the difference between banks and credit unions,” said Weber in a statement. “They both offer loans and savings products, but how they offer those products is very different. When you start from a different place philosophically, it permeates throughout everything you do and ultimately translates into a very different member experience.”
Weber added the most obvious difference is the fact that CuVantis advisors will be primarily salary-based, as opposed to commission-based, leading to what he believes will be a more consultative member relationship. Second, CuVantis has also developed a tiered service model that can provide services to all credit union members, regardless of investable assets.
A Third Difference
According to the company, the third major difference may be the potential of a pure advisory model to the program’s profitability for the credit union.
“We expect the combination of recurring revenue and limited compensation expense will make the CuVantis model much more profitable to the credit union over time,” Miller said.
The $450-million CBC FCU has six branches.