The Latest On BrightLeaf Financial
3/18/2009
To America’s Credit Union Leaders:
The best advice I have for credit union members during the current economic crisis: now is the time to start planning! What better time to take stock of where you are and where you want to go. Times are tough, so you owe it to yourself and your family to get your financial house in order and start laying the foundation for your future. In short, you need a plan!
As leaders of America’s credit unions, it’s up to you to help your members develop a financial plan. The BrightLeaf Financial Network, a CUSO that offers a Web-based, easy-to-use financial planning service designed specifically for average people, can help you assist your membership base be prepared for tomorrow’s economy.
Recessions – and even an occasional depression – are part of the fabric of America’s capitalistic economy. Since 1900, America has experienced nearly a dozen recessions, including the Great Depression of the early 1930s. Although most economists agree that the current recession is one of the worst in decades, they all agree that it won’t be the last one.
Credit union members can partially shield themselves from huge future downswings in the economy by having a financial plan to guide them. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Americans, particularly middle-income families who are the backbone of most credit unions, don’t have a financial plan.
The message needs to be made clear to credit union members that it doesn’t have to be time consuming or “painful” to create a financial plan. Moreover, credit union members shouldn’t think that they have to go to an expensive financial planner to get advice. Historically, it’s been virtually impossible for middle-income Americans – those families making in the $50,000 to $100,000 a year range – to get independent financial advice.
Ever wonder why ordinary Americans avoid financial planning as if it’s the plague? One of the primary reasons is the fear of approaching someone who is typically called a “wealth manager” to get started. Wealth manager? Most people think, “Well, I don’t consider myself wealthy, so this isn’t for me.” And they’re probably right.
From a pure business perspective, most traditional wealth managers haven’t cared much about assisting middle-income clients. After all, they can generate a lot more fees from someone with a $1 million portfolio than someone who earns closer to $50,000 a year. The trouble is there are only roughly 2 million Americans have $1 million or more in their portfolios. On the other hand, a whopping 25 million Americans, some of them current clients of your credit union, have incomes in the $50,000 to $100,000 range. They’re the ones most in need of a financial plan – and now more than ever.
Many credit unions across America already have set out to fundamentally change the way financial planning is approached and are now offering free online financial planning as a member benefit. They should be applauded for this bold step. Unfortunately, the number of credit unions offering the service is small, and less than five percent of all Americans currently have a financial plan, so there is much work left to do!
Many people work hard their whole lives and then retire with virtually nothing saved for their retirement years. Worse yet, some people invest money exclusively in the stock market for years as their sole means to retirement, only to watch it wash away within a few months when the economy tanks as it did last year.
Although we’re not known for being good financial planners, Americans are known for their resilience. The best way to assist your membership base prepare for the future is to help them start planning today. How? Many credit unions have adopted the easy-to-use services offered by the BrightLeaf Financial Network.
Using safe and secure online tools, it takes roughly 20 minutes for a member to complete a financial analysis and plan. Best of all, it’s not intimidating and creates a clear pathway to identifying financial problem areas and saving for future financial goals. Once members have plans in place, they can execute their goals by going directly to their credit union for help with putting their plans into action.
While the recession is difficult for all of us to endure, it is helping to drive home an important life lesson: Be better prepared next time.
Bryan Link
Managing Director
BrightLeaf Financial Network
About the Author
Bryan Link is the managing director of BrightLeaf Financial Network. Bryan’s responsibilities at BrightLeaf include developing the high-level strategic direction of the company as well as managing the CUSO’s direct sales effort. He can be reached at bryan.link@brightleaffinancial.com or (336) 766-0821.
About BrightLeaf Financial Network
BrightLeaf Financial Network is a CUSO that was created by MEMBERS Development Company and a group of credit unions with a mission of meeting the financial planning needs of middle-income Americans. Through BrightLeaf, credit union members have the ability to create a custom financial plan using a set of easy-to-use, secure online tools and then be referred directly to their credit union for help with putting their plan into action. BrightLeaf is based just outside of Winston-Salem, NC. For more information, visit www.brightleaffinancial.com.
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