SAFE CU to offer ShareBuilder's online stock service to members

<p>SACRAMENTO – In a move to woo novice investors, SAFE Credit Union’s CUSO, SAFE Services Inc. has aligned with ShareBuilder Securities Corp. to offer members its Internet stock purchasing service. The partnership has been a year in the making after studying member activity to research what would be one of the practical ways to meet their investment needs, said Faith Galati, vice president of marketing. “We wanted to provide a low-cost way to do online trading,” Galati said. “We believe members might go somewhere else for their investment needs and we wanted them to come to us.” Members who enroll in the service before April 1, will receive a $25 credit to their ShareBuilder account. Investors can choose to invest with a monthly $12 “all you can build” program or make individual recurring purchases for $4. As a tool to relay how the service works to members, SAFE’s employees are being provided with free movie tickets to sign on to ShareBuilder. “What better way to be able to explain the service to members and the staff are clamoring to sign up,” Galati said. She added SAFE Services hopes to be able to sign up to 2,000 members this year but is confident that number will be surpassed. SAFE serves 95,200 members in six counties and has $850 million in assets. According to ShareBuilder’s customer profile, 46% of its account holders are beginning investors who have never worked through a broker. The average account balance is less than $5,000 and women make up 42% of ShareBuilder’s customer base.</p>