WINDSOR, Conn. — Investment sales programs in credit unions have lower financial advisor productivity, slightly lower revenue penetration relative to their size, and thinner margins on that revenue than brokerage programs in banks, a new study shows.
The 2007 Kehrer-LIMRA Credit Union Brokerage Study was sponsored by Essex National Securities Inc., a securities brokerage acquired by Addison Avenue Financial Partners in 2006. The CUSO is a subsidiary of $2 billion Addison Avenue Federal Credit Union.
"If the typical credit union brokerage program were to adopt the same advisor coverage ratio as the average bank, it would have to increase its advisor headcount by 17 percent," said Kenneth Kehrer, author of the study. "To produce the same number of referrals to financial advisors as the average bank, the typical credit union would have to increase its referrals by 27 percent."
Scott Davis, president of Essex, acknowledged that credit unions have been in the brokerage business for fewer years than banks. On the plus side, credit union brokerage appears to have achieved better integration with the host institution than bank brokerage has, which could explain the finding that fewer credit union brokerages–only 30 percent–plan to expand this year, the study found.
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