Bridges signs up credit unions
Bridges Financial Services has signed up more than 115 credit unions to an exclusive five year deal to provide financial planning services to members.
Under the terms of the agreement, Bridges will be the exclusive provider of financial planning, stock broking and investment services to the credit unions and their members.
Bridges managing director David Bleakley says more credit unions are expected to sign up in the coming weeks as Bridges seeks to increase its referral arrangements.
Bridges will also provide marketing support and training programs to staff within the credit unions and pay referral commissions for the credit unions.
Bleakley says $18 million will be used to provide incentives to get the credit unions to sign the agreements and support Bridges over the five year period.
The arrangement strengthens the existing ties between Bridges and the credit unions which previously existed when the planning group was owned by the Credit Union Services Corporation (CUSCAL). CUSCAL sold Bridges to Tower Financial Services last September for $168 million.
Bridges currently has about 110 planners and 40,000 clients of which 60 per cent come from the credit unions according to Bleakley.
Bleakley says there are more than 230 credit unions nationally with 3.6 million members. The agreement will give Bridges access to more than half of those members.
"This means that we can reach a potential two million clients through this relationship but given that we only have about a tenth of that, we have a long way to go," Bleakley says.
AUTHOR
Jason Spits
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