Credit union makes wealth management play
The Community First Credit Union has become the first credit union in Australia to launch a wealth management product, after working in conjunction with Millennium3 Financial Services.
The in-house wealth management product, dubbed FirstWealth, will allow members of Community First to invest without investing any minimum amounts and receive advice from advisers under the FirstWealth banner.
The model will see FirstWealth financial advisers act as authorised representatives of licensed securities dealer and registered life broker Millenium3 Financial Services.
FirstWealth director Keith Delaney says that relationship has allowed Community First to establish FirstWealth with minimal capital outlay. The relationship with Millenium3 will also see FirstWealth clients usingAustralian Skandiaas the preferred product.
The agreement with Millennium3 is in place for the next two to three years, but Delaney says the group is currently in the process of applying for an Australian Financial Services Licence, and in the future may go it alone.
“As a start up we decided to go with Millennium3 to leverage off the experience of someone else,” Delaney says.
Delaney says the group will provide free ‘limited advice’ on superannuation products, and is currently reviewing the $600 upfront fee for a financial plan. Delaney says a meeting tomorrow will decide whether the group will answer the complaints of early clients that the fee is too high.
According to Delaney, the initiative has already received a lot of interest from members, with advisers seeing around 30 people a week. However in these early stages the funds flowing through are still at a minimum.
The credit union, which is the largest in Sydney, was also the first to launch an online brand, with Easy Street Financial Services.
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