If the number of representatives serving members is any indication, credit unions have been on a steady growth path with their investment programs.
According to the Callahan/SCS "2009 Retail Investment Services Benchmarking Study for Credit Unions," representatives that serve members grew from 1,902 in 2005 to 3,051 by the end of 2008. The number of credit unions that provide members with face-to-face retail investment services since grew by 3.64% from 938 to 968 between 2005 and 2008.
The aggregate value of member investment accounts grew from $38.9 billion to $40.1 billion between 2005 and 2008. The peak of account value growth during this reporting period was $50.4 billion by year-end 2007. However, with the market downturn in 2008 the aggregate account values dropped to $40.1 billion last year.
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Aggregate account growth also reached its peak during year-end 2007 at 1,320,011 from a total of 1,265,803 in 2005, according to the study. By year-end 2007, the number of accounts fell to 1,169,001, below the total number reported in 2005.
The reduction came from members either liquidating the funds in one or more of their accounts to live on or rebalancing their portfolios, which included some account consolidation. Brokerage firms have also experienced a decrease in activity, potentially opening up relationship opportunities for credit unions, the study noted.
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