Over the past six years, credit unions have seen a recovery in the investment services channel in light of market turmoil. 

According to the upcoming Callahan/SCS Benchmarking Study, from 2005 to 2010, the industry experienced a growth spurt. Gross broker dealer revenues in the credit union retail investment services channel grew 21.85% in 2010.  The total value of all retail member investment accounts grew 17.68% last year.

Taking a look at previously published benchmarking data, the number of credit unions with retail investment programs as a percentage of the total number of credit unions in the U.S. has steadily increased each year from 10.6% to 12.2% by the end of 2009. The previous benchmarking survey also revealed that the aggregate value of member investment accounts grew from $38.9 billion to $40.1 billion between 2005 and 2008. At its peak, account value growth was $50.4 billion at the end of 2007, according to the data.