At a recent investment education seminar at a large hospital inBoston, Matthew Morrow witnessed what he says is a shift in whowere asking some of the more poignant questions.

Morrow, a partner and financial adviser with Munroe MorrowWealth Management in Brookline, Mass., said of the more than 85people who showed up, a significant number of them were in the20-year age group.

“The questions were very much focused on doing betterfinancially. They wanted to know things like how should they savefor retirement or whether they need a Roth IRA,” Morrow said.“There is a generation coming up that is far more focused on thelong term.”

The $74 million MAFCU Federal Credit Union in Brookline, Mass.,has partnered with Munroe Morrow for nearly three years. Over thattime period, the cooperative has noticed a number of changes in howmembers are taking more control of their retirement and financialplanning. Part of that awareness is likely tied to the lastrecession and the way it ate away at savings as consumers tried tostay on top of paying down debt in the wake of high unemploymentand foreclosures. 

“Social security – people are losing faith in that it will bearound. They may not have a pension,” Morrow said. “They are awarethat the burden is more on their back.”

MAFCU's partnership with Munroe Morrow has helped the creditunion enhance the scope of services to its members, said PaulaKerwin assistant vice president of business development andmarketing at MAFCU. The credit union especially values the firm'sexpertise, availability, and responsiveness, sheadded. 

“Over the past few years, more than 100 employees of ouraffiliate groups have attended [their] financial educationsessions, which are offered free to our affiliates as a benefit ofMAFCU membership,” Kerwin said.

Members of MAFCU are offered personalized financial planning,investment management and insurance planning through MunroeMorrow's team, which is made up of financial representatives withLPL Financial. The firm also offers free investment serviceconsultations and financial advisers meet with members at thecredit union's branches several times a month. 

Morrow said members are asking harder questions about whetherthey're saving enough or if they need to beef up their retirementcontributions. Low interest rate concerns have prompted queriesabout other options beyond their money market accounts andcertificates of deposit.

“Usually, the concerns center around a transition in their livessuch as changing jobs,” Morrow said. “They're not sure what to dowith an old retirement plan or perhaps they've retired and theywant to know what to do with their savings.”

Credit unions may have an advantage over other big firms when itcomes to investment services, according to a 2012 Temkin ExperienceRatings survey. When it came to the overall investor experience,credit unions had a 65% favorability rating ahead of ING Direct,which had 62%, E*Trade and Merrill Lynch, both at 59%; MorganStanley Smith Barney and TD Ameritrade, both at 57%; and WellsFargo Advisors at 54%.

Still, investment service penetration continues to be achallenge for some credit unions. Affluent investors are leastlikely to turn to banks and credit unions for their investment andinsurance needs, a Prudential Financial study revealed. The firmdefined affluent as those with an average of $348,000 of investableassets. What may help credit unions is offering certain types ofproducts and services such as brokerage accounts and remotebanking, the data showed. 

Morrow said his experience with members has been more holistic.One big piece of the approach is ensuring that a financial adviseris readily available at the branches. The Munroe Morrow Team willeasily be on site at least eight times a month.

“In order for this to work for everyone, we have to makeourselves available for members who want to talk,” Morrow said. “Ijust met with a member for an hour and a half to talk about whatshe was doing with retirement planning, eliminating debt andbuilding capital.” 

Unlike some bigger and older firms and the relationships theyhave with their clients, Morrow said the goal here is not turnmembers into money-making entities. Since they've built a loyalaffinity towards MAFCU, the hope is to continue that connectionwith the investment firm. MAFCU is the only credit union MunroeMorrow has a partnership with.

“We are another resource that allows members to have access tosomeone that will give objective opinions and advice,” Morrow said.“We've found that members love their credit union. Our goal is toestablish long-lasting relationships built on integrity and mutualtrust.”