Financial Marketing and Cross Selling Blog
New Online Resource Gives UNFCU Members a Head Start on Financial Planning
To best meet the needs of its growing membership located in 210 countries and territories around the world, United Nations Federal Credit Union (UNFCU) launched an online Financial Answer Center to provide members with immediate answers to hundreds of financial questions. The Financial Answer Center, “Planning for Financial Freedom,” can be accessed via the UNFCU Website at www.unfcu.org, under Investment Centre and was developed and is maintained by Truebridge Financial Marketing of Hingham, Mass.
The Financial Answer Center serves as an interactive, online educational tool, responding to questions, such as:
- Are my dependents protected if I cannot provide for them?
- Will I be prepared to send my kids to college?
- Are my retirement investments right for me?
- Do I need to supplement my retirement savings?
- Where can I find competitive rates with tax advantages? and
- How much life insurance do I really need?
Uniquely, the site is also custom-tailored to address the specific needs of the UN community. Members are asked to consider, “Yves,” age 55, a UNFCU member in the pre-retirement stage who is a French citizen but is currently stationed in New York City. He is married to Anna, who is also a French citizen, 45 years old and a housewife. Yves and Anna have two children, ages 10 and 12. Other sections address financial planning for G-4 visa holders, as well as estate planning for pre-retirees and those already in retirement returning to their home countries.
The benefit of the design, according to Stewart Rose, president and CEO of Truebridge, is that the site directs the viewer to take action. “UNFCU members not only receive the information they need, but also where to go for help,” said Rose. UNFCU Financial Advisors are available to answer specific questions during formal one-on-one consultations.
“Truebridge met our need to address a global audience with highly relevant, non-US centric materials,” said Stephen Ryerson, vice president of UNFCU Investment Centre. “What’s more, Truebridge provided us with all of the deliverables in record time.”
UN staff members, their families and retirees — which UNFCU serves — are already benefiting from easy access to the new, 500-page website. Members can learn more about topics important to them by submitting their Personal Checklist online. According to Mr. Ryerson, the Financial Answer Center is designed to encourage individuals to start early and plan for the future. To do this, the website offers real-life scenarios and a road map to achieve those goals.
“We want to give our members the information they need to make more informed investment decisions,” said Mr. Ryerson. “We also have one of the highest Internet Adoption Rates in the credit union industry, therefore, enhancing our online resource capabilities was an extension of our business strategy,” said Mr. Ryerson, who recently oversaw the development of the new UNFCU Investment Centre and the appointment of several new, multi-lingual financial advisors and insurance specialists.
In January 2004, UNFCU Investment Centre partnered with Raymond James Financial Services to expand its product offerings and resources. The relationship with Truebridge grew out of the alliance.
“We provide the service excellence of a credit union with the financial planning solutions that one would expect from a large investment banking firm,” noted Pamela Agnone, senior vice president of Retail Services at UNFCU. “Our new Financial Answer Centre furthers this commitment.”
About UNFCU
UNFCU is a $2.0 billion cooperative financial institution, which provides an array of financial services to the staff of the United Nations, its specialized agencies, their families and retirees. Headquartered in New York City, UNFCU has branches at the UN Secretariat and Two UN Plaza in New York, as well as Representative Liaison Offices at UN duty stations in Geneva, Switzerland, Nairobi, Kenya and Vienna, Austria. UNFCU is the 26th largest U.S.-based federal credit union in terms of assets out of 9,500 credit unions nationwide. The institution currently has more than 65,500 members. In 2003, the National Association for Federal Credit Unions named UNFCU the Federal Credit Union of the Year based on its financial results, innovative products, community service and outstanding member service. For more information about UNFCU, visit www.unfcu.org, or call 1-800-891-2471.
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