We Value Excellence

There were a variety of reasons why BCU and BCU Wealth Advisors, LLC chose to partner with LPL Financial.  A few of the main reasons are as follows:

• #1 Independent broker/dealer in the US
• Largest market share among providers of brokerage services to credit unions & banks
• #3 RIA custodian in the US
• High touch relationship extended to BCU & BCU Wealth Advisors’ clients and WA team due to relationship BCU has with a credit union partner
• Thousands of investment & insurance options and solutions to meet client needs
• $40M dedicated annual budget to cyber security & data privacy
• Consolidated platform for client account access
• Consolidated reporting available for clients with various asset types & custodians
• Robust client portal for client account access, statements, transactions, etc.

Most clients will continue to work with their current financial advisor.  In some cases, your financial advisor will change, but you will be notified if your advisor changes.

Charles Schwab & Co announced their purchase of TD Ameritrade in 2020. Knowing this major custodial change would be happening in 2023, BCU Wealth Advisors started looking at the features and services of this new platform in comparison to the existing platform at TD, and potential services offered by other providers. After evaluating a variety of different areas (client service, technology systems, pricing & the relationship scope for collaboration with BCU Wealth Advisors), we narrowed our options down to a few leading providers, and conducted detailed research on their proposed services. BCU offers its members other types of investment services – and many of our members take advantage of multiple services. BCU WA started focusing on platforms that could offer a broad range of investment products and services – on a single, streamlined platform. After an extensive due diligence process, we selected LPL Financial (member FINRA/SIPC) as the single relationship for both the advisory business and broker/dealer relationship.

For brokerage relationships, the fee structures will be similar. You can review detailed fee information HERE. For most advisory relationships, your fee schedules will remain the same. Your advisor will be able to provide more detailed information about the fees and expenses applicable to your specific account(s).

You will have the option to “opt-out” of any account transfer activity. Unfortunately, if you make that decision, BCU and BCU Wealth Advisors – along with your advisor – will no longer be able to help you with your investment, insurance, retirement, financial planning, and wealth management needs.

Yes. For most members your investments, asset allocation models, and money managers will be exactly the same, as the accounts will be transferred in kind. If you hold one of the very few investments and/or accounts that cannot be transitioned – your Advisor will be in contact with you very soon.

Charles Schwab & Co announced their purchase of TD Ameritrade in 2020. Knowing this major custodial change would be happening in 2023, BCU Wealth Advisors started looking at the features and services of this new platform, in comparison to the existing platform at TD, and potential services offered by other providers. After evaluating a variety of different areas (client service, technology systems, pricing & the relationship scope for collaboration with BCU Wealth Advisors), we narrowed our options down to a few leading providers, and conducted detailed research on their proposed services. BCU offers its members other types of investment services – and many of our members take advantage of multiple services, such as brokerage accounts, insurance products and direct-held investments offered through CUSO Financial Services, L.P. BCU WA started focusing on platforms that could offer a broad range of investment products and services – on a single, streamlined platform.  After an extensive due diligence process, we selected LPL Financial as the single relationship for both the advisory business and broker/dealer relationship.

Yes. There will be a small window of time during the account transfer from your current custodian to LPL during which your funds will not be available, but your advisor will work with you to plan for this and take a distribution prior to transfer if needed.

Yes. There will be a new client portal for you to log into once your account(s) have been transitioned. The good news is, for clients with advisory and brokerage assets, there will be one portal to log into versus the two you had prior.

In rare circumstances, some clients may need to discuss options with their advisor. However, most investments, allocations, and models will remain exactly the same.

Yes. In most cases, we will be leveraging DocuSign or other similar electronic signature tool for your account transfer paperwork.

Given that all advisory clients would be required to make the transition to Charles Schwab regardless, we were proactive in looking ahead at the platform changes and experience our clients would have. Based on our due diligence, BCU Wealth Advisors determined that our clients would have a better overall experience with LPL Financial.  Many of our advisory clients utilize multiple types of investment products, and we anticipate that the consolidated platform, along with consolidated reporting will be a great advantage for our clients.

Given we were making the change of custodians on our advisory platform, we also performed due diligence on our current broker/dealer relationship with CUSO Financial Services, L.P. While CUSO Financial Services, L.P., have been a great partner for the last 13 years, we listened to our clients’ feedback requesting a single platform relationship for all their investment and retirement needs. After an extensive evaluation we chose to end the relationship with CUSO Financial Services, L.P., and consolidate our client assets with one provider, LPL Financial.

Yes, after the CUSO Financial Services relationship terminates on June 30, your advisor will be reaching out to get the appropriate signatures needed and to ensure LPL Financial has the most up-to-date information about you. In addition, this paperwork will assure your account is fully transitioned and will be visible in BCU’s Digital Banking once the transition is complete. 

Please continue to reach out to your financial advisor for any questions you may have. 

The amount of new account paperwork will vary depending on the type of account and how many accounts you have with BCU and BCU Wealth Advisors, LLC, among other factors. Your advisor and client service team will be in touch soon with you to provide details on new account paperwork, timing, and next steps.

You will receive new account paperwork for your investment relationship along with disclosures and prospectuses. Some disclosures will need to be sent via mail until your paperless request has been activated.

Yes. Your advisor will work with you to ensure that the same distribution strategies are set up for your accounts on the new LPL platform. For those of our clients with annual Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) for retirement or inherited retirement accounts, new RMD instructions will be created on file for you, so your distributions will resume as needed. For many brokerage relationships, that are direct with a mutual fund or annuity company – there is very minimal impact, as just the broker/dealer of record is changing (from CUSO Financial Services, L.P., to LPL Financial), which is a more operational change. Therefore, your investment statements will remain nearly exactly the same as they are today.

Yes. You will have the option to receive statements through regular mail or electronically. Once your account has been transferred, you will need to log into your new client portal with LPL and select your statement delivery method.

Your advisor is the ideal person for you to reach out to for all of your questions or concerns during this transition, or for any financial planning or investment needs.