Weekly Bottom Line

U.S. headline retail sales beat expectations in March, advancing for a second consecutive month. The strong showing bolstered the case for a delayed start to the Fed’s interest rate cutting cycle. Comments from senior Federal Reserve officials has the timing of possible interest rate cuts in question amid signs of persistent strength in the U.S. […]

The Ever-Changing Market Narrative

Volatility has come back into the market as the narrative shifted toward a higher-for-longer monetary policy backdrop. Signs of sticky inflation and a resilient economy, including a strong labor market, have underpinned the change in expectations. Yields have reacted by rerating significantly higher this month, while stocks have pulled back from overbought conditions. Technical damage […]

How Credit Unions Can Make the Most of the Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC) 2024

The credit union movement’s biggest annual advocacy event, the Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC) hosted by America’s Credit Unions, will occur this year from March 3 to 7 in Washington, D.C. and draw an estimated 6,000 attendees, including CEOs, board members, and executives. In addition to networking and informative sessions, the event offers credit union leaders […]

How Non-Organic Growth Strategies Can Lead to Explosive Growth in the Credit Union Movement

Achieving unprecedented growth takes strategic planning, ongoing examination, and access to the information required to consider and pursue opportunities. There is a surge of innovations, fintech partnerships, and bold ideas occurring in the credit union movement that every leader should consider, as ignoring them could pose a risk to significant future growth. In this episode, […]

How Credit Unions Can Leverage Existing Real Estate to Secure Immediate Capital

With the high rate of deposits across credit unions, leaders are deploying creative ways to generate funding and improve their capital ratios. In addition to alleviating balance sheet margin pressures and improving net worth, credit unions need accessible capital to pursue long-term strategic plans, such as acquiring another financial institution, undergoing a digital transformation, and […]

Year-End Tax Strategies for Credit Union Executives

As we approach year-end, there are several tax-optimization strategies credit union executives and recent retirees may leverage based on their current financial situation. Credit union leaders often have complex compensation and retirement benefit packages plus a unique tax delta that lend themselves to creative solutions that may help them save more money or manage their […]

Should You Park Your Money in CDs Right Now?

ACT Advisors founder Doug English, CFP®, MBA, was a recent podcast guest on the South Carolina Business Review with host Mike Switzer. The pair discussed why Doug thinks CDs are an attractive savings instrument, especially in today’s high interest-rate environment. Doug shares that CDs, in general, are an effective tool for investors who want predictable, […]

What Executives Can Learn from Credit Union Failures

Former credit union CEO Maurice Smith shares what causes credit unions to fail and lessons leaders can learn from credit union failures.

When “C.U. on the Show” guest Maurice Smith was a kid, his father encouraged him to read the newspaper every day and pay particular attention to the stories centered on failures, such as a company going under or a leader making a fatal organizational mistake. Why? It created a roadmap of what not to do.  […]

How Credit Unions Can Invest in Life Insurance for Executives  and Minimize Risk

Jay Rogers shares why credit unions invest in life insurance for top executives and a strategy to optimize life insurance-based benefits.

Credit unions commonly use life insurance-based executive benefits, such as collateral assignment split dollar plans to retain key talent. One of the original intentions has always been to leverage these benefits to incentivize an executive to stay in place in exchange for receiving life insurance coverage and tax-free income throughout retirement. However, what happens when […]