To CU Financial Management, the logic is simple: Treat your employees well, and they will return the favour in spades to your customers. Obvious, right?

“You’d think so,” laughs CU Financial Management’s approachable CEO Ross Ripley. “The fact is our whole focus is on people, not products. Our approach is to build long-lasting relationships with clients and to meet their very individual needs. To treat your clients like human beings, you must start with your employees.”

For CU Financial Management, that’s not a stretch. One notable aspect is its strong lineage within the well-established co-operative and credit union sector in Atlantic Canada, ensuring a commitment to a people-centric approach. Their values are clear: ethics, trust, responsibility, community, expertise, and empathy. These values came together organically in 2020 when 16 innovative Atlantic Canadian credit unions joined forces to ensure their members had access to top-tier financial advice.

Ripley explains: “Credit unions have historically been focused on retail and commercial banking and lending, but this group of Credit Unions believed that their members should also have access to more robust financial planning and wealth management services, and in sticking with the co-operative way, they knew they could do a better job of delivering on this if they banded together, versus trying to do it on their own.”

A key point of differentiation for CU Financial Management, he says, is their commitment to transparency. “Clients receive clear expectations and an agreed-upon fee structure at the outset of the engagement. A formal agreement is signed with every client, documenting commitments and promises. This written process ensures clarity regarding the scope of work, enabling clients to easily hold the firm accountable.”

We firmly believe in leveraging our business as a force for positive impact while cultivating a distinctive corporate culture that sets us apart from conventional financial planning and wealth management firms in Atlantic Canada.

—CU Financial Management CEO Ross Ripley

Another competitive advantage is flexibility. “We have twelve physical offices across the Atlantic provinces and a virtual advice channel, catering to both busy individuals and those on the go. Our support extends to Credit Union members and non-members, offering expert advice – including planning for business owners – across Atlantic Canada. At CU Financial Management, we take pride in embracing the values of our Credit Union partners. We firmly believe in leveraging our business as a force for positive impact while cultivating a distinctive corporate culture that sets us apart from conventional financial planning and wealth management firms in Atlantic Canada.”

That’s where the employee focus comes in. CU Financial Management offers a competitive salary and bonus structure; a five percent employer contribution to defined contribution pensions; matching RSP contributions; employer-covered health and dental insurance; paid sick and personal days; a $500 wellness credit; a flexible work environment and a generous vacation schedule; and professional development opportunities.

The company encourages employee volunteerism and participation on non-profit boards. It annually hosts the Community Champion Awards, honouring a team member who actively contributes to the community, with the recipient receiving $500 to donate to their chosen organization.

For CU Financial Management, it’s a virtuous circle. Says Ripley: “Atlantic Canada is our home in every way possible. We live and work here. We understand that when our clients are successful, our communities thrive, so our overriding mission is to strengthen our communities with responsible and innovative financial advice. That means becoming Atlantic Canada’s leading partner in financial planning and advice.”

And to do that? “A big part of our core value is showing our employees that we care and that they matter to us. They, in turn, approach their client relationships that way.”

It should be obvious, right?