Herndon, Va. — Karen Benedict, senior vice president and program manager for Northwest Financial Advisors (NWFA), a subsidiary of Northwest Federal Credit Union, was recently ranked No. 12 on Bank Investment Consultant’s (BIC) Top 25 Bank Program Managers list.¹ She is the sole financial institution investment program manager in northern Virginia to make the list.

Bank Investment Consultant, a leading news and analysis source for bank and credit union advisors, program managers and executives, ranked individuals on several criteria to produce a list of well-rounded professionals. Selection criteria include total team assets, percentage growth of team assets, annual team production, growth of the institution’s investment business, average production per advisor and the number of advisors and licensed branch employees supervised by the program manager.¹  

“I’m delighted that Karen made BIC’s prestigious list for the second time,” said Kevin Fisher, CEO & president of Northwest Financial Advisors. “Karen has been instrumental in leading Northwest Financial Advisors to its position as the No. 1 LPL Financial credit union investment program in the nation.²  While overseeing significant initiatives for our investment program, Karen has served as a model and guide for the professional growth and retention of her staff. She has been tremendously successful at building strong, dedicated advisor teams unified in serving our clients with the utmost care and capability.”

“On behalf of LPL, I congratulate Karen on receiving this industry award,” said Arthur Osman, LPL executive vice president, Institution Services Business Consulting. “This recognition showcases her leadership and vision to provide clients with financial advice and investment services that suit their unique financial goals. LPL is proud to be an enabling partner to Northwest Federal Credit Union’s program, and we wish them continued success.”

The investment program at Northwest Federal Credit Union is supported by LPL Financial, a leading retail investment advisory firm and independent broker/dealer. LPL Financial is the nation’s leading provider of third-party investment services to financial institutions,³ offering insurance and investment services to approximately 700 banks and credit unions nationwide.⁴  LPL provides resources, high-touch service, consulting and technology solutions to support bank and credit union wealth management programs. 

In 2017, Benedict led a team of eleven advisors who managed $1.36 billion in brokerage and advisory assets, a growth of $220 million in AUM by year’s end. To view the full BIC Top 25 Bank Program Managers list, visit https://bic.financial-planning.com/.

About Northwest Financial Advisors

Serving individuals and businesses across the nation for more than two decades, Northwest Financial Advisors (NWFA) is owned by NW Capital Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of Northwest Federal Credit Union, and offers a comprehensive range of personalized, objective wealth management advice and solutions to help individuals and families work toward creating, growing and preserving their assets. LPL Financial, the nation’s leading independent broker-dealer and NWFA’s securities custodian,³ ranked NWFA the No. 1 investment program among its credit union programs and the No. 7 investment program among its bank and credit union programs combined in 2017.² Visit www.nwfllc.com for more information. 

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial is a leader in the retail financial advice market and the nation’s largest independent broker-dealer.³ The firm serves independent financial advisors and financial institutions, providing them with the technology, research, clearing and compliance services, and practice management programs they need to create and grow thriving practices. LPL enables advisors to provide objective guidance to millions of American families seeking wealth management, retirement planning, financial planning and asset management solutions. LPL.com

¹Bank Investment Consultant ranked individuals based on total team assets, percentage growth of team assets, annual team production, growth of the institution’s investment business, average production per advisor and the number of advisors and licensed branch employees supervised by the program manager. The team asset numbers reported by BIC include advisory and brokerage assets serviced by the advisor team. Assets numbers were as of 3/31/2018.   

²LPL Financial Institution Program rankings based on total investment revenue as of December 31, 2017

³As reported by Financial Planning magazine, June 1996-2017, based on total revenue

⁴Source: 2016/2017 Kehrer Bielan TPM Survey. Based on Financial Institution Market Share

Securities offered through LPL Financial, member FINRA  /SIPC  . Insurance products offered through LPL Financial or its licensed affiliates. Investment advice offered through Northwest Financial Advisors, a registered investment advisor (RIA). Northwest Financial Advisors, NW Capital Management and Northwest Federal Credit Union are not registered broker/dealers and are not affiliated with LPL Financial.

Not NCUA Insured.  |  Not Credit Union Guaranteed.  |  May Lose Value.