Elevations’ team of Wealth Management Advisors through CUSO Financial Services, LP (“CFS*”) help members prepare financially for the future, no matter where they are with their personal finances. Learn more about Ryan Thurber-Dean, CRC©, who has been at Elevations since 2012.
When he talks about his job as a CFS* Wealth Management advisor, Ryan Thurber-Dean’s entire face lights up. “It’s so amazing to sit across the desk from a family and say, ‘We’ll make sure you’re retired by January 1. You can do it, and you can feel confident about it.’ It’s incredibly rewarding,” says Ryan.
It’s no surprise Ryan feels such a deep commitment to helping others with their finances — he’s been thinking about being a financial advisor since he was in fourth grade. Ryan’s mom, a high school teacher, had him and his brother take two classes every summer — a “serious” class and a “fun” class — to keep them engaged. Ryan’s neighbor, a financial advisor, had already left an impression on him that finance was a wise career choice, as he never looked stressed, spent a lot of time with family and seemed to have a great quality of life. So, Ryan picked a stock market class as his fun summer class. Kids got to create their own stock portfolios and compete to see whose grew the most over the course of the class. Ryan loved it. He was hooked.
In college, Ryan studied finance and international business, and interned at investment firms. After graduating, he worked in investment banking and built up expertise in all areas of finance, equipping himself to give people the support they needed to reach their personal financial goals. “I think people want to work with an advisor,” he explains, “so I work really hard to build knowledge in everything I can: retirement plans, Social Security pensions, long-term care insurance, and environmentally and socially aware investment strategies. You’re pulling from so many places being a financial advisor.” In 2012, Ryan started working as a CFS Wealth Management Advisor at Elevations and hasn’t looked back.
Ryan was drawn to Elevations for its focus on taking care of members. He tries to help people no matter where they are in their financial journey. “Sometimes people don’t even know the right questions to ask,” he explains, “but almost everyone I meet has goals that they haven’t obtained yet, and they don’t always know how to get there.” Helping people reach those goals is what fuels Ryan’s love of the job.
Elevations allocates time for employees to volunteer, and Ryan has particularly enjoyed helping out at the Food Bank of Larimer County, Wild Animal Sanctuary and Junior Achievement, where he teaches personal finance to high schoolers. “There are really important things to know like how to budget, how much you should save and how credit works. Our 18-year-old graduates have no financial background, and that’s one of the biggest educational gaps our country has,” he says.
With two kids of his own, Ryan makes sure they, too, are learning the basics of personal finance. “Dad certainly has conversations with them at the dinner table,” he laughs. “I tell them, ‘Gosh, if you owned $100 of Tesla’s stock this morning, it grew to $110 this afternoon. How amazing is that? Wow, that’s cool.’”
If you’re looking for someone who can support your needs in all areas of financial planning, you can reach Ryan at 303.247.8894 or ryan.thurber-dean@elevationscu.com.
*Non-deposit investment products and services are offered through CUSO Financial Services, L.P. (“CFS”), a registered broker-dealer (Member FINRA/SIPC) and SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Products offered through CFS: are not NCUA/NCUSIF or otherwise federally insured, are not guaranteed or obligations of the credit union, and may involve investment risk including possible loss of principal. Investment Representatives are registered through CFS. Elevations Credit Union has contracted with CFS to make non-deposit investment products and services available to credit union members.
Financial Advisors are registered to conduct securities business and licensed to conduct insurance business in limited states. Response to, or contact with, residents of other states will be made only upon compliance with applicable licensing and registration requirements. The information in this website is for U.S. residents only and does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase brokerage services to persons outside of the United
States.
When you're considering applying for a loan, understand how underwriters look at you and calculate your debt-to-income ratio (DTI), plus Read more
In addition to looking at your debt-to-income ratio and credit report, there are several other considerations underwriters take into account Read more
