Combining a community-focused approach with best-in-class wealth management solutions.
Forming personal connections with clients is a core value of United Community, said Brendon Tripodo, president of wealth management.
“We’re people first, supported by technology,” he said. “It’s not the other way around, with technology supported by people. We take the time to make that connection with the person, knowing their family, knowing their concerns. We like to say we invest time before money.”
The tradition that has made the bank a 10-time winner of the J.D. Power award for Customer Satisfaction with Consumer Banking in the Southeast and No. 1 in Trust is continued in its United Community Wealth division, which Tripodo has led since 2023.
United’s approach combines deep financial expertise with a personalized, relationship-driven model to meet the unique needs of high-net-worth customers. It’s a natural evolution for United Community, said Tripodo, expanding the bank’s ability to serve a broad range of customers holistically.
“We’re trying to make wealth management accessible to all our clients, including those who are just starting out on their wealth-building journey,” he said. “We want to demystify wealth and make it transparent and understandable.”
Each client is different, and each one deserves a custom set of solutions to fit their unique needs, said Tripodo, and United Community has a broad network of advisors, managers and strategists providing best-in-class wealth management solutions. Each United Community Wealth client works with a private banker, who provides local, community-focused expertise while orchestrating a wider team of wealth professionals “that allows our clients to get the right expert at the right time, regardless of what their situation is,” he said.
“We meet our clients where they live and where they work. It’s local delivery with regional and national support, so we’re bringing the best capabilities to bear wherever that client’s located. Our clients can go to one place to have all their financial needs taken care of over their life journeys rather than having complex relationships with multiple companies who don’t get to know them as well.”
Building generational prosperity is a key concern for many United Community Wealth clients, and proactive planning is key to creating long-term financial security. With customized portfolio management and investment advice, wealth professionals take a hands-on approach to helping clients reach their long-term goals for retirement and family legacy, within their own level of risk tolerance.
“To get to know someone at a relationship level, not a transaction level, is so important,” Tripodo said. “And we really believe there is no shortcut to the process.”
