Friendly Faces of Vision: Shrey Kothari
Camrose, Alberta
"I enjoy building relationships first, and the rest comes after."
When it seems like you’ve lived everywhere, feeling comfortable and welcomed in a community means even more. For Shrey Kothari, who has lived in India, the US, and across western Canada, that sense of welcome has been something he’s enjoyed since he moved to the “friendly and helpful” community of Camrose early in 2023.
These days, Shrey pays that friendly and helpful Camrosian spirit forward when he’s working with clients as a Mutual Fund Investment Specialist at VCU Financial.
We caught up with Shrey to hear the story of his journey from his home country of India to a new life in Camrose where he’s excited to grow and experience all the city has to offer.
Tell us about how you ended up in Camrose.
I was born and brought up in India and when I was 17, I moved with my family to St. Louis, Missouri and that’s where I ended up doing my first year of university. Eventually, I came here to Canada and did my associate degree in computer science in Vancouver and lived there for about two years before I made my way to Alberta and started my career in financial services. I was in Brooks and worked as a financial advisor and eventually moved to Camrose at the start of 2023 to join the Vision team. It seems like I’ve been everywhere!
Tell us about your role at Vision.
What I primarily do as an Investment Specialist at Vision is sit with our members and have a chat about how their finances are doing, what their plans are and what their financial goals are and help them execute that. I try to quantify the life goals for our members and work backwards by asking, ‘Where do we need to start?’ and ‘How can I get to where you want to be?’ and ‘Where can I help?’
For me, my job isn’t about selling investment products. It’s about recommending and giving members that informed and knowledgeable piece of advice based on my experience so they can make an informed decision. I enjoy building those relationships first and being there for members to support them with their investment and the rest comes after. For me, no question is irrelevant and I always encourage members to ask questions to build up their confidence and knowledge. I learn a lot from my members too!
What do you like most about working at a rural credit union?
At Vision, a key part is that we see people as people, not just numbers. At the end of the day, our members are our bosses because they own a piece of the (credit union). So, it’s all about the relationships and the time we put in. It feels good that our members feel as included as I feel. We are here to make them successful in their financial goals and we work together to get them there.
What is your favourite part about living in Camrose?
My favourite part about Camrose is that everybody knows everybody. It’s a small community, and it’s inclusive. People are so friendly and helpful. I also like being here because it’s small and quiet and peaceful, but at the same time, there are a lot of opportunities. It has great parks and a great beach I’m looking forward to visiting in the summer!
Visit Shrey and the team at the City Centre branch:
VCU Financial, in partnership with Aviso Wealth, provides investment and financial planning services to rural Albertans via our experienced, in-house team of advisors. Learn more about our VCU Financial services here.
