Patelco Editorial Policy

Updated May 1, 2024

At Patelco, our mission is to build our members’ financial health and wellbeing. We want to provide the tools, knowledge, and guidance you need on your financial journey. On our website and social channels, we simplify complex financial information into easy-to-understand articles, podcasts, and other media so you have the confidence to navigate the decisions and challenges that arise on your individual financial journey.

For more than 87 years, Patelco has helped hundreds of thousands of members. We are dedicated to providing high-quality content that informs and empowers our members – and it’s important to share the guiding principles behind our financial media. Like our members, our team is human – which is why it’s against our guidelines to generate content using AI (artificial intelligence) writing tools. Instead, our content is developed by expert writers who rely on credible sources and subject matter experts – and then checked by a team for helpfulness and accuracy before being shared with you.

Patelco’s Core Principles

Helpful: Finances can feel intimidating. We define financial terms and don’t assume that you know what everything means. Wherever possible, we provide examples to make complex topics and concepts more understandable and relatable. We seek to provide information you can use with confidence, wherever you are on your financial journey.

Unbiased: Whether we’re providing product recommendations or sharing the financial implications of government action, we want to provide the relevant facts and context. We carefully research our articles and other content, and we write with one viewpoint in mind: your financial wellbeing.

Accurate: Having accurate information, presented clearly, and updated as needed, is central to our mission of supporting your financial wellbeing. Any inaccuracies identified are investigated and, if necessary, corrected. Please contact us for corrections.

Inclusive: We work to ensure that our content serves people of different ages, identities, relationship statuses, physical and mental abilities, and family types. We seek to provide content that speaks to different financial journeys.

Patelco’s Ethical Approach

In addition to our editorial principles, Patelco is also committed to a code of ethics that guides our content and helps assure that it’s accurate and fair. We believe in:

Taking responsibility for the accuracy of our work.
Verifying information before publishing it and using original sources whenever possible (e.g. official IRS publications instead of a news report about an IRS publication).
Providing context to our content, so that you’ll understand how it fits (or doesn’t fit) with where you are on your financial journey.
Taking special care not to misrepresent or oversimplify.
Updating and correcting information for the lifespan of the article or other media.

Use of Third-Party Content

Sometimes the best source of content on a particular financial topic comes from a third party. When that’s the case, you can be assured that the content has been carefully chosen and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure its accuracy and helpfulness, and that it aligns with our policies and standards. Whenever we include third-party content, we’ll label it clearly and identify its source.

Patelco’s Editorial Process

Our staff of writers, editors, financial professionals, and compliance experts contribute to all the articles you find on our website and all the media on our other channels.

Limitations of Our Content

Content published on the Patelco website, on our social channels, or elsewhere is for informational purposes and is not intended to substitute for the advice of a financial advisor, an attorney, an accountant, or another certified financial professional. If you want input on how a particular financial topic intersects with where you are on your financial journey, we encourage you to talk to us one-on-one.

Patelco’s Educational Staff

All our writers and content producers are required to uphold the editorial guidelines listed above.

Rebecca Harper

Content Producer

Rebecca Harper is a content producer who writes for several corporate clients. Her work has appeared in Wired, Via Magazine, the Huffington Post, and TED.com. She received her bachelor’s degree in journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. She is currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Eleanor Kas

Editor and Proofreader

Eleanor Kas is Patelco’s editor and proofreader. She is a former marketing copywriter and creative director with several years’ experience in the banking industry. She has been proofreading for Patelco since 2019.

Zina Kumok

Personal Finance Writer

Zina Kumok is a freelance personal finance writer with particular focuses on student loans and credit. Her interest comes from her personal experiences and expertise – including paying off $28,000 in student loans in three years. She has written for Forbes Advisor, Bankrate, Investopedia, and Mint. A former newspaper reporter, she has covered everything from court trials to the Final Four.

Kim Olson

Writer and Editor

Kim Olson has over two decades of experience as a writer, coupled with a background as an award-winning editor. She loves demystifying financial topics and empowering readers to master their money with confidence. Kim has covered an array of personal finance topics, from homebuying and estate planning to avoiding financial scams. She has written for clients like Entrepreneur, Fortune and AAA, along with bespoke magazines for diverse audiences.

John Poulter

Content Marketing Manager

John Poulter is Patelco’s Content Marketing Manager. He’s been with Patelco since 2015 and believes in making financial topics understandable and relatable for all Patelco members. He believes in the power of learning and was a teacher before he worked at Patelco. He is based in the San Francisco Bay Area, and his home Patelco branch is Dublin.

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