RALEIGH, N.C. — With 72% of members describing State Employees' Credit Union as their primary financial institution, senior management wants to be absolutely sure that when trust services makes its official debut, front-line staff will be ready to recognize who may need help with estate planning.
The $14 billion credit union partnered with MEMBERS Trust Company in 2005, but the last nearly two years have been spent sending senior management to extensive training at one of the country's top schools for estate planning education. Both Sara Trexler, senior vice president of trust services and Bill Umphlett, senior vice president of financial advisory services at SECU, recently earned their respective Master's degrees in trust and wealth management at Campbell University, considered to be the nation's only college offering such a program.
The 15 to 18 month curriculum includes in-depth studies on personal financial planning, estate and trust administration, risk management, insurance, compliance, portfolio management, tax planning, and sales. Graduates can choose to pursue the CFP(R) certification and sit for the exam. The program is registered with the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. Thirty of SECU's employees have already completed the intensive eight-day Southeastern Trust School to improve on their technical skills, Trexler said. Nearly 200 of SECU's managers have been brought in to the credit union's six training centers for additional training.
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"We want everyone to be able to recognize if there is a need," Trexler said. "With all of the education, we want to make sure that we've trained folks across the state to make sure they can help our members."
That help will typically start with a front-line employee who has the ability to hone in on whether a member needs specific estate planning help and then make a referral to the trust services officer. As is the case with many credit unions, the minimums for service are far below the $5 million starting threshold that some banks require. SECU's minimum will be $100,000 and the minimum fee is $600. Trexler said the trust services will be rolled out incrementally starting in the fall or early spring 2008.
"Our mission statement talks about assisting members in managing their wealth," Trexler said. "Some members may have minor children or aging parents. All of us have estate planning needs."
Jim Blaine, president/CEO of SECU, has always described what the credit union provides as "wealth management for the not yet wealthy." Indeed, the average wage for SECU's nearly 1.4 million members is roughly $38,000, he said.
"These are normal, working folks who may have children with special needs or a parent might have Alzheimer's," Blaine said. "What we found is that none of our members are being solicited by for-profit, large institutions. They want to see folks with at least $5 million" in tangible assets.
Ironically, one of SECU's first accounts came from a member confused and frustrated about what to do with a large sum of money he had come into, Blaine said. A retired government worker recently came into a $4 million settlement. The member turned to SECU for estate planning help. Blaine emphasized that this account size is the exception. Trexler said the few accounts under management now are much smaller.
"There is a reason for credit unions to get into this and it's not to chase wealth," Blaine said. "Our groups are not being wined and dined by large trust companies. We will always migrate to those who are not yet wealthy but want to be."
That's why the training needs to address people from all walks of life, Umphlett said. Front-line member service representatives are critical to recognizing trust service basics.
"If we were instituting a trust department for members with net worths of
$2 million, we could hire a very few knowledgeable people, work with them and go about our business," Umphlett said. "But this is why our target audience is young couples with no estates or members who need life insurance to care for a special needs child. We want to be able to help these folks set up plans for contingencies."
In addition to the training, Trexler said SECU has already started the member education process publishing articles on topics like durable power of attorney or basic will setups.
"Not everyone will need a trust but we want to be able to help members create a roadmap should they need one," Trexler said.
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