"People are upset with the changes. They want stability," Berrish said. "I don't see a slowdown happening anytime soon. Mergers will continue to bring over large deposits."

Back in 2004, Berrish predicted that by 2011, Visions would have between $7-$10 million in assets under management with trust services. While he won't reveal any specific figures, he admits "we weren't on track at all" the first year but relationships started to build in the second and third year. Visions once had "a burst of activity" when a large trust department in the area increased its minimum to $500,000, Berrish said. Anything less than that and customers were steered to a call center. The credit union has set a $100,000 minimum to compete with the $250,000 that the bulk of its competitors require.

That threshold has brought in members from across the gamut: from widowers who have a substantial amount of life insurance and don't know how to invest it to those who have received large inheritances and those who got burned in the stock market and now "want professionals to handle [their money]." Then there is a segment of the affluent with money invested in different areas that bring a couple $100,000 to Visions as a testing ground.

"Based on how you handle it, they will bring you more," Berrish said.

Finding Business in Business

Another growing group of trust service users are business owners. Many like the "local feel" of the credit union and have even brought in more business through various boards they serve on. For instance, one member who sits on the board of a worker compensation account for a restaurant was so satisfied with Visions' service, he got the restaurant to invest at the credit union. Happy members, for the most part, have brought in the most referrals, Berrish said.

Visions chose MEMBERS Trust's agency option, which requires a trust officer to be physically located in a credit union. The credit union has just hired a second trust officer and a business development officer to generate leads. Having the expertise in house coupled with Vision's 23 branches across the city has helped to increase visibility. Educational seminars are held monthly at its main office, which has a room that seats 400 people, and have brought in between 80-200 members, depending on the topic.

"Years ago, we were an IBM credit union," Berrish said. "When we have seminars on 'what to do with your IBM stock,' that brings out hundreds of people."

Visions once did a seminar in Spencer, a town of roughly 3,000 located south of Ithaca. While only 14 people showed up, the credit union had a 33% response rate. And in some cases, the smaller towns bring in $500,000-plus accounts, Berrish discovered. But in some of these smaller communities, the challenge continues to be breaking through the "good old boy network." Because of a credit union's history, it may not have been heavily involved in a smaller town which has made it harder for the cooperatives to "bring down that wall," Berrish explained.

"A lot of trust people are on these boards so you're sort of blocked right from the start to getting funds," Berrish said. "But we continue to chip away."

Meanwhile, Visions still strives for creativity with its seminars from having afternoon tea gatherings and inviting people to dinner to scheduling sessions to accommodate everyone's schedules. The credit union recently held its Members Appreciation Financial Fitness Fair, which brought in some new contacts.

"We're not top of mind. A lot of people still look at trust services as provided by banks only," Berrish said. "It's frustrating because my staff and I serve on a lot of nonprofits and they never consider credit unions for endowment or investment funds. That's a challenge for us so we need to continue to market and acquaint the community on what we're doing."

The $30 billion Navy Federal Credit Union was another one of MEMBERS Trust's early signers launching trust services in 2004 through its CUSO, Navy Federal Financial Group. While most banks and trust departments were heavily courting those with $5 million or more in assets, Navy Federal started carving out a niche with members with $100,000 or more even though there is no minimum to use wealth management services, said Tom Yee, president of Navy Federal Financial Group.

"We knew going in that it was going to be a long range relationship," Yee said. "We went in with our eyes wide open because we knew members needed or deserved trust services too."

NFFG has nearly $24 million in assets under management through MEMBERS Trust. Initially, the plan was to set up seven to eight agency offices but Yee said they currently have three at its headquarters in Vienna, Va., Jacksonville, Fla. and in San Diego. The San Diego office has been a bit of a quagmire. The trust officer staffed to run the office left in 2005 and NFFG has not filled the position yet, Yee said. It's not that a steady stream of applicants have not expressed interest in the job but so far, finding someone who fits has been a challenge.

"We've had some false starts. It's been difficult because they have to understand the credit union culture," Yee explained. "Most trust officers are on salary and we just can't pay what other trust [banks or departments] typically pay."

At one point, Navy Federal's Jacksonville office was without a trust officer. "Heavy recruiting" continues in Atlanta, where the credit union recently opened up several branches. While MEMBERS Trust does most of the recruiting, Navy Federal has taken a "modified grow your own" approach. Potential applicants are offered training school and the opportunity to earn the Certified Trust Administration status.

"We've looked internally but no takers yet," Yee said.

Once upon a time, a trust officer had to be able to do business development, trust administration and asset management, Yee explained. While having all three skills is not as prevalent, he said NFFG's three trust officers are top notch and all have the ability to build strong and long-lasting relationships with members.

The credit union has made great strides through managing future fee income, Yee said. Many members have established a revocable living trust of which they've named themselves or a family member as the successor trustee. But in a lot of those cases, NFFG has been named the successor trustee. Even though those assets are not carried under assets under management, Yee believes the relationships are setting the stage for the trillion dollar transfer of wealth poised to start in 2011.

"We're going to be well-positioned for that," Yee said.

Like many in the industry, NFFG counts on a network of attorneys and accountants, and seminars to bring in new business. It hires The Collins Firm, a McLean, Va.-based estate planning and administration firm to conduct educational sessions. A "high percentage" of people sign up for appointments–"and that's all we can ask for. The rest is up to the trust officers," Yee said.

NFFG launched Navy Federal Brokerage Services, LLC in July 2006. Initially, it offered such services through MEMBERS Financial Services since 2000 but the CUSO had plans to go independent, Yee said. Through its brokerage division, it has $635 million in assets. While the brokerage side cannot act as a personal trustee or guardian, they can recommend trust services if the need calls for it, Yee said. Plans are in place to launch a fee-based advisory account through MEMBERS Trust that brokers can offer to members.

Beyond the hiring challenges, Yee said having enough qualified people will ultimately build Navy Federal's trust services program.

"I think it's an awareness thing. We have 130 branches but only three trust officers," Yee said. "If we had more, there would be more activity."

It will take time. The credit union has been offering mortgages since 1978 but even today, some still say they didn't know mortgages were available, Yee said.

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