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.