CUSO Financial Services, L.P. Announces Winners of Its Insurance Promotion to Support Life Insurance Awareness Month

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- CUSO Financial Services, L.P. (CFS), a full-service broker dealer and SEC Registered Investment Adviser that provides customized investment and insurance solutions to credit unions, has identified the winners of its promotion to support Life Insurance Awareness Month. The contest, which ran in alliance with the non-profit LIFE Foundation and TLC's "Cake Boss" Buddy Valastro, was set up to promote the value of life insurance. The winners are the individual advisor and the credit union that submitted the most applications for life insurance throughout the duration of the promotion, during October and half of November.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111108/MM02908LOGO)

John Larry from HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union was the individual winning advisor with 12 applications, the highest number submitted by a single advisor. He wins a cook book signed by the "Cake Boss."

Advisors from University Federal Credit Union (UFCU) in Texas, which serves 150,000 members through 14 branches in Austin and one in Galveston, submitted a total of 29 life insurance applications to become the winning credit union. UFCU wins a cake from the "Cake Boss" Bakery.

Aaron Persons, senior manager of the wealth management group at UFCU, said, "Our secret to success is simply this – we consistently discuss with members the value of life insurance as a basic foundation of a financial plan. Our whole team participated because we truly believe that protecting your family's financial health is critically important." 

In total, the campaign prompted the submission of 432 life insurance applications from CFS investment programs. Prizes, which also included a $50 gift card to every advisor that submitted at least four applications, were sponsored by Imeriti Financial Network, a leading annuity and life insurance marketing organization that partners with CUSO Financial Services. The promotion was called the "Cake Boss" promotion because Buddy Valastro was the 2012 Life Insurance Awareness Month spokesperson.

Valastro, a familiar figure to viewers of the TLC program "Cake Boss" that features him as the owner of Carlo's Bake Shop in New Jersey, tells his story in a video posted by the LIFE Foundation, which founded Life Insurance Awareness month: http://bit.ly/MEnjFF When Valastro was just 17 years old, his father died of lung cancer. But, because his dad's life insurance had lapsed, Valastro was forced to drop out of high school and go to work as breadwinner and to keep the family business operating. Although ultimately successful, Valastro recalls how hard it was for him as a young man to take on so much responsibility.

Lorraine Griswold, manager of Insurance Services at CFS, says, "Buddy's story is a good example of how important insurance can be to a young family. We were happy to support Life Insurance Awareness Month with this promotion because it created greater awareness among our advisors and their clients that providing for the secure financial future of our loved ones is one of our most important considerations in financial planning. And we are thrilled to be able to reward the success of our credit union and advisor winners!"

About CUSO Financial Services, L.P.

Established in 1997, CUSO Financial Services, L.P. (Member FINRA/SIPC) is headquartered in San Diego and works with more than 150 credit unions across the country.  With branch offices located nationwide, CFS is a full-service broker/dealer and SEC Registered Investment Adviser offering customized investment and insurance solutions to credit unions. For more information, call 858-530-4400 or visit www.cusonet.com.

SOURCE CUSO Financial Services, L.P.