America’s Most Advisor-Friendly Trust Companies Showcase - Flipbook - Page 12
2026 ADVISOR-FRIENDLY TRUST COMPANIES
WHAT “FRIENDLY” MEANS
Thanks to statutory innovations in
many states, genuinely advisor-friendly
companies are happy to let the advisor
keep investing the assets and collecting
management fees. The advisor is
effectively the portfolio boss. The trust
company earns its fee for everything
else: accounting, custody where
required, reporting, and beneficiary
communications.
Either structure protects the advisor’s
role. Either structure keeps you in the
picture. The companies in this guide are
genuine leaders in the advisor-friendly
space. From Alaska to New Hampshire,
South Dakota to Tennessee, Nevada to
Delaware, they cluster wherever state
statutes provide favorable treatment for
wealthy families that may not be available
at home. Some are affiliated with larger
financial entities. Others are nearly at
startup scale. Some are niche specialists.
Others handle the full spectrum.
Directed trusts formally define the
separate duties of trustee and advisor
through a statutory concept called
bifurcation. The trustee’s fiduciary
responsibility for investment decisions is
significantly reduced, often to near zero
except in cases of willful misconduct.
Delegated trusts place control over
investments with the trustee but allow
that function to be formally delegated to
an outside advisor.
What unites them is leadership and
a genuine commitment to working
with you on your terms. Calling them
“advisor-friendly” understates it. They
are advisor-centric: organizations
whose people have made a deliberate
commitment to eliminate every
structural conflict between their interests
and yours.
The most forward-thinking trust
companies today are building
models where advisors aren’t simply
accommodated but drive the entire
experience, behaving more like a
modern technology platform than a
traditional financial institution. That is
where the best of these companies
are headed, and the providers that get
there fastest will be the most valuable
partners in the years ahead.
FIND THE PERFECT MATCH
Diversification applies to trust company
relationships just as it does to portfolios.
Every client is different. Many of the
best providers excel in a specific niche
or two. Learn the terminology that
differentiates one trust company from
another, and then you can build a
balanced team of potential partners to
fit your needs.
ESTATE PLANNING IS NOW TABLE STAKES
59%
51%
49%
36%
31%
18%
15%
11%
Change in
Personal
Health
Tax
Planning
Charitable
Planning
Business Planning
(e.g., continuance,
financing, transition
planning)
Trust
Services
Private
Banking
Concierge
and
Lifestyle
Services
Evaluating
Third-Party
Lending
Products
Source: AssetMark/Cerulli
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