America’s Most Advisor-Friendly Trust Companies Showcase - Flipbook - Page 23
2026 AMERICA’S MOST ADVISOR-FRIENDLY TRUST COMPANIES
investment advisors alike access to all
necessary documents.
Forms can be sent out for fast
electronic signature and then stored
electronically as well for immediate
access. The faster the signature
fields can be populated, the faster
distributions and other complex
processes can move.
It’s important to remember that
the next generation of heirs grew
up with the internet and uses
technology to receive and review
every type of document. That’s
how they communicate. When it
comes to communicating with your
clients’ heirs, having straightforward
technology that you can easily operate
is essential.
WORKING TOGETHER
FOR THE WIN
With the right partner, your core role
in introducing the trust concept to
your clients is as a center of influence.
You don’t have to be the expert on a
technical level. The trust company will
handle all the details anyway. All you
need to do is start the conversation:
“Are you familiar with what a trust can
do for you?”
Keep things simple. Get copies of
potential trust partners’ marketing
materials when you start talking about
a relationship and lean on those
materials to feed the discussion.
These potential partners should have
PowerPoint or the ability to construct a
presentation for you.
Remember to remind your client
that most other advisors are skittish
about suggesting a trust, even when
it’s obviously in an investor’s best
long-term interest. Their reluctance is
because a trust represents a sacrifice
in terms of assets under management
and possibly lost revenue. Barely 10%
of advisors work with trusts. It should
impress any client to know that you’re
in that top decile right away, provided
of course that you let them know.
Remember, the more trusts you direct
toward a trust company, the more
fee income they generate. A truly
serious partner will feed every affiliate
with plenty of training materials,
consultation, and even branding
support to help you establish yourself
in the trust field.
In most cases, this material will
keep you at the center. The trust
company functions behind the
scenes, so far back in the back
office that they might actually be
working several states away. Reports
and communications can route
through you and carry your logo and
letterhead. Your clients may not even
know that the trust officer doesn’t
work for you.
Either way, top-tier trust companies
are seeing advisors step up their
cooperative efforts with other
professionals who have a voice in
wealthy families’ finances. Attorneys
and accountants play critical roles
in the trust creation process and
need to bring in advisors to manage
the investments. You can play
quarterback on the accounts you
bring to the game, but having a team
on your side goes a long way toward
mutual success.
FINAL WORD
After years of alternating disruption
and uncertainty, a lot of money needs
to get moving again. We’re all older.
Advisors are closer to retirement.
The clients we serve are closer to
transferring their wealth to the next
generation.
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Many delayed making important
and irrevocable decisions while the
pandemic raged, opting instead
to wait “until life calmed down.”
But investment markets remained
volatile and the political landscape
remained fractious, stretching what
was initially a prudent pause into an
extended paralysis.
At this point, it’s clear that life is
not going to calm down. Change is
constant, and any wish for a return to
an easy and predictable status quo
is unlikely to be granted. Meanwhile,
decisions still need to happen. Urgency
is overwhelming caution.
That’s an opportunity for advisors who
want to capture stalled assets from
competitors. It’s also a threat to those
who waited too long to have essential
planning conversations.
Leading trust companies with the
resources to take on new business
can write their own ticket. Those who
want to work with advisors for the long
term are often the true elite. They don’t
need to capture the assets, dump the
person who referred them, and roll
everything into proprietary products.
Meanwhile, more nimble competitors
create pressure for commodity
operators to stay relevant. There are a
lot of “copycat” trust companies on the
map these days. You won’t see any of
them in these pages. We’re about the
best and the brightest, the providers
with what it takes to embrace future
opportunities.
These are the disruptors. This is the
industry of tomorrow. And whatever
happens beyond the current moment,
these are the partners you want to
have on your side as you and your
clients face the future.
