America’s Most Advisor-Friendly Trust Companies Showcase - Flipbook - Page 6
2026 ADVISOR-FRIENDLY TRUST COMPANIES
reveal whether a company is truly
advisor-friendly or simply projecting
that image. Every company here is
extremely competent. Their excellence
under normal circumstances can be
difficult to quantify precisely because
they all do it well.
2026 Wealth Advisor Trust Survey:
Exceptional Partners, Best Practices
H
ype only takes you so far
in the detail-oriented world
of trust services, where
no amount of marketing muscle
compensates for a single unexpected
tax bill or a disappointed client. The
best companies in this space tend to
fly under the radar, doing their work
quietly and letting results drive referrals.
That’s especially true of advisor-friendly
trust companies. Few have consumerfacing brands to cultivate. They have no
interest in accumulating prestige as a
lure for wealthy families. They stay in the
back office and let their advisor partners
stay in the spotlight. Every company in
this guide is exceptionally good at what
they do. That’s why they’re here.
There are still meaningful differences
in how various providers are perceived
and experienced. Some firms have
broad reach and strong name
recognition. Others are less prominent
but command extraordinary loyalty
within the wealth management
community. Reputation matters here,
and it’s tracked closely because so
many advisors cite it as a primary
reason for pursuing a relationship.
So which trust companies have the
strongest reputations? We asked
the 350,000 advisors in our network
to share their experience with every
company profiled in this guide.
Popularity was never the measure.
What counts is intensity. If a single
advisor spoke up with genuine
enthusiasm, it moved the needle. If
thousands rated a platform as merely
average, the cumulative weight of their
indifference dragged it down. And a
few genuinely poor experiences are
enough to push a company out of the
top tier entirely. Nobody in this guide
scored materially worse than average
in any category.
We started with simple, concrete
criteria that directly shape the advisory
relationship: the kind of details that
But every trust is unique and critically
important to the family it supports,
How do you use trust services and estate planning in your practice?
HIGH-NET-WORTH ESTATE
PLANNING
FAMILY BUSINESS
SUCCESSION PLANNING
66%
39%
BASIC ESTATE PLANNING AND
AVOIDING INTESTACY
39%
SPECIAL NEEDS TRUST
39%
CHARITABLE GIVING
AND PHILANTHROPY
37%
BLENDED FAMILY
34%
RETIREMENT ASSETS
34%
ASSET PROTECTION TRUST
33%
DIGITAL ASSETS
9%
INTERNATIONAL
ESTATE PLANNING
6%
ECO-FRIENDLY / SUSTAINABLE
3%
What do you wish trust companies would offer you?
ACCESS TO ESTATE PLANNERS /
LEGAL EXPERTISE
24%
BETTER TECHNOLOGY
17%
WHITE-LABEL SERVICE /
EMBEDDED TRUST OFFICER
14%
“HOLISTIC” INSIGHT INTO
HELD-AWAY FAMILY ASSETS
MARKETING AND CLIENT
EDUCATION
12%
ALTERNATIVE
INVESTMENT SUPPORT
7%
DIGITAL ASSET SUPPORT
6%
6
11%
