Hightower, an independent registered investment advisor headquartered in Chicago, has received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to convert its Texas-based trust company into a nationally chartered trust company, according to a news release.
“As Hightower continues to expand beyond the 33 states in which we currently operate, the trust services will give our advisors the opportunity to serve clients in a more intimate and efficient way, while expanding their ability to attract and retain business," said Bob Oros, Hightower’s chairman and CEO, in the news release.
The Hightower Trust Company, headquartered in Houston with a branch office in Chicago, will provide a traditional mix of personal trust investment management and custody and safekeeping products to the Hightower advisors nationwide.
Tanya D. Simpson, formerly managing director at Charles Schwab Trust Company and Charles Schwab Trust Company of Delaware, will serve as president of Hightower Trust Company, and also be an internal member of its board of directors, which Stephen Strake, senior managing director of Hightower Texas, will lead as chairman.
The other internal members of the board of directors are Cat Davies, Hightower’s chief solutions officer, and Scot Kees, Hightower’s chief administrative and legal officer.
Independent board members are Cathy Lemieux, former head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's Department of Regulation and Supervision; Dawn Causey, the retired general counsel of the American Bankers Association; and Tim Divis, retired regional counsel for the FDIC's Chicago regional office.