4. Demonstrated commitment to avoiding conflicts of interest with advisors. This one is straightforward but extremely important: trust companies that offer wealth management services, or that have a high concentration of certified financial planners on their staff or boards, run a high risk of overlapping with advisors’ service offerings. At best, this can diminish an advisor’s value proposition; at worst, it can remove the advisor from the relationship.
Advisors seeking a genuine partnership with their trust services provider may be better off working with a company that invests in productive collaboration with advisors, rather than building a wealth management platform of its own. Additionally, advisors should seek to work with trust companies that act as fiduciaries and are compensated accordingly.
With the largest generational wealth transfer in U.S. history now unfolding, advisors deserve to be able to confidently choose a partner in trust services. By being aware of the critical characteristics that set advisor-friendly trust services providers apart, advisors can identify value-added partners that will work with them over the long term to effectively retain assets across generational lines.
Paul Lofties is senior vice president of wealth management at Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services. Gino Pascucci is vice president, marketing director, at Premier Trust, a subsidiary of Ladenburg Thalmann.