Trust services have traditionally been provided by bank trust departments. Due to recent trends in the banking industry, banks have been diverting their focus away from personal trust administration. As a result, trust beneficiaries have suffered from a lack of personal service.

Companies that specialize in trust accounts offer the highest quality trust services. Santa Fe Trust is an independent trust company that concentrates solely on trust account servicing and administration. Shearwater Capital provides investment management services for trust accounts. This team approach results in superior personal service and the best outcome for our clients.

Why choose a corporate trustee?

When you establish a trust, your most important decision is choosing a trustee. Trusts often involve complex financial, fiduciary, and legal issues. Improper trust administration can lead to poor investment performance, conflicts of interest, unnecessary expenses, and other problems. By appointing a corporate fiduciary, you can help ensure prudent and fair trust administration.

There are several advantages to appointing Santa Fe Trust as your corporate trustee. They are experienced professionals dedicated to the trust services business. They follow the trust grantor's instructions without bias and with absolute loyalty to the trust beneficiaries. This helps to avoid the conflicts that commonly arise when one of the beneficiaries acts as trustee. Unlike individuals, the corporate trustee will never die or become incapacitated.

Some clients prefer to name a family member or close friend as their trustee. However, they also understand that administering a trust can be a daunting task for someone without specific expertise in this area. By naming Santa Fe Trust as a co-trustee, you can have the benefit of professional trust administration services, while still allowing your family member to provide valuable input. Another option is to name Santa Fe Trust as the successor trustee.

Asset management

At Shearwater Capital, we provide customized investment solutions designed to optimally serve the needs of trust beneficiaries. Each trust is considered individually so that the investment approach can be tailored to its unique goals and constraints. As with our other investment management services, the cornerstones of our philosophy include reducing risk through judicious portfolio diversification and minimizing taxes and fees.

Trust administration

Santa Fe Trust offers fiduciary, administrative and record keeping support services for trust accounts. These services include, but are not limited to:

Custody of trust assets

Neither Santa Fe Trust nor Shearwater Capital hold the trust assets in their care. As with other Shearwater client accounts, your assets are held in custody at First Trust Corporation to provide the highest level of security and safety.

Drafting of trust documents

Santa Fe Trust does not draft trust documents. It is recommended that you contact an estate-planning attorney to prepare your trust documents. If you do not have an estate-planning attorney, we can provide a list of recommended specialists in your area.

For more information about our trust services, please contact us at 314.497.6809 or at contact@shearwatercapital.com .