Company comparison
KENDRIS Trustees vs Sterling Trustees
KENDRIS TRUSTEES (USA) LLC and Sterling Trustees LLC are both South Dakota public (TC.2) charters in Sioux Falls that say they do not take the investment book. KENDRIS is the U.S. charter of Zürich-based KENDRIS Ltd. and publishes separate directed and delegated administration sections. Sterling describes itself as a privately held, independent corporate trustee that never acts as investment advisor. Same roster class, different ownership stories. Not a ranking.
Editorial only. Not legal, tax, or investment advice. Statutes and licensee lists change — read the primary source and the date on each citation.
South Dakota · Directed trustee
KENDRIS TRUSTEES (USA) LLC
Sioux Falls public charter of Zürich-based KENDRIS — directed and delegated admin, no asset-management seat.
Open the company file
South Dakota · Directed trustee
Sterling Trustees LLC
Sioux Falls public charter that markets pure independent trusteeship — no investment book of its own.
Open the company file
Side by side
Published fields only. Empty cells would mean we would not invent a figure — this table uses sourced rows from the two listings and the regulator lists cited below.
| Field | KENDRIS TRUSTEES (USA) LLC | Sterling Trustees LLC |
|---|---|---|
| Legal name | KENDRIS TRUSTEES (USA) LLC | Sterling Trustees LLC |
| Domicile | South Dakota | South Dakota |
| Charter | TC.2 Public; TC.115-2; first issuance 2016-10-28 (Sept 2026 roster) | TC.2 Public; TC.052-2; first issuance 2010-07-07 (Sept 2026 roster) |
| Regulator | South Dakota Division of Banking | South Dakota Division of Banking |
| Ownership | Group subsidiary — fully owned by KENDRIS Ltd. (Zürich); the firm calls the U.S. company an independent U.S. trust company | Independent — privately held South Dakota trust administration company; never acts as investment advisor |
| Directed focus | Directed trustee — dedicated Directed trust and Delegated trust sections; U.S. trust services with the exception of asset management | Directed trustee — independent corporate trustee in a directed model; separates trusteeship from investment advice |
| HQ / offices | 212 S. Main Ave., Suite 139, Sioux Falls, SD 57104 (roster); firm also publishes Miami and New York offices and KENDRIS in Zürich | 101 S. Phillips Avenue, Suite 509, Sioux Falls, SD 57104 (roster + listing) |
| Website | kendristrustees.com | sterlingtrustees.com |
Both names are on the South Dakota Division of Banking September 2026 roster as public (TC.2) trust companies in Sioux Falls. That is the charter class. Directed-trust relief comes from SDCL chapter 55-1B and the instrument — see the South Dakota state file.
The useful difference is ownership and role menu, not size. KENDRIS discloses a Zürich parent and publishes both directed and delegated administration. Sterling markets a single independent corporate-trustee story with no investment-advisor role. Read directed trustee vs corporate trustee before you treat “no asset management” as excluded-fiduciary language, then use how to read a listing on each file.
What stays unknown
- Fees — neither listing reprints a schedule. Ask each firm; this page does not invent dollars.
- AUM / AUA — not published on the pages reviewed for either file.
- Bonding, capital, or insurance figures for these two companies.
- Whether KENDRIS will run a given file as directed or as delegated administration — the firm publishes both, and they allocate liability differently.
- Which KENDRIS office will actually administer a given file — Sioux Falls, Miami, or New York.
Questions people actually ask
Which of these two is better?
This page does not pick a winner. It places published charter, ownership, and directed-trust role fields side by side so counsel can see what each firm has actually said. A ranking would invent a score we do not have.
Does the Zürich parent change who the trustee is?
The South Dakota roster lists KENDRIS TRUSTEES (USA) LLC, credential TC.115-2. That is the charter that can sign as a South Dakota trustee — not KENDRIS Ltd. in Zürich and not a Miami or New York letterhead. Confirm the signing entity and credential on the current Division of Banking roster before the engagement letter.
Directed or delegated?
KENDRIS publishes both. Directed means an external investment advisor directs investments and South Dakota statute relieves the trustee of investment responsibility. Delegated means the trustee hands off authority but keeps duties to select and monitor the delegate. Sterling markets the directed model. Get the seat in the acceptance letter either way.
Where are the full sources?
Open the two company files. Each listing cites the Division of Banking roster and the firm pages used here. This comparison does not add facts that are not on those files or the sources listed below.