Guides
Read the file before you appoint a trustee
These pages exist so counsel and advisors can ask a trust company the same questions a careful appointment letter would ask — and so a marketing claim can be told from a charter fact. They are editorial. They are not legal, tax, or investment advice. Statutes and licensee lists change; check the primary source and the date on each citation.
The directory currently lists 64 companies. Use the guides to read those listings; do not treat a listing as a recommendation to hire.
Core files
Primary explainer
How to choose a trust company
Confirm the charter, the legal entity, the directed vs discretionary seat, and where administration actually happens. Marketing pages are not the appointment.
Structure comparison
Directed trustee vs corporate trustee
Definitions from SD, NV, WY, and DE directed-trust statutes. Corporate trustee is the legal person; directed is a duty allocation in the instrument.
Interview
Questions to ask a trust company
Spoken versions of the diligence file — legal entity, role, situs, custody, unique assets, fees, and successor — to send before the appointment.
Process flags
Trust company red flags
Process flags for charter, entity, directed-role, custody, and affiliate-conflict answers. Unknown after a written ask is the finding.
Printable
Trust company due-diligence checklist
A printable ten-box file for counsel and advisors. Unknown stays unchecked. No invented fees, AUM, or bonding.
Field key
How to read a trust company listing
What each directory column and listing field means, what we refuse to invent, and how to use directed-trust pills without treating them as a statute package.
Failure modes
What happens if a trust company fails
Receivership and successor-trustee mechanics from published statutes and one public Nevada petition. Not a horror page and not a solvency rating of listed firms.
Compare
Side-by-side files for two already-listed companies. Published fields only. No winner, no invented fees or AUM. The compare index lists every pair.
Company comparison
Bridgeford Trust vs Sterling Trustees
Two independent South Dakota public charters that refuse the investment book — Bridgeford as oldest independently owned directed-admin shop vs Sterling as independent corporate trustee. Not a ranking.
Company comparison
Premier Trust vs IconTrust
Two independent Nevada retail (NRS 669) no-IM trustees — Premier (founded 2001, divided-duty language) vs IconTrust (founded 2020, directed and delegated pages). No winner, no fee dollars.
Company comparison
Alta Trust vs Capital First Trust
Two independent South Dakota public charters with advisor-retention stories — Alta as directed / mixed (plus CIT / private-fund platform) vs Capital First as directed / delegated, not bank-affiliated. Not a ranking.
Company comparison
Preservation Trust vs Crawford Trust
Two Nevada retail boutiques — Preservation as Nevada-only admin with a directed investment seat beside discretionary distributions vs Crawford as a single Administrative Trustee seat with disclosed SNWM address adjacency. No winner.
Company comparison
KENDRIS Trustees vs Sterling Trustees
Two Sioux Falls public charters without an investment book — KENDRIS (Zürich group subsidiary, directed and delegated admin) vs Sterling (privately held independent corporate trustee). No winner, no fee dollars.
Company comparison
Commonwealth Trust vs Arden Trust
Two Wilmington directed administrative trustees — Commonwealth (independent non-deposit charter) vs Arden (Kestra-owned limited-purpose charter with a discretionary track too). No winner, no fee dollars.
Company comparison
JTC South Dakota Trust vs Trident Trust (South Dakota)
Two group-owned Sioux Falls public charters — JTC South Dakota (formerly SDTC, product-free directed admin) vs Trident South Dakota (directed, delegated, and discretionary). No winner, no fee dollars, no size scoring.
Company comparison
Peak Trust Company-NV vs Premier Trust
Two independent Nevada retail (NRS 669) trustees — Peak-NV (Alaska-rooted brand, full, directed, or delegated) vs Premier (Henderson, does not manage investments, divided-duty roles). No winner, no fee dollars.
Role landings
Definition-first pages that explain a trustee seat, then list matching companies from the collection. Not a second homepage table.
Attribute landing
South Dakota directed trustees
What a South Dakota directed trustee is under SDCL 55-1B, then the Trust File listings whose directed-trust field is directed or directed/mixed — generated from the company collection at build time.
Attribute landing
Nevada directed trustees
What a Nevada directed trustee is under NRS 163.553–163.556, then the Trust File listings on the FID retail list whose directed-trust field is directed or directed/mixed — generated from the company collection at build time.
Attribute landing
Delaware directed trustees
What a Delaware directed trustee is under 12 Del. C. § 3313, then the Trust File listings on the OSBC list dated 9 October 2026 whose directed-trust field is directed or directed/mixed — generated from the company collection at build time.
Attribute landing
Wyoming directed trustees
What a Wyoming directed trustee is under W.S. 4-10-718, then the Trust File listings on the Division of Banking trust-companies roster whose directed-trust field is directed or directed/mixed — generated from the company collection at build time.
State files
South Dakota, Nevada, Wyoming, and Delaware publish different chartering statutes and directed-trust rules. Naming a trustee in the wrong state does not move situs.
SD
South Dakota trust companies
Public vs private charters under 51A-6A, directed trusts under 55-1B, and the Division of Banking roster. Capital figures only as the Division currently publishes them.
NV
Nevada trust companies
NRS 669 retail charters, 669A family companies, directed fiduciaries in NRS 163, and the FID retail list dated 26 January 2026.
WY
Wyoming trust companies
W.S. 13-5 public-trust-company chartering, family-company articles, directed trusts under 4-10-718, and the Division of Banking roster.
DE
Delaware trust companies
Title 5 Chapter 7 chartering, limited-purpose trust companies, 12 Del. C. § 3313 advisers, and the OSBC institutions list dated 9 October 2026.