Merchant Investment Management, a New York-based investment firm that provides growth capital and other support to independent financial services firms, has taken a minority stake in a boutique, independent trust company to offer its network of registered investment advisors trust administration capabilities.
Merchant, which has 115 partner firms, has invested in Sterling Trustees, an independent South Dakota chartered trust company. The firms did not disclose the amount of the investment.
Sterling currently administers over $11 billion of client trust assets worldwide, and maintains its independence by separating the roles of trustee and investment advisory. Rather than managing the assets directly, Sterling works with the clients’ investment advisors and independent custodians. The firm specializes in domesticating foreign trusts.
“Partnering with Merchant allows us to extend that unbiased platform directly into the advisor ecosystem, powering legacy-building strategies with institutional-grade resources—and ensuring each client’s trust benefits from balanced, forward-thinking counsel,” said Antony Joffe, chairman of Sterling Trustees, in a statement.
The move is part of an industry-wide shift of wealth managers offering additional services, including trust administration. For instance, in 2021, Moneta, a St. Louis-based RIA, launched its own trust company, Moneta Trust. Last year, Wealthspire Advisors, a New York-based RIA owned by global insurance brokerage NFP, launched its own trust company. Creative Planning has its own trust company, as does Mercer Advisors, via its acquisition of Kanaly Trust in 2016. Hightower launched Hightower National Trust Company in 2022 with a national charter, and CI Financial’s U.S. wealth management business, now known as Corient, launched its own trust company in 2023.
“The demand for high-quality, independent trust services has never been greater—both within the Merchant community and across the broader independent wealth management space,” Merchant co-founder and Managing Partner Tim Bello said in a statement. “Sterling brings the objectivity, scale and cross-border expertise that RIAs need to meet the complex estate planning needs of today’s high-net-worth families, while staying true to the advisor-first ethos that defines our ecosystem.”
Merchant, for its part, has been investing in RIA-adjacent businesses alongside its stakes in RIAs such as Concurrent, Gitterman Wealth Management and Summit Financial.
In 2018, the investment firm partnered with AdvisorAssist LLC, a regulatory, compliance and risk management consulting firm with which it expanded its relationship in 2022. In December of that year, it took a minority stake in Fin.Link, formerly Succession Link, a matchmaking service for RIAs looking to buy or sell that Merchant helped to rebrand in 2024.
Just last month, Merchant invested in Columbus, Ohio-based WR Valuation, a business valuation services firm for the underlying client business owners of RIAs.
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