Adding South Dakota trust services to an Investment Manager’s existing products and services offering may not only increase assets under management, but also increase the firm’s ability to retain client relationships for many years.

Many times, a corporate fiduciary will demand or eventually seek total control in carrying out the trustee functions. SDTC’s objective is not for the investment advisors and/or co-trustees involved to lose control, but rather to gain more control and be able to execute their roles without being burdened by concerns over the trust administration functions.

SDTC primarily serves as purely an administrative trustee providing clients and their advisors from across the country with the advantages of South Dakota trust situs (i.e. no state income tax, lowest premium tax, unlimited trust duration, asset protection and many other advantageous statutes) without having to reside in South Dakota. SDTC works exclusively with outside investment managers, who are appointed by the family committees or advisors and in turn direct how the trust is to be invested by an investment policy statement and the trust document.

SDTC Services for Investment Managers:

  1. With newly drafted trusts, SDTC acts as a “directed” administrative trustee leaving the Investment Manager and the family as the investment and distribution advisors, trustees or committees and trust protectors. SDTC does not do the investment management.
  2. SDTC can serve as successor trustee for trusts looking to move to South Dakota for its trust and tax benefits and “delegate” the investment responsibility to the family’s investment advisors of choice.
    • Older trusts may generally be modified/reformed easily to South Dakota directed trust for administrative purposes, if desired.
  3. SDTC has the ability to private label trust administration services for Investment Management firms. We work to custom design an outsourced trust administration solution based upon the institution’s client base and product offering.
  4. SDTC can work with the Investment Managers existing custodian and can tie into Advent and many other programs and custodians.
  5. SDTC computer systems provide secure Internet access to family members and advisors anywhere in the world via 24 hour Internet access.
  6. SDTC has the best statutes as well as extensive experience with Dynasty Trusts, Asset Protection Trusts, Insurance Trusts, Charitable Trusts and many other Irrevocable and Revocable Trusts.
  7. SDTC can assist Investment Management firms to establish Long Term Investment Accounts(restricted management accounts) with the principal purpose of increasing investment returns for clients by freeing the investment manager of pressure to produce significant short-term investment returns due to the possible fear of losing the investor as a client in the short run. These accounts can be appealing to investment clients because long-term personal management with the potential for higher returns can be combined with an estate planning strategy hopefully to lower estate and gift taxes.
  8. For taxable investments, a Private Placement Life Insurance (PPLI) policy can combine the traditional income tax benefits of life insurance with the flexibility and sophistication of a private placement investment vehicle. South Dakota currently has the lowest state-premium tax in the U.S. (8 basis points vs. an average 200 basis points) which can significantly lower the costs for establishing a PPLI policy.
  9. SDTC and South Dakota Planning Company can provide trust, estate planning, consulting training and seminar services through experienced trust professionals allowing the Investment Management firm to leverage the trust sales and marketing experience of SDPC.