Trust cannot be demanded, it has to be earned
Trusting someone to manage your wealth, whether you’re an individual, an intermediary or an institution, demands faith and confidence. We know that trust can only be earned and that is why at The Trust Company our personal relationships with our clients remain as central to our business as they did with our first clients more than a century ago.
We began with a single office in Melbourne at the time of the Victorian Gold Rush, and since then The Trust Company Group has grown to be one of the largest trustees in Australia, we expanded further in 2011 after acquiring the Guardian Trust, New Zealand’s leading trustee company. And while we pride ourselves on our impressive geographical footprint, which now includes offices across Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, we remain committed to our first goals of looking after and managing our clients’ legacies.
As trustee to over $164 billion in funds under management, advice or supervision we have the scale and expertise our clients demand while retaining that personal and individual touch to ensure we deliver the best possible outcome for all our clients.
Our Services
At The Trust Company we provide an impressive range of financial services across the personal wealth management, philanthropic and corporate sectors. We offer a bespoke and tailored service to suit our clients’ needs, and our unique regional footprint as the only licensed trustee across Australia, New Zealand and Singapore means we can service our clients’ requirements wherever they may be.
Individuals
The desire to safeguard and grow our wealth for our later years and future generations has not changed. But what’s changed is the complexity of that wealth and the options available to manage and protect it as we get older. We’ve looked after thousands of Australians and New Zealanders since our beginnings in the 1800s, understanding that the task might be complex and often emotional and that the options available can seem daunting. We have worked hard to develop professional and dedicated services that are delivered by a team of financial advisers, estate planning solicitors, trust managers and a dedicated investment management team. Together this group provides clarity on your financial and estate planning options to meet your needs, particularly at retirement and the years to follow.
Our approach to managing a clients’ wealth is called Sleep At Night. We aim to help you be comfortable in retirement with the lifestyle you are accustomed to so you can achieve everything you want, and to safeguard the legacy you pass on to those important to you.
Find out more about our services for individuals and families.
Corporate
Our track record speaks for itself. The Trust Company has acted as a corporate trustee in Australia since 1954 and in Singapore since 2007. We’ve been a leading provider of independent Responsible Entity services since the managed investments regime began in 1998. We currently have funds under supervision of A$8 billion across six ASX listed schemes, 50 registered schemes and over 40 other trusts.
Our wholly owned subsidiary Guardian Trust is a leading corporate trustee in New Zealand with funds under supervision of NZ$70 billion and with over 50% market share in KiwiSaver.
Our clients include major financial institutions, listed property groups and public sector pension funds, across Australia, Asia, Europe and North America. Find out about our clients and sample of recent transactions.
Philanthropy
As trustee for around $1 billion under administration in 850 charitable funds, we have the expertise to help shape and implement your philanthropic goals and organisational objectives to ensure they stand the test of time.
Unlike giving a one off lump sum, we can help support your chosen charities in perpetuity ensuring your wealth continues to make a difference in the long-term, even after you have gone. We can also support not-for-profits with long-term financial planning based on our specialist experience of the sector.
We currently administer an extensive portfolio of charitable trusts, some of which date back more than 100 years. We are also responsible for a wide range of Awards and Scholarships including the prestigious Miles Franklin Literary Award.
Our granting philosophy to enhance the social impact for our benefactors is carried by our “Engaged Philanthropy” program, as detailed in our recent Social Impact Report 2012. We currently work with 30 not-for-profit organisations in our 4 key areas of focus on a multi-year partnership program.
Find out more about our Philanthropy services.
Celebrating key milestones in our development
When you’ve been around for over 125 years, it’s only natural that you’d have a story to tell. Here are a few highlights in the The Trust Company story as we grew from a single office in downtown Melbourne to offices throughout Australia and southern Asia.
1885
In this year a sudden inflow of wealth from the Victorian goldfields was instrumental in establishing a trustee company based on similar structures already established in South Africa. Known as The Union Trustees, Executors and Administrators Company Limited, it was incorporated in Victoria for two purposes:
- To act as a trustworthy agent to hold and manage businesses and financial assets for families of varying individuals travelling back to England for long periods.
- To take on the role of executor/administrator of a deceased estate.
The first directors were John Blyth, Robert Jonathan Jeffray, The Hon. Henry Cuthbert, Henry Nicholas Loughnan, Francis Henty and Nathan Thornley.
1889
Four years later The Union Trustee Company of Australia Limited was amalgamated from a number of other companies. These were:
- The Australian Natives Trustees Executors and Agency Company Limited
- The Colonial Permanent Trustee Executor and Agency Company Limited
- Guardian Trustees Executors and Agency Company Limited
- The Union Trustees Executors and Administrators Company of Australia Limited
1890
This amalgamation quickly resulted in the company expanding interstate to establish an office in Queensland.
1911
Skip forward a couple of decades and a steady period of growth leads to the construction of the company’s first office building, The Union Trustee Building, at 333 Collins Street, Melbourne.
1914
Three years later the first office in New South Wales is opened and The Union Trustee Company of Australia Limited becomes the first trustee company to be incorporated in three states.
1957
Trust has always played an active role in helping the community. In the fifties Australia’s most prestigious and internationally acclaimed literary award, The Miles Franklin Literary Award, for which we continue to act as trustee, was first awarded to Patrick White for his novel Voss. The gala event was opened by Sir Robert Menzies.
1962
In this year the company amalgamated with The Fidelity Trustee Company Limited to become The Union-Fidelity Trustee Company of Australia Limited.
1965
This is the year the Portia Geach Memorial Award, Australia’s prestigious portrait prize for female artists, was first awarded to Jean Appleton for her painting Self Portrait. We continue to act as trustee for this important Australian award as well.
1970
A few years later we are appointed trustee for The Westgate Bridge Education Fund for the dependants of those workers that died in the collapse.
1985
To celebrate the company’s centenary we launch the Centenary Foundation. Now known as the Trust Foundation, for over 20 years this perpetual charitable trust has helped to care for, maintain, support and educate Australians of all ages.
1988
In the late eighties we change our name to Trust Company of Australia Limited (“Trust”).
2002
Now into the new millennium, Trust merges with Permanent Trustee Company Limited to become one of the largest trustee companies in Australia.
2005
Trust establishes a securitisation trustee joint venture with The Bank of New York.
2006
As a leading specialist in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), recently Trust expanded this business within the Institutional Services division into the Singapore market. Reflecting this expansion, we changed our registered name to Trust Company Limited.
2007
Trust moves its Melbourne office to the ASX building at 530 Collins Street.
2008
Trust sells its 50% interest in its securitisation trustee joint venture to The Bank of New York Mellon. Jonathan Sweeney resigns ending 30 years of family stewardship.
2009
John Atkin joins as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.
2010
Change of name to The Trust Company and implementation of new brand.
2011
Acquisition of New Zealand Guardian Trust.
On which we stand
Ours is a trustee business – built on a solid foundation of independence, honesty and integrity. This is the stable base on which we continue to build – with the courage to question, to stand up for what we believe to be right and to act without fear or favour.
Ours is a business committed to excellence – with a focus on innovation, quality and continuous improvement. We work responsibly within a framework of accountability.
Ours is a passionate business - focused on becoming the best we can be. We are prudent in our judgement, disciplined in our execution and seek to learn from all that we do.
Ours is a professional business – in which trust is earned rather than merely claimed. Every person is treated with respect, compassion and care for their long-term interests.
We are motivated by a generosity of spirit.
We treat people as we wish to be treated.
Our commitment to our beneficiaries and clients is paramount.
Our business conduct will withstand the closest scrutiny.
Ours is a fair business – in our commercial relationships, our engagement with the wider community and our dealings with each other. The proper discharge of our obligations and a deep regard for the character and quality of relationships complements our pragmatic, commercial acumen and focus.
Ours is The Trust Company