We always seek to retain the investment advisor of our client whenever possible.  If your client goes to a bank or another professional services firm, you will most likely lose the account.  We offer your client highly professional and personal fiduciary services in conjunction with your expertise; this greatly adds to the suite of services that you provide to your clientele.

I manage the investments of my client, and don’t usually get involved with things like their estate planning and trust management. Why should I start to get involved with these issues?

You are your clients’ very trusted advisor; they depend on you to make decisions and recommendations that will safeguard their income through retirement.  If you identify the need for estate management, using a company like Northwest Trustee & Management Services will mean that your client can keep you as advisor and also safeguard their assets.

We will work through your client’s independent Estate Planning attorney, we will retain you as the advisor, and we take on the fiduciary management responsibilities when your clients are no longer able to do so.

How would I know if my client needs a trust?

By having a guided conversation with your clients, you can often identify certain ‘red flags’ that are key indicators that a person might need a trust

  • Your client is elderly
  • You sense that you client is vulnerable to overreaching or undue influence
  • Your client or potential beneficiaries are spendthrifts
  • Your client has children (potential beneficiaries) with drug or alcohol addictions
  • There are complex assets in their estate outside of the investment portfolio
  • Mixed families or cultural issues
  • Mental or emotional instability of either your client, their spouse, or the beneficiaries
  • Large estates

Your client may be concerned about the disposition of their own estates to children or grandchildren who may have some of the problems described above.  When you do periodic investment reviews, you will provide an extraordinary service, to your client if you ask, listen, and then call us if you would like to discuss the situation.

Why should I recommend you rather than another professional trustee?

In a case where your client chooses to use a bank or another financial institution as trustee, you will most likely lose the account as that firm will bring investment management in-house.  We have chosen a different model.  Your client is best served when the management of their funds is done through a separate entity from the management of their trust to avoid any potential conflicts of interest.  Our policy is to retain the investment advisor of our clients, which is to the benefit of both you and your client.

What would the process be for engaging with you?

  • You identify a client that has or needs a trust or estate management
  • Call us, and we can discuss the situation
  • We can meet with your client to review their needs in more detail
  • The clients estate planning attorney draws up the documents and all parties sign them
  • We meet with you to create investment objectives and a system of monitoring results through regular investment reviews
  • We manage the trust or estate pursuant to the document and make disbursement decisions as needed or requested by the beneficiary

If my client creates a trust and you manage it, is there anything that I have to do differently in the way I invest the funds?

Our role as fiduciary carries different legal requirements than an individual.  We will meet together to discuss some of these differences and then create clear investment objectives to guide us both.  We have found that our duties as fiduciary have not been a major hindrance to most investment advisors, and we work with advisors from all major firms operating in the Northwest.

"Over the course of the last year, I've worked with Steve Trefts on managing a Trust's investment allocation.  From the very start, Steve demonstrated exceptional knowledge in both Trust and Portfolio Management.  He spend the time necessary to not only assess the quality of the individual holdings, but also the entire portfolio's ability to meet the long term needs of the trust.  His professionalism, integrity, and experience are unmatched.  I highly recommend Steve and the exceptional staff at Northwest Trustee & Management Services."

Dave Fevergeon, CFP, RFC

Financial Advisor

KMS Financial Services, Inc.

Ellensburg, WA 98926