What First State Trust Company does

First State Trust Company (FSTC) is a privately held Delaware-chartered trust company headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, with a secondary representative office in West Palm Beach, Florida. Founded in 1982 and tracing its roots to E.F. Hutton Trust Company and later Citi Institutional Trust Company, the firm provides professional trust, custody, and administration services to two primary client bases: institutional clients (defined benefit and contribution plans, public funds, Taft-Hartley funds, endowments, foundations, and reinsurance trusts) and personal trust clients (individuals, couples, and families). The company also operates Nevada First Trust Company as an affiliated entity extending its jurisdictional footprint.

The firm's core product lines include Corporate Trustee and Fiduciary Services, Personal Trust Services (including Delaware Directed Trusts and a Trustee Assistance Program), Institutional Trust Services, Alliance Programs for financial advisors, Donor Advised Funds, and sub-products covering Trust & Custody Services, Benefit Payments and Tax Reporting, Unitization & Sub-accounting, Escrow Transactions, and Bank & Trust Company Operations Outsourcing. All trust accounting is executed on Fi-Tek Group's Global WealthES proprietary platform, which supports 450 financial institutions servicing over $1 trillion in assets across multiple market segments. Client-facing portals include a 401(k) participant and plan sponsor login, a TrustLink portal for statements and positions, and an ACH payment portal.

FSTC operates on a recurring fee-based revenue model, charging trust administration, custody, fiduciary, distribution, and tax preparation fees without publicly disclosed pricing tiers. Its go-to-market is anchored in an alliance partnership model in which financial advisors and wealth management firms retain client relationships while FST serves as corporate trustee, agent, or custodian. The firm is regulated by the State of Delaware Banking Commissioner and complements its advisor channel with attorney referral partnerships for trust drafting and modification work.

Name

First State Trust Company

Legal name

First State Trust Company

Website

https://fs-trust.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

First State Trust Company is a privately held Delaware-chartered trust company providing corporate trustee, custody, and administration services to institutional retirement plans and personal trust clients through an alliance partnership model with financial advisors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trust Administration Services

NAICS

Trust, Fiduciary, and Custody Activities (523991), Trusts, Estates, and Agency Accounts (52592), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), Insurance and Employee Benefit Funds (5251)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Trust Services (Trustee, Agent & Escrow Roles) (FSAEAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate & Institutional Trust Services (FSAAANAB), Trust Administration & Fiduciary Accounting Services (FSAAANAF), Directed Trust & Trust Advisory Services (FSAAANAK), Fiduciary Agency & Trustee-for-Hire Services (FSAAANAL), Personal & Family Trust Services (FSAAANAA)

Keywords

• Trust administration services
• Fiduciary services
• Custody services
• Retirement plan administration
• Corporate trustee services

Headquarters

HQ city

Wilmington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Trust Administration Fees: FST generates revenue through fees for professional trust administration services including corporate trustee services, fiduciary services, custodial services, distributions, bill-pay, benefit payments, trust accounting, and tax preparation and filing.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

First State Trust Company provides professional corporate trustee, fiduciary, custody, and administration services for both Personal Trust clients (individuals, couples, and families) and Institutional Trust clients (qualified retirement plans, public funds, endowments, foundations, Taft-Hartley funds). FSTC serves as trustee, agent, or custodian in both discretionary and non-discretionary capacities, delivering services that include corporate trustee services, fiduciary services, custodial services, distributions and bill-pay, benefit payments, certified trust statements, employee benefit plan reporting, principal and income accounting, tax preparation and filing, and dedicated trust officer support.

Product overview

First State Trust Company offers a unified trust administration platform with multiple service lines operating as a single integrated ecosystem. The core offering consists of Corporate Trustee & Fiduciary Services supporting both Personal Trust Services (including Delaware Directed Trusts and the Trustee Assistance Program) and Institutional Trust Services (covering retirement plans, public funds, endowments, and foundations). The company also provides Alliance Programs for financial advisor partnerships, Donor Advised Funds for philanthropy, and specialized sub-products including Trust & Custody Services, Benefit Payments/Tax Reporting, Unitization & Sub-accounting, Escrow Transactions, and Bank & Trust Company Operations Outsourcing. All trust accounting is powered by FST's proprietary Global WealthES platform, enabling the company to serve as trustee, agent, or custodian in both discretionary and non-discretionary capacities through a partnership model where clients and their advisors collaborate with FST's trust administration team.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Corporate Trustee & Fiduciary Services Corporate trustee and fiduciary services for personal and institutional clients, with FST acting as an independent trustee, agent, or custodian in both discretionary and non-discretionary capacities.
• Personal Trust Services
• Institutional Trust Services
• Alliance Programs
• Donor Advised Funds
• Delaware Directed Trusts
• Trustee Assistance Program
• Trust & Custody Services
• Benefit Payments, Paying Agent & Tax Reporting Services
• Unitization & Sub-accounting
• Escrow Transactions
• Bank & Trust Company Operations Outsourcing

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Fi-Tek GroupcoreTechnology or IntegrationFi-Tek Group is a premier provider of services and solutions to trust banks, RIAs, and hedge funds. FST is an affiliate of Fi-Tek Group and provides trust accounting services through Fi-Tek's industry-leading proprietary platform Global WealthES. Fi-Tek enables 450 financial institutions to service over $1 trillion in assets.
• Nevada First Trust CompanyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNevada First Trust Company is an affiliate of FST providing trust administration services for individuals and institutions.
• Financial Advisors / Wealth Management FirmscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFST's alliance partnership program enables financial advisors to maintain client relationships while adding FST as a professional trustee, agent, or custodian. Advisors concentrate on managing client relationships and providing investment advice while FST handles trust administration.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Bessemer Trust: Bessemer Trust is one of the largest independent trust companies in the U.S., focused on HNW/UHNW families providing corporate trustee, fiduciary, and wealth administration services — directly comparable to FST's personal trust business and Directed Trust expertise, though at meaningfully greater scale.
• Wilmington Trust: Wilmington Trust is an M&T Bank subsidiary offering Delaware-chartered personal trust, corporate trustee, and institutional fiduciary services — a directly comparable competitor sharing the same Delaware regulatory advantage and similar target client base as FST.
• Glenmede: Glenmede is an independent, privately held investment and trust company serving HNW families, endowments, and foundations with corporate trustee, custody, and wealth administration services — closely comparable to FST in independent positioning and specialty focus.
• Rockefeller Capital Management: Rockefeller Capital Management offers private wealth, trust, and estate administration services to HNW/UHNW families — directly comparable to FST's personal trust, family office, and corporate trustee offerings with similar independent/private positioning.
• Nevada First Trust Company: Nevada First Trust Company is an affiliate of FST providing trust administration services for individuals and institutions; the closest peer by structure, ownership lineage, and service portfolio, differing mainly in jurisdictional charter (Nevada vs. Delaware).

Broad incumbents

• Northern Trust: Northern Trust is a leading global wealth and asset management firm with a large Personal Trust Services and institutional custody franchise; it competes with FST across HNW family trust mandates, defined benefit custody, and endowment/foundation servicing at meaningfully greater scale.
• U.S. Trust (Bank of America Private Bank): U.S. Trust is Bank of America's private banking arm offering corporate trustee, estate, and institutional trust services — overlaps directly with FST's personal and institutional trust offerings as a much larger incumbent.
• BNY Mellon Wealth Management: BNY Mellon's Wealth Management division includes one of the largest personal trust and corporate trustee franchises globally, providing trust administration for UHNW families, foundations, and institutions — overlapping heavily with FST's service portfolio.
• JPMorgan Private Bank: JPMorgan Private Bank provides corporate trustee, fiduciary, and institutional custody services to UHNW clients and institutions — competes with FST for HNW trust mandates with the scale and brand advantage of a global bulge-bracket bank.
• State Street Global Services: State Street provides institutional custody, trust, and benefit payment services for pensions, endowments, and other institutions — directly comparable to FST's institutional trust, custody, and benefit payment service lines.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about First State Trust Company