Credit Union Trust

What Credit Union Trust does

Credit Union Trust (CU Trust) is a Michigan-chartered limited purpose trust bank founded in 2018 by a consortium of Michigan credit unions and headquartered in Troy, Michigan. The company provides professional trustee, estate administration, fiduciary, and investment management services to individuals and families, as well as co-trustee and fiduciary support to estate attorneys, financial advisors, and wealth managers. Its core product surface spans revocable and irrevocable trusts, special needs trusts, IRAs, charitable trusts, estate settlement, conservatorships, Investment Policy Statement development, and custodial services, delivered via a relationship-driven, referral-led go-to-market model. CU Trust generates revenue through fee-based professional services, with pricing pursuant to a private fee schedule billed annually, and operates primarily in Michigan with stated capacity to serve clients beyond the state through virtual channels. The firm is 49.999% owned by University Bancorp (parent of University Bank), with ownership otherwise reserved exclusively for financial institutions, creating a closed-loop distribution model in which credit union and bank partners serve as both equity holders and client referral sources. The senior team is staffed by alumni of major trust institutions including Comerica, Merrill Lynch, and JP Morgan Chase, and the firm uses professional trust accounting systems (hosted via FIS Global's Weblink platform) rather than proprietary technology.

Name

Credit Union Trust

Legal name

Credit Union Trust

Website

https://credituniontrust.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Credit Union Trust is a Michigan-chartered limited purpose trust bank providing trustee, estate administration, and investment management services to individuals, families, attorneys, and financial advisors, with ownership shared among credit unions and University Bancorp.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trust Services

NAICS

Trusts, Estates, and Agency Accounts (52592)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Philanthropic & Charitable Trust Services (FSAAANAI)

Keywords

• Trust administration services
• Fiduciary services
• Estate planning
• Investment management
• Trust bank services

Headquarters

HQ city

Troy

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Trust and Fiduciary Services Fees: CU Trust generates revenue through fee-based services for trust administration, estate settlement, investment management, and fiduciary services. As a limited purpose trust bank, fees are charged for trustee services, investment oversight, and related fiduciary responsibilities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Credit Union Trust (CU Trust) is a limited purpose trust bank that delivers professional trustee, estate administration, and fiduciary investment management services. The company administers revocable and irrevocable trusts, special needs trusts, IRAs, charitable trusts, and estate settlements, while also providing Investment Policy Statement-driven investment oversight, custodial services, and business succession planning to individuals, families, attorneys, financial advisors, and partner credit unions and banks.

Product overview

Credit Union Trust operates as a trust bank providing fiduciary and trust services to individuals, families, attorneys, financial advisors, and financial institutions. The core product portfolio consists of Trust & Estate Administration services (handling trust implementation, distributions, tax management, and recordkeeping) paired with Investment Solutions (investment management, custodial services, and IPS development). These are supported by specialized sub-products including Trust Services & Support (Revocable/Irrevocable/Special Needs Trusts, IRAs, Charitable Trusts), Fiduciary Services (Estate Administration, Co-Trustee, Conservatorships), Investment Management, FI Partnership Platform, Advisor Fiduciary Services, and Attorney Support Services. Educational resources including the Myths & Misconceptions Guide and Estate Planning Resources complement the service offerings. The company was founded in 2018-2019 by Michigan credit unions and maintains headquarters in Troy, Michigan.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Trust & Estate Administration

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AAACU (Ann Arbor Area Credit Union)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAAACU was one of the original cofounders of CU Trust and remains an owner. AAACU President & CEO Donald J. Mills stated that CU Trust enables them to deliver financial solutions from birth until death while eliminating the need for access to competitor trust banks.
• Financial Institution OwnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCU Trust was originally founded by a group of credit unions who believe in putting people before profits. Ownership is exclusively reserved for financial institutions, ensuring a solid and reliable owner base. The ownership group includes financial institutions with billions in assets.
• Denha & Associates, PLLCminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerRandall A. Denha, J.D., LL.M., founder of Denha & Associates, PLLC, serves on the Board of Directors for Credit Union Trust. Denha specializes in estate and personal tax planning, business and succession planning, family wealth planning, and asset protection planning.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Reliance Trust (Argent Financial Group): A trust services platform that partners with banks and credit unions to deliver trust and fiduciary capabilities on a white-label basis. Comparable institutional partnership model and similar scope of personal trust, estate administration, and investment services.
• Strata Trust Company: A specialty limited-purpose trust company that provides self-directed IRA and custodial services, frequently partnering with credit unions and community banks. Like CU Trust, it is a niche chartered trust bank rather than a full-service commercial bank's trust department.
• Pacific Premier Trust: A specialty trust company offering self-directed IRAs, custodial services, and directed trust arrangements for financial institution partners. Operates with a similar institutional partnership model that serves credit unions, broker-dealers, and RIAs.
• Millennium Trust Company: A specialty custodian and trust company focused on alternative-asset and self-directed retirement accounts, with significant credit union and institutional partnerships. Comparable business model of serving as a directed trust and custodial partner for institutions that lack in-house capability.
• Equity Trust Company: A specialty self-directed IRA custodian with a financial-institution partnership channel that markets to credit unions and community banks. Comparable niche trust-bank structure competing for the same credit-union white space as CU Trust.

Broad incumbents

• Comerica Wealth & Trust: A full-service commercial bank's trust and wealth management division that competes directly with CU Trust in Michigan for personal trust, estate administration, and investment management mandates. Several CU Trust executives previously worked at Comerica, illustrating the talent and client overlap.
• Huntington National Bank Wealth Management: A large Midwest regional bank with full trust, estate, and investment services. Operates across the same Michigan geography as CU Trust and represents the incumbent that smaller trust banks frequently try to compete against on service quality and minimum flexibility.
• KeyBank Wealth Management: A major regional bank's wealth and trust division with broad fiduciary offerings across the Midwest. Comparable in scope of services (trust administration, estate settlement, investment management) but competing from a much larger balance sheet and brand.
• Northern Trust Wealth Management: A national wealth management and trust services franchise with deep fiduciary expertise and institutional scale. Competes in the high-end personal trust and estate administration market that CU Trust targets with its Michigan credit-union members.
• BNY Mellon Wealth Management: One of the largest U.S. trust and wealth management franchises, providing personal trust, estate administration, and investment services nationally. Sets the upper-bound benchmark for fiduciary capability and brand that CU Trust's niche credit-union-focused model is differentiated against.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CreditUnionTrustMichigan
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/credituniontrustmichigan
• Instagraminstagram.com/credituniontrust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

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 Credit Union Trust