Sterling Trustees provides professional trust administration and family office services. As an independent South Dakota-chartered trust company, Sterling Trustees acts as an independent fiduciary and does not provide investment management services to avoid conflicts of interest. Sterling Trustees works with best-in-class money managers to invest trust assets according to client needs. The company uses state-of-the-art software to efficiently administer trusts across multiple custodians.
2. Sterling Trustees
• Provides professionally administered services to the trust and its
beneficiaries, as well as family offices, as a South Dakota-chartered trust
company
• Acts as an independent fiduciary
– we don’t believe a trustee should act as your investment manager, there is an
inherit conflict of interest
• Works with best of breed money managers to ensure trusts assets conform
to the investment needs of the client
• Administers each trust by a professional from our highly experienced staff of
trust officers
– we maintain one of the lowest professional-to-client ratios in order to provide
better and timely service to our clients
• Uses state-of-the-art software to monitor trust performance across multiple
custodians and trusts making our offering unique in the marketplace
3. Sterling Trustees - Services
Sterling provides the following services when working with high net worth
families:
• Trust administration including all distributions, tax filings and any other
necessary compliance to maintain the trust
• Meet with the beneficiaries face-to-face at least once a year to develop
relationships that enable us to make intelligent decisions regarding
distributions and any other family issues that might arise
• Meet quarterly with investment advisors to review portfolios and make
any necessary adjustments as outlined in the investment policy
statement
• Monitor investment advisor performance daily using Sterling Connect™,
our state-of-the-art trust and accounting platform and access to
Morningstar Direct
4. Sterling Trustees – Role as Independent Trustee
Technology Infrastructure and Independence Use of Best of Breed Money Managers
Accounting &
Administration
Portfolio Performance
Review Investment
Manager
Planning
Opportunities
Family
Tax Reporting
Securities
Distributions Custody
Client Reporting
5. Sterling Trustees – Role as Private Label Trust Co
Family
Small
Accounting Community
RIAs Law Firms Brokerage
Firms Banks
Firms
Technology Infrastructure and Consolidated Reporting
Accounting & Portfolio Client
Performance Tax Reporting Distributions
Administration Reporting
Review
6. Sterling Trustees – Role in Family Office Services
Family
Technology Infrastructure and Consolidated Reporting
Lawyers Accountants
Estate & Tax Strategy | Corporate Governance
Cash Flow Mgmt| Tax Preparation
Compliance | Create Entities and Interests
Partnership Accounting| Compliance
Banks Consultants
Banking services | Investment Process
Family Meetings| Education
Debt Financing | Mortgages
Family Mission
Investment Mgmt Concierge Services
Portfolio Mgmt| Real Estate | Private Equity Gate Keeping| Bill Payment | Personal Services
Investment Manager Review| Hedge Funds Personal Staff Mgmt | Private Shopper
Financial Planner Insurance
Family Gifting| Economic Modeling Risk Management| Policy Review
Estate & Tax Strategy| Charitable Planning Offshore Insurance| Insurance Trusts
7. Sterling Trustees - Investment Oversight
• We hire and methodically monitor third-party investment advisors often
using multiple custodians based on the size of the trust.
• Our fiduciary duty is to the trust/client and therefore we are not influenced
by fees earned on investment management
Establish Determine Select and Analyze and
Understand Rebalance
investment asset implement communicate
your needs Portfolio
objectives allocation strategy results
Current Review trust Work with 3rd Careful Review of
financial docs party advisor to consideration of current
review Financial needs optimize asset tax implications situation
Review of analysis allocation to Incorporate diverse Refinement of
existing Financial goals meet any family investment original goals if
investment and objectives needs vehicles appropriate
portfolio established Monitor Continuous
ID of all implementation monitoring and
assets and through 3rd party communication
liabilities advisor of results
8. Sterling Trustees - Money Managers
• As an independent trustee, we enable our clients to work with best of breed money managers
to ensure wealth preservation of trust assets for generations to come
9. Sterling Trustees - Value Proposition
• Solely serves as the independent trustee.
• Chartered in South Dakota, which provides clients with the most
sophisticated trust law in the country.
• Uses independent best of breed investment advisors to manage the
trust’s assets.
• Charges a fixed fee vs one that increases or decreases with AUM.
• Open architecture investment style ensures that trusts can access best and
most suitable investment products.
• Trust reporting system allows us to report on any type asset on a t+1
basis even with multiple custodians.
10. Why Use an Independent Corporate Trustee?
Choosing a trustee is one of the most significant decisions people face when establishing a trust. The trustee is
responsible for administering your assets according to the provisions you outline in the trust agreement. Although you
can designate any individual to oversee the administration of your trust, even sophisticated individuals or family members
often find managing a trust to be burdensome and complex.
A independent corporate trustee may be your best option and give you several advantages, including:
Experience - Corporate trustees typically handle many trusts on a daily basis and are very familiar with applicable legal
requirements. They understand the intricacies of a wide range of trust types and have a great deal of knowledge in the
administration and investment management of trusts.
Objectivity - The corporate trustee is bound by the terms of the trust document and will administer the trust as it is
written. In many cases, individual trustees have a tendency to favor one class of beneficiaries over another. It can be
difficult for a trustee who is a parent, sibling, relative or friend to act objectively. A corporate trustee benefits from being an
outsider who can make decisions free from bias and family dynamics.
Regulation - A corporate trustee is subject to many levels of oversight. Internal auditors, external auditors and
government regulators all make sure that the corporate trustee is carrying out the fiduciary duties that have been given to
them. This is all for the protection of the trust and its beneficiaries.
11. Why Use an Independent Corporate Trustee?
A independent corporate trustee may be your best option and give you several advantages, including:
Reliability - Duties are not interrupted due to illnesses, vacations or other disruptions that may distract a personal trustee
from performing the responsibilities of trustee. Corporate trustees typically have a staff that is well versed in the different
trusts that they oversee.
Tax Management and Record Keeping - Administering a trust includes filing tax returns, issuing statements and
keeping records of trust activity. Most corporate trustees have tax and record keeping expertise, or have contracted with
competent preparers, so they are able to handle trusts properly from a tax and reporting perspective.
Longevity - Because one of the principal reasons for establishing a trust is to provide for the future, it’s important to
remember that an individual trustee will eventually be unable to perform the duties of a trustee. Unlike an individual
trustee, a corporate trustee will not predecease you or otherwise be unable to administer the trust. By choosing a
corporate trustee, you help ensure continuity for the full term of the trust.
Liability – Most trust companies are well insured to handle law suits from beneficiaries or losses from gross negligence in
the administration of trusts. This is the number one area that is overlooked by individual trustees when they agree
to serve in a trustee capacity.
12. Pros and Cons of Individual and Corp Trustees
Pros of Independent Corporate Trustee Cons of Independent Corporate Trustee
- Specialist personnel for: - Lack of familiarity with family relationships and dynamics
Investment management - Impersonal
Financial advice and assistance for beneficiaries - Changes in personnel
Tax planning and return preparation - Mandatory fees
Applying required law to distribution determinations - Conservative investing philosophies
Preparation of accounting - Inexperienced personnel
- Extensive trust management experience and knowledge of applicable - Hostility to real property, closely held business, or single
security law and procedures investments
- Deep pockets in regard to liability for malfeasance - Bureaucratic delays
- Long-term service capabilities (e.g., through multiple generations)
- Government and association regulation and oversight
- Fills a need when no suitable individual is available
- Ability to act in an independent manner
- Backup staffing in the event of death, illness, or unavailability of
principal administrator
- Computerized record keeping
Pros of Individual Trustee Cons of Individual Trustee
- Knowledge of family relationships and dynamics - Limited or lack of knowledge of taxes, investments, and/or
- May be willing to serve without or at a lower fee applicable law
- May be knowledgeable regarding family investments or businesses - Risk of death, disability, absence
- Comfort as to professionalism, knowledge, or skill set of known - Successor issues
- Outsourcing investments, tax, and legal work may result in
higher overall costs
- Successor issues
- Possible conflicts of interest with or between family members
and/or beneficiaries
13. Leadership
STANLEY JOFFE
Chairman and CEO
P: 610.234.0627 | F: 610.825.1385 | smjoffe@sterlingtrustees.com
Stanley M. Joffe is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Trustees, which he founded in 2008 after a long and
distinguished career as a trust and estates attorney. Mr. Joffe has always believed that there is an inherent conflict of
interest between trustees who act in a fiduciary capacity as well as manage the investment of trust assets. As a result,
Sterling Trustees today has fiduciary responsibility for over $500 million in client assets. Prior to founding Sterling
Trustees, Mr. Joffe was CEO and Director of DM Trust Company, a trust company. Mr. Joffe formed in 2007 to fill a need
in the U.S. market for independent corporate trustees.
In addition to managing DM Trust, Mr. Joffe was a partner at Duane Morris LLP, where he focused on the areas of
international tax and estate planning and domestic estate planning. He has more than 25 years of experience in assisting
high net worth individuals of foreign countries to resettle in the United States in the most tax-effective manner. He is
admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and South Africa, and is a published author and speaker on international tax and
estate planning. Mr. Joffe is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).
Mr. Joffe received an LL.M. in Income Tax and Estate Planning from Temple University School of Law. He is a graduate of
the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, where he received a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1962, a
Bachelor of Laws degree in 1965, and a Higher Diploma in South African Tax Law in 1976.
14. Leadership
ANTONY JOFFE
President
P: 610.234.0626 | F: 610.825.1385 | ajoffe@sterlingtrustees.com
Antony Joffe founded Sterling Trustees with his father in 2008 and serves as its president. Antony is responsible for managing
the day-to- day activities of Sterling Trustees including operations, compliance and sales and marketing.
Previously, Antony was President of DM Trust Company. Before starting his career in the trust service business, Antony spent
15 years in the financial services industry including investment banking and private equity, most recently as a principal at
Bryant Park Capital, a New York-based boutique investment bank, where he helped to establish the firm’s new Philadelphia
office. Prior to Bryant Capital, Antony was a principal at FB Capital Partners, a $500 million private equity fund focused on
non-control investments in the industrial, business services, financial services and real estate markets. Before that, Antony
spent eight years in the investment banking group of Janney Montgomery Scott. His experience includes working with
emerging growth companies to complete public and private equity offerings, mergers and acquisitions transactions, valuations
and other financial advisory work. Antony started his career as an auditor in the Business Advisory Group at Coopers &
Lybrand.
A native of South Africa, Antony received his B.B.A. in Accounting from Emory University and an M.B.A. with a concentration in
finance from Temple University. He is a Certified Public Accountant.