As many of you are already aware, we recently announced the Investment Management Group is taking steps to become an independent trust and investment company. We are very excited about this change as it brings with it new opportunity for us to continue to grow and serve more clients in the Quad Cities region. While we will largely look and feel the same to our current customers, this change will help us reach more families that will find value in the investment management and estate planning services we have provided to the Quad Cities and beyond since 1969.
For our existing customers, you are going to find there are more things remaining the same than changing. We will still have the same ownership, the same expert staff, the same fee structure, the same investment philosophies and the same products and services we offer today. We will also remain in our same offices at the Northpark Tower location, however, we will open a new office in Illinois. The most sizable difference will be the name on the door. Our new name will be Tower Trust & Investment Company.
So why make the change? We have experienced a tremendous amount of growth over the last several years.
In fact, we now have customers in over 30 states and are one of the largest local trust departments in the area. That being said, we have found that people in the community do not always understand what a trust department does, and the advantages of working with a fiduciary. Many people don’t realize that as a trust department we can serve their retirement planning and investment needs. Or they think they have to be a customer of the bank to use our services.
This move allows us to reposition ourselves in the community – to allow those who are not currently our clients to think about us differently. Being an independent trust and investment company puts us in that perfect spot to highlight our investment and retirement planning abilities as well as the traditional trust department services we have refined over the last 55 years. We want everyone in the Quad Cities to know our goal to comfortably transition our customers (and their families) through the various stages of their financial and estate planning lives.
From an investment perspective, we want the community to understand the importance of working with a fiduciary at all stages of their financial life- whether they are a still in the process of accumulating their retirement nest egg or looking for ways to preserve that nest egg in their retirement years. We apply the fiduciary standards of operating in solely the best interest of our clients with a team of investment professionals located right here in the Quad Cities.
From an estate planning perspective, we want the community to understand our unique ability to provide local financial management above and beyond one’s investment needs. This includes services such as serving as one’s Financial Power of Attorney, Executor, Trustee or simply managing one’s financial needs because they no longer wish to do so. Coupling these services with our local investment expertise truly provides our clients, and their families, a set of services that are invaluable during the appropriate phase of life.
We are thrilled to take these initial steps in this move and we will do our best to keep you informed along the way. Keep in mind, this process is still subject to regulatory approval. We have had very positive feedback to date and believe that we will officially become Tower Trust & Investment Company on January 1. For our existing customers, this change will involve some very minor documentation updates which is currently in process. In general, it will be a very seamless experience. We look forward to celebrating the new business with you early next year.
Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions.