Sentinel Trust Company

Overview

Sentinel Trust focuses exclusively on very high-net-worth families with complex, multigenerational needs. The firm combines trust-company capabilities with family-office administration, wealth planning, investment capabilities, and fiduciary services.

History

The Flowers and Fruehauf families founded Sentinel Trust in 1997 after concluding that standard institutional wealth services and single-family offices did not meet their needs.

Leadership

Lissa S. Gangjee, JD, CFP®, is President and Chief Executive Officer and a shareholder. D. Fort Flowers, Jr., CFA®, is Executive Chairman and a shareholder. Todd A. Burchett, FRM, CAIA, CFA®, is Chief Investment Officer, Senior Managing Director, and a shareholder.

Services

Sentinel Trust provides family-office administration for individuals and closely held entities, including bill payment, cash-flow management, consolidated investment accounting, reporting, and bookkeeping.

Its personal-asset support includes coordinating residences, aircraft, watercraft, insurance coverage, and appraisals of real estate, art, jewelry, and collectibles. The firm also assists with domestic-staff sourcing, payroll, benefits, performance reviews, and related administration.

The firm’s wealth-planning work integrates tax, estate, investment, family-business, governance, and philanthropic objectives into customized plans.

Sentinel Trust serves as trustee, co-trustee, executor, and agent. It administers trusts that may hold family businesses, family limited partnerships, real estate, oil and gas, and personal-use property.

The firm lists investment capabilities covering fixed income, hedge funds, private equity, public equities, and specialty assets.

What the firm offers

• Financial planning
• Tax planning
• Trust and fiduciary
• Philanthropy
• Family governance and education
• Administration and bill pay
• Risk and insurance
• Private and alternative investments

Client Focus

Sentinel Trust works with families whose financial, business, philanthropic, and personal affairs require coordinated administration and long-term planning. Its stated focus is on select, very high-net-worth families with complex, multigenerational needs.

Approach

Sentinel Trust emphasizes individualized solutions, close knowledge of each family, and multidisciplinary expertise. The firm also maintains a limited number of client families per relationship officer.

Sentinel Trust says its family-office services are generally covered by a client’s global fee rather than hourly or à la carte charges.

Regulatory Status

Sentinel Trust states that it is chartered by the State of Texas and supervised by the Texas Department of Banking.

FAQs

Related resources

• LocationMultifamily offices in Houston

  Use this Houston directory to see other multifamily offices serving families and business owners in the region. Comparing listed services, client focus, and office location can help a reader decide which questions to ask about financial planning, fiduciary work, philanthropy, administration, and private investments.

• Network siteEstatePlanner.com

  EstatePlanner.com provides plain-language guides on wills, trusts, and estate planning. Its material can help a prospective client prepare questions about trust structures, family transfers, tax considerations, and fiduciary responsibilities before speaking with a Houston trust company.

• Network siteFamilyOffices.com

  FamilyOffices.com offers resources and a community focused on single family offices and wealthy families. Readers can use it to learn how families organize governance, education, investing, philanthropy, and administration, then consider which needs may call for a multifamily office serving several select families.

• DataMFOs by decade founded

  The MFOs by decade founded page gives historical context on multifamily offices listed on this site. Reviewing firms by founding period can help a reader frame questions about continuity, ownership, service development, and how a firm's experience may relate to long-term family or business needs.

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  Profiles for Acropolis Capital Partners, Legacy Knight MFO, LLC, and Lifetime Wealth Management, P.C. provide nearby points of comparison on this site. Reviewing their stated services, client focus, and location can help a family or business owner build a shortlist and identify questions for Sentinel Trust Company.

Sources

1. sentineltrust.com Research source
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Claim or correct this profile

This profile is a factual summary written in our own words from public sources. It is for information only. It is not an endorsement, rating, ranking or recommendation, and it is not investment advice. MultiFamilyOffices.com is not affiliated with the SEC or with this firm unless stated. Form ADV figures are self-reported by the firm.