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What does a trust officer do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read

Trust officers are professionals who are responsible for administering trust account portfolios of their clients. These officers are required to develop business relationships with their clients by responding to the request of their clients and facilitating internal service coordination to resolve issues. They must handle activities that are associated with personal or corporate trust while providing consultation on matters related to finance and wealth. Trust officers usually work in the financial industry and report directly to a manager or head of a department.

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Trust officer responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real trust officer resumes:

  • Manage personal trusts, special needs trusts, conservatorships, charitable remainder trusts and estates.
  • Manage processing transfer requests of new IRA accounts and the corresponding follow up and collection activities.
  • Achieve this through aggressive sales calling on CFO's of large corporations, attorneys, CPAs and political officials.
  • Manage the day to day affairs of various personal trust relationships, IRAs, custodial accounts, powers of attorney.
  • Manage portfolio of accounts consisting of housing, transportation, education and industrial development of both municipal and corporate issuers.
  • Contact clients, financial advisors, payroll companies and CPA's regarding items in question.
  • Post all GL entries, create income/expense reports and calculate the quarterly NAV for each fund.
  • Provide detailed account analysis; prepare balance sheet account reconciliations.
  • Participate in RFP's and client sales presentations.
  • Monitor and verify ACH amounts on a daily basis.
  • Calculate NAV's and maintenance of accounting records for assign funds.
  • Improve reconciliation of trust GL accounts to better catch system and input errors.
  • Use web base and mainframe applications and using Bloomberg to research investment products.
  • Reconcile on daily basis federal payroll taxes, research and resolve out of balances.
  • Reconcile cash on a daily basis and elevate all NAV impacting items to management.

Trust officer skills and personality traits

We calculated that 8% of Trust Officers are proficient in Real Estate, Portfolio, and Wealth Management. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Communication skills, and Analytical skills.

We break down the percentage of Trust Officers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Real Estate, 8%

    Administered real estate holdings and oil, gas and mineral interests held as assets in large personal trusts under bank trusteeship.

  • Portfolio, 7%

    Managed portfolio of accounts consisting of housing, transportation, education and industrial development of both municipal and corporate issuers.

  • Wealth Management, 7%

    Worked closely with clients in identifying wealth management issues and implementing solutions.

  • Business Development, 7%

    Developed new business and acted as a marketing coordinator for company-wide business development.

  • Estate Planning, 6%

    Developed and implemented estate planning strategies for complex family estate planning issues.

  • Risk Management, 6%

    Controlled and minimized potential risks through proactive behavior and knowledge of compliance and risk management guidelines

Most trust officers use their skills in "real estate," "portfolio," and "wealth management" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential trust officer responsibilities here:

Detail oriented. One of the key soft skills for a trust officer to have is detail oriented. You can see how this relates to what trust officers do because "in preparing and analyzing reports, such as balance sheets and income statements, financial managers must be precise and attentive to their work in order to avoid errors." Additionally, a trust officer resume shows how trust officers use detail oriented: "directed daily trust administration details. "

Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform trust officer duties is communication skills. Trust officers responsibilities require that "financial managers must be able to explain and justify complex financial transactions." Trust officers also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "served as bank representative for mortgage backed securities on isitc (industry standard for on institutional trade communication). "

Analytical skills. trust officers are also known for analytical skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to trust officer responsibilities, because "to assist executives in making decisions, financial managers need to evaluate data and information that affects their organization." A trust officer resume example shows how analytical skills is used in the workplace: "review, analyze and interpret estate planning documents. "

Math skills. For certain trust officer responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "math skills." The day-to-day duties of a trust officer rely on this skill, as "financial managers need strong skills in certain branches of mathematics, including algebra." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what trust officers do: "provided statistics and status of client issues to the executive management team. "

Organizational skills. Another common skill required for trust officer responsibilities is "organizational skills." This skill comes up in the duties of trust officers all the time, as "because financial managers deal with a range of information and documents, they must have structures in place to be effective in their work." An excerpt from a real trust officer resume shows how this skill is central to what a trust officer does: "managed the assets of trust accounts as per directives of the organizational policies, client preferences, and relevant statutory regulations. "

Most common trust officer skills

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Compare different trust officers

Trust officer vs. Finance administrator

A finance administrator is responsible for supporting the financial operations of an organization, handling the accuracy of financial transactions, and resolving discrepancies in the company's financial statements. Finance administrators analyze the company's financial performance, including its losses and revenues, writing financial reports, and providing recommendations for cost-reduction processes to minimize financial risks. They also handle the allocation of departmental budgets, assist in tax audits, and process invoices and payroll release. A finance administrator must have excellent analytical skills and an extensive knowledge of the financial industry.

The annual salary of finance administrators is $5,952 lower than the average salary of trust officers.Even though trust officers and finance administrators are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require taxation, irs, and financial reports in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between trust officers and finance administrator. For instance, trust officer responsibilities require skills such as "real estate," "portfolio," "wealth management," and "business development." Whereas a finance administrator is skilled in "customer service," "financial aid," "powerpoint," and "rehabilitation." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Finance administrators tend to make the most money working in the manufacturing industry, where they earn an average salary of $59,847. In contrast, trust officers make the biggest average salary, $53,274, in the finance industry.finance administrators tend to reach similar levels of education than trust officers. In fact, finance administrators are 3.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 9.2% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Trust officer vs. Manager finance planning and analysis

A manager finance planning and analysis oversees the daily operations of a company's financial planning department. They typically have administrative duties such as setting goals and guidelines, establishing timelines and budgets, delegating tasks among teams and staff, and reviewing financial reports regularly. They also perform research and assessments, gather and analyze financial data from different departments, coordinate staff, and solve issues and concerns when any arise. Additionally, as a manager, they must lead and empower staff to reach goals while implementing company policies and regulations.

A career as a manager finance planning and analysis brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a trust officer. In fact, managers finance planning and analysis salary is $45,395 higher than the salary of trust officers per year.A few skills overlap for trust officers and managers finance planning and analysis. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "business development," "bank secrecy act," and "taxation. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, trust officer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "real estate," "portfolio," "wealth management," and "estate planning." Meanwhile, a manager finance planning and analysis has duties that require skills in areas such as "financial performance," "financial planning analysis," "financial analysis," and "customer service." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

Managers finance planning and analysis earn a higher average salary than trust officers. But managers finance planning and analysis earn the highest pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $109,735. Additionally, trust officers earn the highest salaries in the finance with average pay of $53,274 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Managers finance planning and analysis tend to reach higher levels of education than trust officers. In fact, they're 14.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 9.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Trust officer vs. Collections manager

A collections manager is an individual who manages a staff of collectors whose job is to contact companies and individuals for the late payments on the products and services they have received. Collections managers oversee a company's process of retrieving money owed to them by assigning collectors to collect the money. They are required to handle customer complaints and must negotiate with customers about payment arrangements to ensure they are being paid. They also provide reports on the collection department's progress, statistics, and data analysis.

On average scale, collections managers bring in lower salaries than trust officers. In fact, they earn a $1,964 lower salary per year.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from trust officer resumes include skills like "real estate," "wealth management," "business development," and "estate planning," whereas a collections manager is more likely to list skills in "customer service," "collection management," "fdcpa," and "delinquent accounts. "

Collections managers make a very good living in the health care industry with an average annual salary of $60,577. On the other hand, trust officers are paid the highest salary in the finance industry, with average annual pay of $53,274.Most collections managers achieve a similar degree level compared to trust officers. For example, they're 2.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 9.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Trust officer vs. Accounts payable manager

An accounts payable manager is in charge of supervising a company's financial activities, particularly in all payable matters. Their primary responsibilities revolve around managing and assessing staff performances and overseeing check and payroll disbursements. They also take care of maintaining and securing records of employees, clients, and company finances, and implement company objectives while ensuring accuracy in all operations. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to uphold all company policies and regulations, all while leading and encouraging staff in a joint effort to accomplish goals and tasks.

Accounts payable managers tend to earn a higher pay than trust officers by an average of $8,315 per year.While their salaries may vary, trust officers and accounts payable managers both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "taxation," "irs," and "cash flow analysis. "Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A trust officer uses "real estate," "portfolio," "wealth management," and "business development." Accounts payable managers are more likely to have duties that require skills in "customer service," "reconciliations," "purchase orders," and "vendor invoices. "In general, accounts payable managers earn the most working in the finance industry, with an average salary of $70,221. The highest-paying industry for a trust officer is the finance industry.In general, accounts payable managers hold similar degree levels compared to trust officers. Accounts payable managers are 1.3% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 9.6% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of trust officer

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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