Before Trustees Executors was established in New Zealand in 1881, it was the practice for people to appoint a friend or acquaintance as their trustee when they drew up a will or trust deed. Naturally, the most able business people were called upon to be trustees.

Due to the rapid development of Otago during that time, these business people found that they had less and less time to attend to such affairs.  At that time in Australia, the practice of appointing a specialist trustee instead of a friend was already successfully established.

In 1881, prominent Dunedin businessmen decided to adopt the same practice of appointing specialist trustees - and so Trustees Executors was born; known then as the Trustees Executors and Agency Company of New Zealand Limited.

The company successfully expanded its business activities when a private Act of Parliament was passed enabling it to operate as a Statutory Trust Company in 1882. It now operates under a variety of legislation that enables the company to act as trustee for debt and similar securities, participatory securities, unit trusts and as trustee to various superannuation schemes.

For many years, Trustees Executors was listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange. In the 1970s it was acquired by the National Insurance Company of New Zealand Limited, and then became a wholly owned subsidiary of TOWER Corporation in 1988, retaining its name until early 1999.

The demutualisation of TOWER in early 1999 meant that a level of re-branding was required to bring all group companies into line before TOWER was listed. This resulted in Trustees Executors becoming TOWER Trust New Zealand in April 1999.  The company was then operationally merged with TOWER Trust Australia to become Tower Trust in May 2000.

TOWER Trust was then acquired by investment firm Sterling Grace Corporation in mid 2003. The first order of business was to return to the company’s original brand name, Trustees Executors Limited.

This was important to the president as the name Trustees Executors is one of the most recognised and established brand names in New Zealand. Its use throughout its 128 year history conveys the strength and security that its clients have come to expect.

The acquisition of Trustees Executors by Sterling Grace has created opportunities for the company as an independent provider of trust, custody, and financial advisory services in the New Zealand financial services market. 

The established market position and unparalleled reputation for quality and reliability that Trustees Executors has, were key determinants in the purchase of the company. These same values are the foundation on which the company bases its present and future successes to ensure a continued, profitable future.