Formerly With Fidelity, Trust Services Veteran Joins Cetera Trust
Cetera Trust Company, N.A., announced the appointment of Kerri Scharr as its chief fiduciary officer. In this role, Scharr will help drive Cetera Trust’s growth while ensuring compliance with all fiduciary, regulatory, and statutory responsibilities.
Scharr joins Cetera Trust after 20 years with Fidelity Personal Trust Company. Reporting to Cetera Trust’s Scott Baker, chief executive officer, Scharr will work with the broader Cetera Trust management team to help grow and expand trust services across the Cetera Financial Group Inc. ecosystem.
“We expect to unlock significant value for advisers by broadening trust services available within Cetera so they not only benefit from our size and scale, but they will receive the same highly personalized services for trust work that they’ve come to expect from Cetera,” said Jeffrey Buchheister, chief financial officer of Cetera Financial Group and chairman of Cetera Trust.
Cetera Trust and its predecessor entities have been in business since 1928. Cetera acquired the trust company with the purchase of certain assets of Securian Financial Services in 2023. Cetera Trust has a national banking charter and is regulated by the Office of the Controller of the Currency, or OCC, enabling Cetera Trust to operate in all 50 states and work with families across the country.
“We’re building a formidable trust business to benefit our advisers and their clients, and while significantly expanding this kind of business is no easy task, there’s no one better to help lead that charge than Scott and Kerri,” added Buchheister.
In addition to hiring Scharr, Cetera Trust recently established a new office in New Hampshire. Baker noted that New Hampshire’s favorable trust statutes and tax laws have attracted over $1.5 trillion of trust assets and can provide significant benefits to Cetera advisers’ and their clients.
“Having trusts administered and managed in a state like New Hampshire can have immediate impacts for our advisers and their clients,” Baker said. “Trust services can be a game changer, especially for high-net-worth individuals who might not have considered how beneficial trusts – and a corporate trustee – can be especially when it comes to the significant tax benefits when selling a business or deciding how to leave wealth to their heirs or charities.”
Scharr echoed Baker’s enthusiasm about Cetera Trust’s future.
“I’m truly excited to join Cetera Trust and help create meaningful value for advisers and their clients,” Scharr said. “Having a corporate trustee not only ensures that the trust’s recordkeeping, distributions, and taxes are handled responsibly, but it also offers clients the assurance that their trust will be administered with the necessary expertise, professional objectivity, and continuity both now and in the future.”
Cetera Trust Company, N.A. is an affiliate of Cetera Financial Group and a national non-depository trust bank. Among other services, the bank provides expertise in trust administration and trust investment management. Cetera Financial Group refers to the network of independent retail firms encompassing, among others, Cetera Advisors LLC, Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, Cetera Investment Services LLC (marketed as Cetera Financial Institutions or Cetera Investors), and Cetera Financial Specialists LLC.
In other hiring news last month, Cetera Investors named John Lefferts the head of Cetera Investors as part of the company’s ongoing investment in the Cetera Investors business and its growth potential. In this role, Lefferts will champion Cetera Investors’ supported independence model, overseeing more than 40 branch offices nationwide.
Owned by Cetera Holdings, Cetera Financial Group offers financial professionals and institutions the latest solutions to grow, scale, or transition with a merger, sale, investment, or succession plan. Cetera serves independent financial advisers, tax professionals, licensed administrators, large enterprises, as well as institutions. Home to approximately 12,000 financial professionals and their teams, Cetera oversees more than $545 billion in assets under administration and $235 billion in assets under management, as of Sept. 30, 2024.
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