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Equity Trustees is an independent specialist trustee company offering trustee or ‘fiduciary’ services to a range of private and corporate clients.

Its private client business offers services to individuals and families including portfolio and asset management for existing clients, estate planning and administration, executor and trustee services. It also manages specialised trusts in the areas of philanthropy, compensation and Aboriginal community trusts.

The company also provides independent funds governance and services to fund managers in Australia, the UK and Europe as well as corporate trust services within Australia, and superannuation trusteeship. Equity Trustees is the brand name for EQT Holdings Limited (ASX:EQT), and all of its subsidiary companies.

History
The Equity Trustees Executors and Agency Company was established in 1888 by an Act of Victorian Parliament. Its first AGM was held on 14 August that year at the company’s original offices on Collins St, Melbourne. Over the next half-century the company grew to more than 150 employees.

From early on, Equity Trustees’ Board of Directors included influential figures in the Australian legal and political professions. These have included five former High Court judges, eight former Victorian Supreme Court judges (including three Chief Justices), two former Prime Ministers and a State Premier.

In 1975 Equity Trustees’ revenue exceeded the $1 million mark for the first time.

In 2003 Equity Trustees acquired the Wealthpac Access Master Trust, bringing 7,600 members under its superannuation trusteeship.

In 2014 Equity Trustees acquired ANZ Trustees, itself originally formed in 1983 with ANZ’s purchase of the Trustees Executors and Agency Co, the first trustee company formed in Australia (1879). Together with the company’s acquisition of the Sandhurst Trustees Estates and Trusts business from the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank three years later (2017), this acquisition substantially increased Equity Trustees’ estates and trusts business.

Also that year, the company expanded its presence overseas for the first time (see ‘Global operations’).

In 2017, the company announced an alliance with Aon in which it became the trustee of the Aon Master Trust (rebranded later as Smart Monday).

Early in 2018, the company expanded its corporate fiduciary business further with the acquisition of the Responsible Entity business of OneVue Holdings.

In 2019, it finalised the acquisition of Zurich Australia’s superannuation business, further expanding the superannuation trustee part of the business.

Global operations
Equity Trustees began expanding its operations beyond Australia to provide funds governance services in the US, UK and EU markets in 2017 when the company acquired the majority share in a London-based funds governance company. That same year, the company nominated a New York-based representative to begin connect to the North American funds market. In May 2019 Equity Trustees opened an office in Dublin.

Philanthropy
Since its inception, establishing and managing charitable trusts has been a key service offering of Equity Trustees. Today the company is Australia’s second-largest provider of philanthropic funding, and serves as trustee or co-trustee of approximately 600 charitable trusts. These include some of the largest and oldest philanthropic trusts in Australia. In the financial year 2018-19 Equity Trustees was responsible for distributing approximately $87 million of funds from charitable trusts and bequests.

Board members
The Hon. Jeffrey G. Kennett AC – Chairman Alice Williams – Director Anne O’Donnell – Director Kevin Eley – Director David Glenn Sedgewick – Director James Minto – Director Tim Hammon – Director Michael O’Brien – Managing Director