Estate planning at Rockefeller Capital Management
How to protect 10 Rockefeller Capital Management accounts — manage beneficiaries in-branch, fund a trust in-branch, and file death claims
Rockefeller Capital Management, 45 Rockefeller Plaza, Fifth Floor, New York, NY 10111
Rockefeller Capital Management, 45 Rockefeller Plaza, Fifth Floor, New York, NY 10111
Private Advisor team (Rockefeller operates no separate claims or estate-services department)
Rockefeller Financial LLC, 45 Rockefeller Plaza, Fifth Floor, New York, NY 10111
Rockefeller Capital Management offers 10 consumer investment accounts that interact with estate planning in distinct ways. Of those, 8 can name a trust as beneficiary or be retitled into a trust. Understanding the transfer methods available for each account type helps families keep assets out of probate and ensure they pass to the right people.
Beneficiary changes at Rockefeller Capital Management can be made in branch, by mail, and by phone. Accounts can also be retitled into a trust to keep them out of probate entirely.
Rockefeller Capital Management provides specific procedures for both proactive estate planning and filing claims after a death.
Preparing your estate
Beneficiaries and trust funding
How to update beneficiaries in-branch, fund a trust in-branch, and review 10 account types at Rockefeller Capital Management.
View details →When someone dies
Death claim process
6-step process, 6 required documents, and contact information for survivors.
View details →Frequently asked questions
Yes, through two chartered affiliates: Rockefeller Trust Company, N.A. (a national trust bank) and The Rockefeller Trust Company (Delaware). Both are filed with the SEC as related persons of Rockefeller Financial. Per rockco.com, they will serve in four capacities: sole trustee (assuming all fiduciary responsibility for investment and administration), successor trustee (when the current trustee cannot or will not serve, or the trust terms change trustees), co-trustee alongside the individual named in the trust, and agent for trustee (a contractual role where the individual trustee stays in place and Rockefeller takes on the duties named in the agreement). The Delaware company can additionally serve as directed trustee or administrative trustee under Delaware law. Services include fiduciary oversight, day-to-day account management, account reviews, and assistance with distributions and bill-pay.
Rockefeller does not publish a Medallion Signature Guarantee policy, a beneficiary form, or any account form on rockco.com, and it offers no self-service beneficiary tool - every change and every estate transfer routes through your Private Advisor. Because the accounts sit at National Financial Services LLC (Fidelity), the operative paperwork and any signature-guarantee requirement come from the custodian, not from Rockefeller. Ask the advisor for the requirement in writing before you sign anything; do not assume one way or the other.
A directed trust separates fiduciary responsibilities into distinct roles. An Administrative Trustee (such as Rockefeller Trust Company) handles trust administration including tax returns, books and records, and principal and income accounting. An Investment Director controls the investment of trust assets. A Distribution Director directs distributions to beneficiaries. Delaware is the primary jurisdiction for directed trust structures, offering a robust legal framework. This structure allows families greater control over investment decisions while still meeting fiduciary requirements.
At National Financial Services LLC (Fidelity) in Boston. Rockefeller Financial LLC is the introducing broker-dealer; its Form ADV Part 1 (Schedule D Section 5.K.(3)) names NFS as the custodian for its separately managed accounts, holding roughly $96 billion of them, and confirms NFS is not an affiliate. For an executor this matters in practice: the estate transfer paperwork you sign is the custodian's, the re-registration happens on the custodian's books, and you will see custodian statements alongside Rockefeller's reporting. You still route everything through the Private Advisor - do not contact the custodian directly unless the advisor tells you to.
Sources
Data sourced from Rockefeller Capital Management primary sources (21 pages reviewed). How we research.
Rockefeller Capital Management, 45 Rockefeller Plaza, Fifth Floor, New York, NY 10111
Rockefeller Capital Management, 45 Rockefeller Plaza, Fifth Floor, New York, NY 10111
Private Advisor team (Rockefeller operates no separate claims or estate-services department)
Rockefeller Financial LLC, 45 Rockefeller Plaza, Fifth Floor, New York, NY 10111
Estate planning articles
Learn how to protect your Rockefeller Capital Management accounts and other assets with trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate planning documents.
