Estate planning at Rockefeller Capital Management

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.