20-year veteran of Fidelity Personal Trust Company joins Cetera Trust as the firm is poised to expand trust services offered to affiliates across all of its channels and communities
ST. PAUL, Minn., June 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Cetera Trust Company, N.A. (Cetera Trust) today 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 and mitigation of Cetera Trust's risk profile via thoughtful oversight.
Scharr joins Cetera Trust after a highly successful 20-year career with Fidelity Personal Trust Company. Reporting to Cetera Trust CEO Scott Baker, Scharr will work with the broader Cetera Trust management team to help significantly grow and expand trust services across the Cetera Financial Group (Cetera) ecosystem.
"We expect to unlock significant value for advisors 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, Cetera CFO and Chairman of Cetera Trust. "We're building a formidable trust business to benefit our advisors 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."
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 (OCC), enabling Cetera Trust to operate in all 50 states and work with families across the country.
In addition to hiring Scharr, Cetera Trust recently established a new office in New Hampshire, among the most attractive trust jurisdictions in the nation. 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 advisors' and their clients.
"Having trusts administered and managed in a state like New Hampshire can have immediate impacts for our advisors 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 advisors 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 affiliates attending the Connect2Peers 2025 event in Orlando can meet with Baker and the Cetera Trust management team at their exhibit at the conference.
Trust services offered through Cetera Trust Company, N.A.
About Cetera Trust Company, N.A.
Cetera Trust Company, N.A. (Bank) is an affiliate of Cetera Financial Group, Inc. (defined below) and a national non-depository trust bank chartered by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. 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. All firms are members FINRA/SIPC. Located at 655 W. Broadway, 11th Floor, San Diego, CA 92101.
SOURCE Cetera Financial Group