Trust...But Verify.

There's a new breed of client these days, and it's shaking up the trust business, according to American Banker magazine. Once the province of the old money crowd, trust departments are slowly learning to deal with a younger clientele, with different interests and expectations. Changes in retirement plans are encouraging individuals to invest for asset growth, increasing their presence in an industry once dominated by institutional investors.

"Now a lot of people want to set up living trusts and private banking relationships," says James McLaughlin, ABA's director of regulatory and trust affairs. "There's a whole new host of services for high-net-worth customers."

As a consequence, trust advisers are gearing up their technology, offering their clients online access and account aggregation services to meet the demands of a generation accustomed to instant gratification. And trustees are becoming more aggressive in their investment recommendations. "The new wealthy want more control," says Mary Martinez, a managing director at Bessemer Trust Cos. in New York. "They don't want to manage day-to-day trades, but they want to understand them."