North Capital Investment Technology, Inc., a financial technology company, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, North Capital Trust Company, has been granted a Public Trust Company charter by the South Dakota Division of Banking. This charter positions the firm to enhance custody services for private securities and expand into digital assets, including tokenized securities.
“We are excited to receive our Public Trust Company charter, which positions us to better serve our custody clients and expand our scope of services beyond private securities,” said Grant Nelson, Managing Director and Head of Custody and Brokerage at North Capital. “We look forward to commencing Trust Company operations over the next few months.”
Trust companies have become a preferred vehicle for custody of tangible and digital assets. North Capital has been expanding its digital asset activities, having launched North Capital Token Services, LLC earlier this year. The decision to pursue a trust company charter dates back six years, when the Securities and Exchange Commission and FINRA issued the Joint Staff Statement on Broker-Dealer Custody of Digital Asset Securities. This statement effectively prohibited clearing and carrying broker-dealers from serving as custodians for digital asset securities, posing a challenge to North Capital’s digital strategy, as its custodial broker-dealer, North Capital Private Securities Corporation, had received clearing and carrying approval in 2016. Although the Joint Statement was withdrawn last year, the company believes the trust charter offers greater flexibility.
“Although broker-dealers are no longer precluded from holding digital asset securities on behalf of their customers, we believe that North Capital Trust Company will provide flexibility to more fully meet the evolving needs of our customers in a rapidly changing market environment,” said James P. Dowd, CEO of North Capital.
Investors and registered intermediaries rely on qualified custodians to meet statutory requirements for registered investment advisors, registered funds, and qualified accounts such as IRAs, Roth IRAs, HSAs, and 401(k) plans. The trust company charter allows North Capital to serve these clients more effectively.
For more information, visit North Capital's website.
