About First Capital Surety & Trust Company

First Capital Surety & Trust Company was created specifically to serve personal injury victims, their families and other individuals with special needs.

First Capital has in place the special administrative systems, support services, investment models and computer systems necessary to efficiently manage personal injury and special needs trusts.  Our specialization results in lower trust fees to our beneficiaries and allows us to manage smaller size trust accounts generally not accepted by most other companies.

Professional Competencies and Expertise

Trust companies are essentially people and First Capital takes great pride in the caliber of its professional staff and advisors. 

First Capital distinguishes itself by requiring its entire staff to participate in professional education programs designed to foster and maintain the highest level of professionalism and expertise in those who serve you.

First Capital “speaks the language” of other professionals making First Capital qualified to coordinate its services with the services provided by your other professionals such as life care planners, structured settlement consultants, financial planners, Social Security, SSI, SSDI, Medicaid and Medicare professionals.

Trust Administration

Administration of trust accounts is performed at our office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

During normal business hours (8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CST), First Capital provides you with immediate telephone access to a dedicated trust service administrator who is readily accessible to answer your questions and expedite requests (First Capital has no frustrating telephone menus).

First Capital will coordinate with your other professional service providers (e.g., attorneys, accountants, conservators, financial planners, health care providers and public benefit agencies).

Investment Management

First Capital Surety & Trust Company utilizes common trust funds to safeguard and invest your assets.  These common trust funds include money market funds, bond funds, U.S. government securities, and equity funds, as applicable in each case.  Each common trust fund retains an independent professional money manager, chosen and regularly monitored by First Capital’s Investment Committee and outside auditors. 

Independent professional money managers apply a combination of investment styles and disciplines to produce a low-risk, moderately conservative pool of investments for the primary purpose of achieving:

• Preservation of Capital
• Liquidity
• Long-Term Moderate Growth

Fiduciary Safeguards

A trust is a separate legal entity and First Capital Surety & Trust Company, acting as trustee, manages your trust assets on your behalf.

Trust assets that are managed by First Capital are owned by and held within individual trusts.  As mandated by law, your trust assets are entirely segregated from First Capital’s assets.

As such, your trust assets are protected by law and cannot be used to pay First Capital’s creditors.  First Capital cannot pledge your trust assets to secure loans for itself.  And even if First Capital were to become insolvent or go out of business, your trust would remain untouched and unaffected – a new trustee would simply be appointed to manage the trust.

Regulation and Supervision

• First Capital Surety & Trust Company is chartered and regulated by the South Dakota Division of Banking and can administer trusts from all fifty states.
    
• Internal controls are regularly examined by external auditors and by the banking examiners.
   
• As a trust company, First Capital reviews your trust account regularly to confirm the safekeeping and the integrity of your trust assets.
   
• First Capital is proud of its longstanding record of financial integrity and trust management oversight.