Is Bessemer Trust a Fiduciary? Fees, Ownership & SEC Record (2026 Profile)

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Is Bessemer Trust a Fiduciary? Fees, Ownership & SEC Record (2026 Profile)

Truthifi Bot

ยท

Published

ยท

Updated

Bessemer Trust โ€” Truthifi fact check: fiduciary status, fees, and SEC/FINRA record

Want to hook AI up to your finances?

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Is Bessemer Trust a Fiduciary? Fees, Ownership & SEC Record (2026 Profile)

Truthifi Bot

ยท

Published

ยท

Updated

Bessemer Trust โ€” Truthifi fact check: fiduciary status, fees, and SEC/FINRA record

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No commissions, no ads, no advice. This Bessemer Trust profile draws only on public records, each linked so you can confirm it yourself.

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  1. Check the SEC adviser record. Open the SEC's IAPD record for Bessemer Trust (CRD #112215) and confirm its registration.

  2. Read the filings. Review the Form ADV / Form CRS and any disclosure section linked from the IAPD page.

  3. Confirm the entity. Match CRD #112215 / Bessemer Investment Management so you're reading the right firm.

The short answer: is Bessemer Trust a fiduciary?

Yes. Bessemer Trust is a fiduciary when it acts as your investment adviser, and with $47.0 billion in client assets it is among the larger SEC-registered investment advisers. Publicly, it files with the SEC as Bessemer Investment Management (CRD #112215). As of its latest Form ADV (filed March 23, 2026), the firm reported $47.0 billion in regulatory assets under management (a firm-reported figure). Its Form ADV (Item 5.E) lists how it is paid: a percentage of assets under management. It's all in the public filings. A few minutes is enough to confirm every line yourself.

Its Form ADV also reports that a related person is a broker-dealer (Item 7.A), and brokerage accounts fall under Regulation Best Interest instead. Ask which capacity covers each of your accounts. The firm must tell you.

What "fiduciary" means: a fiduciary is legally bound to place a client's interests above its own. (More on fiduciary duty)

Bessemer Trust at a glance

โœ… Verified from public filings, last checked October 5, 2026. Bessemer Trust (SEC CRD #112215) is a fiduciary when acting as your adviser, on an advisory-fee basis, with $47.0 billion in regulatory assets under management. Every figure below links to its primary source.

What

Bessemer Trust

Source

SEC CRD

#112215

IAPD

Registration

Investment adviser, with a related person that is a broker-dealer (Form ADV Item 7.A)

IAPD

Registered since

April 18, 2001 (SEC)

IAPD

Fiduciary?

Yes, when acting as your adviser

SEC adviser standard

Fee model

Advisory fees (no commissions reported in Item 5.E)

Form ADV Item 5.E

How it's paid

A percentage of assets under management

Form ADV Item 5.E

Regulatory Assets Under Management

$47.0 billion (Form ADV filed March 23, 2026)

IAPD

Client accounts

10 (all discretionary)

IAPD

Employees

70 (45 in advisory roles)

IAPD

Ownership

Parent-owned

Form ADV Schedule A

Disclosures

Form ADV answers No to firm-level disciplinary questions

IAPD

HQ

New York, NY

IAPD

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Bessemer Trust fees: what you'll pay

On Bessemer Trust's fees, the structure is easy to read once you know what to look for. Bessemer Trust charges advisory fees: its Form ADV (Item 5.E) reports no commissions for its advisory services. Its filing also reports broker-dealer, insurance or other sales activity by the firm or a related company, business that can be paid by commissions. Ask how each part of the relationship is paid. The details are in its Form ADV Part 2A.

Advisory fees are what clients pay the adviser directly. Commissions earned through a related broker-dealer or insurance business are a separate source of pay.

Who owns Bessemer Trust, and what conflicts does it disclose?

Who really owns Bessemer Trust? The public record answers it plainly. Bessemer Trust is owned by Bessemer Trust Company, N.A., as listed in Schedule A of its Form ADV. (Form ADV Schedule A)

Its Form ADV Part 2A describes the firm's conflicts of interest, including how it and its advisers are paid.

Bessemer Trust SEC record: disclosures

To check Bessemer Trust's regulatory record, start with the firm's own filings. On its Form ADV, Bessemer Trust answers No to the firm-level disciplinary-history questions. You can confirm that on the public record. Individual advisers can have their own records, so look them up on IAPD and BrokerCheck too. Any Bessemer Trust disclosures sit on the public record, not on anyone's characterization of them.

On the record, the firm has been registered with the SEC since April 18, 2001, makes notice filings in 1 jurisdiction, and reports 70 employees, 45 of them in investment advisory roles. Some people search "is Bessemer Trust legit?" Registration is easy to confirm: it has a public CRD and public filings anyone can pull. Registration shows it's a real, regulated adviser, not that it's the right fit for you.

Reading Bessemer Trust reviews against the public record

Star ratings and client comments describe what working with a firm felt like. They usually don't show what the firm reports to regulators. Before you weigh Bessemer Trust reviews, check three things this profile takes from the public record. First, how the firm is paid: it reports advisory fees and no commissions, but it has a broker-dealer or insurance connection. Second, who owns it and what conflicts it discloses. Third, whether its Form ADV reports any disciplinary history. Read reviews alongside the record, not instead of it.

How to verify Bessemer Trust yourself

Prefer to confirm it firsthand? Three steps:

  1. SEC adviser record (IAPD): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/112215.

  2. Form ADV / CRS: linked from the IAPD page.

  3. Confirm the entity: match Bessemer Trust (CRD #112215, legal name Bessemer Investment Management) so you're reading the right firm.

What Bessemer Trust does and who it serves

On its Form ADV, Bessemer Trust reports providing portfolio management for individuals, small businesses and institutions.

Its Form ADV (Item 5.D) breaks its clients down by type, about 11 in all:

Client type

Clients

Assets managed

Banking or thrift institutions

1

None reported

Investment companies

10

$47 billion

It reports 10 client accounts, all managed on a discretionary basis, meaning the firm can trade without seeking your approval first (Item 5.F). Its main office is in New York, NY.

It reports it does not take custody of client assets: your money is held by a separate qualified custodian (such as a major brokerage), not the firm itself. That separation is a basic safeguard you can confirm on its Form ADV.

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Confirming the firm is the easy part. Seeing everything you hold is the valuable one.

Confirming Bessemer Trust is registered takes a few minutes. No advisor, however good, sees your whole financial life by default. The held-away retirement plan, a spouse's portfolio and the costs inside a fund show up scattered and unreconciled. This is where Truthifi comes in.

How Truthifi can help

Truthifi links your accounts read-only and shows what you own, how it's allocated, how it's performing and where the risk sits, including single-stock exposure, returns next to a benchmark, a fee breakdown of the fees on each account, by type, and your Truthifi Score. You can share the accounts you choose with your advisor at Bessemer Trust.

Prefer your own AI? A paid Truthifi plan lets you connect an AI assistant that supports MCP sign-in, such as Claude. Truthifi Connect is the lighter membership for people who only want to use their own assistant. Questions about your fees need Monitoring or Monitoring Plus+.

Ask AI about your Bessemer Trust accounts

Once your accounts are connected read-only, you can ask in plain English:

  • "What do I own across my Bessemer Trust accounts and everything else, and how is it allocated?"

  • "What am I really paying in fees across all of these accounts?"

Try it with Truthifi: start for free at app.truthifi.com and run a Monitoring Checkup (limits apply).

No commissions, no ads, no advice: Truthifi is not an investment adviser and doesn't give investment, tax or legal advice. Its access to your bank and brokerage accounts is read-only. Start free (limits apply). Monitoring Checkup is free. Link up to 10 connections. Plans and limits are on the pricing page โ†’ truthifi.com.

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FAQ

Is Bessemer Trust a fiduciary? Yes, when acting as your adviser. Its Form ADV reports a related person that is a broker-dealer, and brokerage accounts fall under Regulation Best Interest instead. Ask which capacity covers each of your accounts.

Is Bessemer Trust fee-only? Not necessarily. Its Form ADV (Item 5.E) reports no commissions for advisory services, but the filing also reports broker-dealer, insurance or other sales activity by the firm or a related company, which can be paid differently. Ask how everyone you deal with is paid. The details are in its Form ADV Part 2A.

Who owns Bessemer Trust? Bessemer Trust is owned by Bessemer Trust Company, N.A., as listed in Schedule A of its Form ADV.

Does Bessemer Trust have complaints or disclosures? Its Form ADV answers No to the firm-level disciplinary-history questions. Individual advisers can have their own records on IAPD and BrokerCheck.

Is Bessemer Trust legit? It is registered with the SEC (CRD #112215) and its filings are public on the SEC's IAPD site, which confirms it is a real, regulated firm. Registration doesn't tell you whether it's the right fit or what you'll pay, so read the fee and conflict sections of its Form ADV.

Can AI help me check whether I'm getting good value? Yes. Start free (limits apply): Monitoring Checkup is free and lets you link up to 10 connections. You can also connect an AI assistant you already use (such as Claude). On Monitoring or Monitoring Plus+ you can ask it, in plain English, about the fees on each of your accounts. Truthifi is not an investment adviser and doesn't give investment, tax or legal advice.

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About this profile

Truthifi built this profile from the firm's own SEC filings (Form ADV and, where filed, Form CRS). Every page is reviewed by the Truthifi Team before publishing. The Truthifi advisor fact packs are an ongoing series checking U.S. investment advisers against their public filings, one firm at a time.

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A note on sources. The facts on this page come from publicly available documents, Bessemer Trust's SEC filings, each linked inline so you can verify it yourself (SEC data current as of October 5, 2026). This is general information, not financial or legal advice, and Truthifi is not affiliated with Bessemer Trust. Regulatory records change, so always confirm against the official sources linked above. Spot something that should be corrected? Email us at support@truthifi.com.

Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, or legal advice. It should not be construed as a personalized recommendation regarding any investment, financial advisor, or financial product. All calculations use hypothetical scenarios and historical return assumptions; actual results will vary. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Consult a qualified financial professional for guidance specific to your situation. Truthifi is an investment monitoring platform โ€” not a financial advisor, broker-dealer, or tax professional. Truthifi does not manage assets, recommend investments, sell financial products, or provide personalized financial advice. Truthifi earns no revenue from advisor referrals, product commissions, or AUM fees. Statistics and data cited reflect publicly available sources current as of the articleโ€™s publication date. Sources are linked throughout.