We live in unquiet times, distracted by a 24/7 news cycle of “breaking news,” manipulative phone calls from solicitors and scammers, slick sales pitches in our mailboxes, and so much else. At times we may feel that the sand is shifting beneath our feet. In truth, very little of the noise brings any benefit, despite the attention it demands.

At Caldwell Trust Company we’re delighted to be different. For the past twenty-five years we’ve provided our clients with a reliable antidote to the confusion. After learning your personal needs and wishes we carry them out quietly and unobtrusively. We put you on solid ground, bringing you the benefits without the bother. Our superb staff replaces those troublesome intrusions with peace of mind.

Our record of successfully serving our clients is the reason we’ve survived, thrived, and continued to grow for a quarter of a century. We’ve expanded through a controlled, carefully planned strategy that will carry us into the next twenty-five years. As we grow, our challenge is to remain true to our family-focused culture.

At Caldwell Trust Company we’re delighted to be different. For the past twenty-five years we’ve provided our clients with a reliable antidote to the confusion. After learning your personal needs and wishes we carry them out quietly and unobtrusively. We put you on solid ground, bringing you the benefits without the bother. Our superb staff replaces those troublesome intrusions with peace of mind.

Our record of successfully serving our clients is the reason we’ve survived, thrived, and continued to grow for a quarter of a century. We’ve expanded through a controlled, carefully planned strategy that will carry us into the next twenty-five years. As we grow, our challenge is to remain true to our family-focused culture.

That culture was established by my father, Roland G. Caldwell, who formalized his sought-after consulting services in the 1970s by establishing Caldwell & Co., an advisory firm providing investment guidance for the trust industry. By the late 1980s he was the author of a respected investment newsletter and also a trust consultant for a major Venice bank. Dad saw the departure of profit-driven trust departments and banks, leaving a trail of stranded clients behind. He decided to form a trust company with an exclusive focus on clients and families. I was pleased to join him.

Roland established a small founding team (Herbert S. Howes, Jack Meyerhoff, Lloyd E. O’Meara, and myself) and a founding board (Dad, Samuel Booth, Edmund Campbell, Jr., Howes, Meyerhoff, and O’Meara). Only my father and I remain from these pioneers, but the continuing success of our company attests to the wisdom and prescience of these founders and a handful of others including Edrise Sievers and Lee Burns. Together they wrote a charter application that the state of Florida approved on November 1, 1993. We signed our first client the next day and have carefully guided the company’s growth ever since.  

Drawing on the talents of our staff we’ve developed a “road map,” a strategy based on a consensus approach to excellence that guides our decisions as we move forward. The members of our very stable board of directors also steers our course. In addition, we continue to upgrade our proprietary software, a major element in our success that provides cost-effective transactions and 24/7 portfolio access for clients. Finally, we continue our strong commitment to our community and will continue those endeavors. We’re thankful we have the opportunity to continue to strengthen our community and its families.

Caldwell Trust Company intends to remain a privately owned, independent business that provides personal, traditional services to clients around the country from our southwest Florida offices. As a chartered private trustee, we’re a true fiduciary. That’s all we do. We don’t sell products or get otherwise sidetracked. We keep our emphasis on families: client families and our staff as family. We can serve you as a custodian and investment adviser, a financial manager, a trustee, personal representative and corporate guardian. In simplest terms, we’re your dependable, stable financial quarterback.

Thank you for helping us to reach our 25-year mark. Come with us for the next 25!

R.G. "Kelly" Caldwell, Jr.
CEO, President and Senior Trust Officer

A Few Fast Facts about Caldwell Trust Company:

• Became a Chartered Private Trustee on November 1, 1993.
• Began operations at 201 Center Road and moved to new $3 million headquarters at 1400 Center Road in late 2014.
• Opened first Sarasota office in 1999; moved to 1561 Main St., Sarasota, in 2009.
• In its first 10 years, grew from $0 to $200 million in assets under management.
• In its second 10 years, grew assets to over $700 million.
• In next four years, grew assets to over $1 billion.
• Began operations with one employee; Edrise Sievers. Staff now numbers 17, 14 of them trust officers.
• With a corporate culture emphasizing a family spirit, has an enviable record of staff retention with two of the original employees still on board; Kelly Caldwell and Edrise Sievers. Four celebrating 20 or more years; Kelly Caldwell, Edrise Sievers, Lee and Suzanne Thacker. And 4 marking between 10 and 20 years; Alan Blair, Wendy Fishman, Sonya Kristie, Jan Miller, .
• Maintains a commitment to community, with the company and its employees donating time, talent and cash to area charities, especially those that focus on strengthening families.
• Has donated more than $1.5 million in cash to area charities, with contributions beginning even before the company had received its charter.