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Select, specialty trust services—it’s what we do, and where we excel at helping you

North Star is among the few financial services companies in the U.S. dedicated to the formal practice of Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and other plans holding or involving the control or disposition of employer securities.

Unlike banks and trusts that devote partial resources to ESOPs, North Star’s focus is completely devoted to helping you navigate the complexities that accompany these transactions. In our role of independent trustee or special fiduciary, we have helped many companies establish ESOPs. We also serve as trustee for numerous existing ESOPs. And we’re ready to do the same for you.

Our role of independent ESOP trustee.
North Star takes an active role in representing its clients. Why? Not only because procedural prudence demands it, but also because it’s the only sure way to manage risks. In fact, by engaging North Star as an independent trustee, you eliminate the risk of conflict of interest between the plan and company. Engaging North Star has additional benefits that can minimize the administrative burden of ESOP transactions. In an ongoing trustee relationship, and on an annual basis, North Star will, at a minimum:
  • Monitor the company’s financial performance.
  • Oversee and obtain, the valuation of the company, the ESOP’s ownership interest and the per share value for distribution purposes.
  • Communicate with the company management regarding the valuation, financial forecasts for the future and underlying trends.
  • Monitor the company’s management of future repurchase obligations, and help ensure the plan maintains compliance with ERISA regulations.
Additional fiduciary services.
In addition to ESOPs, North Star also serves as trustee for other types of employee plans, such as 401k plans, including the establishment of ERISA-mandated IRAs for terminated participants with an account balance between $1,000 and $5,000.
 
The importance of an independent trustee in transactions involving the purchase or sale of a large percentage of company shares by the ESOP cannot be understated. Such large-share transactions can occur when the ESOP is initially created, when there is a subsequent acquisition of additional shares or when the ESOP shares are sold in connection with the sale of the company to a third party. In these situations, it is the role of the trustee to ensure the ESOP does not pay too much for the shares when they are acquired or receive too little when they are sold. Transactions in which North Star has served as independent trustee have ranged in size from $500,000 to over $1 billion.

 

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