Houston Trust Company was founded upon a company-wide commitment to personal service. Our team has become an extension of the families with whom they have worked over multiple generations.

Icon of an oak tree showing root structure

30Years serving Texas families
$9BAssets under management
98%Client retention rate
0%Rate of fee increase since founding

We measure success not in the clients we gain, but in the business we keep.”

DAVID R. LUMMIS, President & CEO

Our Values

We are a modern trust company built on traditional values.

We are influenced not by trends, but by our responsibility to sustain current and future generations.

The foundation of Houston Trust Company lies in our unwavering adherence to fiduciary duty, preserving and protecting our clients’ assets and best interests at all times. It is in this very principle that our company’s values take root.

Placing Clients Above All Else

Our approach is holistic. It is our job to understand a client’s full financial picture, goals, and objectives to make the best possible decisions.

+ Expand

Independence and Open Architecture

Our independence allows us to remain objective. We maintain relationships with outstanding portfolio managers through our open-architecture platform.

+ Expand

Innovative and Collaborative Approach

We serve as one of many members of a family’s personal team, coordinating with accountants, attorneys, and other financial advisors to ensure that families achieve their goals.

+ Expand

Honoring Family and Community Legacies

Our founding families pioneered many of the philanthropic, business, and civic institutions that make up the fabric of the Houston community today.

+ Expand

Our History

The oil and gas bust of the late 1980s led to the closure of 174 banks in Texas. As a result, in 1992, James A. Elkins III, a former Executive Vice President of First City Bank, and his father, James A. Elkins, Jr. were desiring to continue providing high quality financial services to Houstonians. They recruited long-time family friend David R. Lummis, who after several years on Wall Street, had recently returned home to Houston. Elkins and Lummis recognized a mutual dissatisfaction with the trust services available to families in Texas, citing impersonal, inflexible, and low-quality service.

In 1994, Houston Trust Company was founded by Elkins, Lummis, and members of six other Houston families who desired a local, independent trust company to serve families like theirs across multiple generations. These founding families pioneered many of the philanthropic, business, and civic institutions that make up the fabric of the Houston community today.

1001 Fannin

First City Tower

James A. Elkins III

Originally housed in First City Tower in downtown Houston, the Company began with $205 million assets under management and a staff of six, serving a handful of families with a singleness of purpose: not just to manage capital, but serve as a faithful steward of a family’s legacy.

President and CEO, David R. Lummis

Today, Houston Trust Company is the largest privately owned trust company in Texas with $9 billion assets under management and a staff of 42. The Company now serves over 350 relationships throughout the U.S., most of whom share connections to Houston and Texas. The Company operates out of one office in Houston. The original shareholders remain shareholders today, along with the Company’s employees.

In the summer of 2019, Houston Trust Company relocated to 3737 Buffalo Speedway to serve their clients in a convenient, modern office space. That same summer, the Company celebrated its 25th anniversary.

For all that has changed since the company’s founding, what is more remarkable is all that has not: private ownership, a single office operation, strict adherence to fiduciary duty, and an unwavering commitment to stay the course for generations to come. These principles support the delivery of a superior level of service at a low cost to clients.

3737 Buffalo Speedway