By Jong Eun Jung
Equitable Trust Company is the successor to the original Equitable Securities Corporation, the Nashville based investment bank established in 1930, whose success contributed greatly to the development and growth of Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management.
Owen celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Early in its history, one particular company, the original Equitable Securities Corporation, played a significant role in the school’s founding. Principals of the Nashville-based investment bank collaborated with Vanderbilt’s Board of Trust to launch a Vanderbilt graduate business school, and the generosity and financial expertise of Equitable Securities’ principals helped keep the school afloat in the early years.
William H. Cammack
Before the Vanderbilt business school came into complete existence, American Express acquired Equitable Securities Corporation in an all-stock deal in 1967. However, some years later, William H. Cammack led a group of investors, all Equitable Securities employees, to buy the Equitable Securities name, goodwill, and selected assets from American Express to reestablish Equitable Securities Corporation as an independent regional investment bank headquartered in Nashville. (Learn more about the early history of Owen and Equitable Securities Corporation in this article.)
The company grew steadily, establishing offices in Atlanta and Houston. As the number of employees grew tenfold, three leaders emerged: Cammack was Chairman; William P. Johnston became CEO; and Katie H. Campbell became President. In the midst of the firm’s success, Cammack noticed an issue, and an opportunity, in the financial sector of Nashville.
“The large Nashville based banks had become, it seemed, secure in their trust business — and some clients thought somewhat distant from their clients — and we would hear people comment on the banks’ unresponsiveness and underperformance. People asked why there was no alternative to the big banks. And I would take credit for this: we decided to establish Equitable Trust Company, an independent trust company, as a subsidiary of Equitable Securities,” Cammack said. The courts had also become more accommodating to changing corporate trustees and moving trusts, a favorable development.
Cammack knew Kirk Scobey, a well-established trust officer at Commerce Union Bank in Nashville, through mutual clients. “I know what trusts are and I deal with trusts, but I don’t know anything about managing a trust business; I have a lot of questions,” Cammack told Scobey. Scobey found Cammack’s vision of a private trust company appealing and decided he would like to be involved.
Equitable Trust Company was chartered in 1991 as a subsidiary of Equitable Securities Corporation, and Cammack appointed Scobey President and Senior Trust Officer. “The business was established and initially grew by simply picking the low hanging fruit,” Cammack said. Equitable Trust began growing alongside Equitable Securities’ investment banking business.
With this start, Equitable Trust grew to be the successful trust company it is today, with $3 billion of client assets under administration.
The reestablished Equitable Securities’ independence lasted 25 years. In 1997, Equitable merged again, this time with a subsidiary of SunTrust Banks in Atlanta. However, cultural differences between commercial bankers and investment bankers were too ingrained for the merger to survive. Most of the merger was undone by 2002.
In 2002, Cammack approached SunTrust about buying Equitable Trust, which had remained a viable corporation owned by SunTrust. He and Equitable Trust’s President, Kirk Scobey, bought Equitable Trust. Tom Steele, who had managed private client business at Equitable Securities, joined the firm as a principal with Cammack and Scobey.
Today, Equitable Trust helps families in the greater Nashville region with the full range of wealth management and trust administration, protecting and growing their assets. Equitable Trust offers trust administration, estate settlement, investment advisory, real estate management, and related services. The company now has over $3 billion in client assets under administration.
Equitable Trust’s rich history and success reflects the legacy of Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management. Learn more about the early history of Equitable Securities Corporation here and about Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management here.
