Our History

Equity Trustees was established in 1888 as a trustee and executor service provider by its own special Act of the Victorian Parliament - 13 years before the Federation of the Commonwealth of Australia.

The company began with a staff of one office boy and revenue of £38 in the first year. Equity Trustees expanded rapidly and by 1931 revenue was almost 1000 times as great and the company had nearly 90 staff.

The founder

The founder of Equity Trustees, Joel Fox, was the driving force behind a group of Melbourne businessmen who were persuaded to set up a new trustee company. Joel Fox’s attention to detail was legendary. He personally oversaw and signed every letter that the company sent out until his resignation in 1933. After 45 years as Manager of the company, Joel Fox served on the Board of Directors until his death in 1936.

First directors

Equity Trustees’ first directors were F.E. Stewart (Chairman), H. John Madden (Vice-Chairman), Edward Fanning, Robert Reid and Oliver Vial. Original shareholders included Sir Isaac Isaacs.

Through good times and bad

Equity Trustees has survived two World Wars and two severe economic depressions. Throughout these periods of difficulty the company has continued to maintain investments and retain a loyal body of staff. During the 1960s, Equity Trustees had 11 members of staff who had served for over 30 years and many more with over 20 years’ service.

Equity Trustees now

Equity Trustees has evolved into a sophisticated financial services provider offering a broad range of products and services to a diverse client base.

In addition to its traditional executor and trustee duties, Equity Trustees offers estate management, financial and taxation advice, personal investment advice,  superannuation, managed funds, portfolio management, and philanthropy.

Equity Trustees continues to move forward and grow while maintaining the traditions of impartiality, fairness and justice with which we began.