Financial stewardship since 1866. Trust administration since 1964.
The fiduciary depth of an established Texas trust company. The planning advantages of New Hampshire. Accessible to advisors and their clients across the country.
New Hampshire Shores Trust is a division of Hand Benefits & Trust (HB&T), a Texas-chartered trust company with more than 60+ years of experience in trust administration and over $22+ billion in assets under administration. As subsidiaries of Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE: CBU), a diversified financial services organization spanning banking, employee benefits, insurance, and wealth management, NHST and HB&T offer advisors and their clients the depth, stability, and resources of a nationally recognized financial institution.
New Hampshire Shores Trust was created to extend our fiduciary expertise into one of the country’s most forward-looking trust jurisdictions, bringing the planning advantages of New Hampshire trust law to financial advisors and their clients across the country, backed by a partner with the experience and infrastructure to protect legacies across generations – just like we have ours.
We serve in flexible capacities based on client and advisor needs
New Hampshire shores trust was built around one guiding principle: the advisor stays at the center. Our structure preserves your role, protects your client relationships, and ensures that fiduciary administration works alongside your practice, not against it. We handle the trust. You keep the relationship.
New Hampshire is one of the most forward-looking trust jurisdictions in the country. Its directed trust statutes, no state income or capital gains tax, robust asset protection provisions, and strong privacy laws make it a destination situs for sophisticated wealth planning. Through New Hampshire Shores Trust, advisors and their clients nationwide can access those advantages without relocating or restructuring their practice.
New Hampshire Shores Trust sits within a fiduciary system with roots stretching back over 160 years. Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE: CBU), our parent holding company, traces its banking heritage to the 1866 chartering of St. Lawrence National Bank and was formally established as a financial holding company in 1983. Within that system, Hand Benefits & Trust has been administering trusts specifically for over 60 years, bringing focused fiduciary expertise, rigorous compliance standards, and the infrastructure to support trusts built to endure across market cycles, generational transitions, and evolving tax environments.
New Hampshire Shores Trust is a division of Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE: CBU), a diversified financial services company whose heritage traces back more than 160 years. The organization’s roots extend to the chartering of St. Lawrence National Bank in 1866 and a longstanding tradition of serving individuals, families, businesses, and communities through prudent financial stewardship, strong governance, and enduring client relationships. In 1983, Community Financial System was established as a publicly traded financial holding company, creating the foundation for decades of disciplined growth and expansion.
Over the years, Community Financial System has evolved into a leading financial services organization through strategic growth across banking, employee benefits, insurance, trust, and wealth management. Today, with more than $17 billion in assets and approximately 200 locations, the company serves clients nationwide through a family of specialized financial businesses. Building upon this legacy of strength, stability, and service, New Hampshire Shores Trust was established to provide financial advisors and their clients with the benefits of New Hampshire trust law, responsive fiduciary administration, and a trusted partner dedicated to preserving wealth and legacies across generations.
Our team brings together decades of experience in trust administration, fiduciary law, and advisor relationships. We are structured to be responsive, accessible, and deeply knowledgeable about the planning needs of advisors and their high-net-worth clients.
Market President, New Hampshire Shores Trust
Sean Houghton brings over two decades of trust and fiduciary experience to his role as Market President of New Hampshire Shores Trust. Beginning his career in 2000, Sean has held senior trust roles across People’s United Bank, Merchants Bank, and Community Bank System, building a reputation for personalized fiduciary counsel and a genuine commitment to doing right by clients and the advisors who serve them.
Sean holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Vermont, earned his CTFA designation from the Institute of Certified Bankers in 2006, and is a graduate of Cannon Financial Trust School. He is also an active community volunteer in Vermont, having served in leadership roles with the United Way of Northwestern Vermont and the Boy Scouts of America Green Mountain Council.
Through New Hampshire Shores Trust, Sean and his team give financial advisors across the country access to the planning and tax advantages of New Hampshire’s modern trust jurisdiction, backed by the fiduciary depth of Hand Benefits & Trust.
Speak with Sean
Sean Houghton
Market President,
New Hampshire Shores Trust
Email: Sean.Houghton@nottinghamfg.com
Call: 802-865-1829
Connect with a Trust Officer to discuss how our established fiduciary platform and New Hampshire’s modern trust framework can support your practice and your clients’ long-term goals, wherever you are in the country.
