Organized in 1853, this is the nation's oldest trust company. One of the founders was a young actuary with the United States Life Insurance Company in New York, John Stewart, whose idea was to start a company to act as executor and trustee for the funds of individuals and corporations. By June 10, 1853, the Trust Company had organized a board of trustees of thirty prominent New York merchants, bankers, industrialists, and civic leaders (including the mayor of New York). The offices were in rented space at 40 Wall Street-The Bank of the Manhattan Company. In those days the variety of investments was limited at best. Fixed-income securities were available only from the federal government, three states and three railroads. On the New York Stock Exchange, shares of just twenty-five companies were traded in 1853: eleven railroads, three banks, three insurance companies, three coal companies, two mining companies, one canal company, and two other enterprises. The first corporate trust account came in 1855, when the United States Trust Company of New York was named registrar for the New York Central Railroad. But banking business via commercial and personal loans was the mainstay of the Trust Company's operations. In 1868 the trans-continental railway link was completed, opening up the West Coast to the commerce and industry of the East. U. S. Trust participated in this growth, but then there were setbacks-financial panics in 1874 and again in 1884. The Trust Company's conservative management enabled it to ride out the storms, and by 1886 it led all other New York banks in deposit rankings with a total of just over $30 million. In 1889, prompted by an increase in its business. U. S. Trust moved to a new nine-story edifice at 45 Wall Street. It occupied the same site for over 100 years, a remarkable accomplishment for any organization, few of which have survived such a long time. Additional offices were opened, in 1979 on 54th Street next door to the University Club, in 1981 at 770 Broadway-y-the old Wanamaker Building-and in 1988 at 100 Park Avenue near Grand Central Terminal. Its headquarters were relocated to a newly constructed building on 47th Street in 1989. During the 1980s U. S. Trust began a selective national expansion strategy and now has offices in California, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas and Washington, D. C. Today, U. S. Trust provides a wide variety of trust, investment, and banking services to clients throughout the country. Its family of Excelsior Funds is well known in the industry, and several are leaders in their respective categories. Clients include individuals, corporations, institutions, governments, and fiduciaries. It is one of the largest managers of personal wealth in the country.