Who We Are
IMPACTING LEGACIES BY SERVING OTHERS
The Argent Way
As a leading, independent client asset services firm, we deliver in-depth, personalized, unbiased service in a candid and common-sense manner. Our core service offering is Professional Trust Management. Building from that core, Argent provides an array of financial services including:
• Wealth Management
• Investment Management
• Oil and Gas (Mineral) Management
• Corporate Trust, Agency, Custody & Escrow
• Institutional Asset Custody
• Retirement Plan Services
• Employee Stock Ownership Plans
• Funeral and Cemetery Trust Administration
• Funeral and Cemetery Trust Custody
• Qualified Intermediary Services
• Governmental Services
• Philanthropic Services
Our approach is to understand the source of your wealth and your goals so we can recommend the best strategies to protect and grow your wealth. We would love to hear from you. If you have any questions about how Argent can serve you, please call (800) 375-4646 or email ask@ArgentFinancial.com.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
Broad Perspective.
Personal Focus.
Southern Roots.
For us, everything starts with you. It always has and always will. We call that the Argent Way. We see it as our responsibility to get to know you and to tailor an approach that is designed to protect, manage and grow your wealth – to provide an unbiased opinion that’s most beneficial to you.
Our focus is always on you. It’s why our services are mostly fee-based. We sell the expert advice of our people and the wealth of resources we put behind them – and why we don’t sell proprietary financial products that may not be in your best interest.
At the end of the day, earning your trust and establishing a long-lasting relationship is the biggest asset we have.
1989 - 1995
OUR HISTORY
Our Early Beginnings
In 1930, mere months after the devastating market crash of 1929 and the onset of the Great Depression, the trust department of Ruston State Bank (RSB) in Ruston, Louisiana, was established. Several decades later, in 1989, a dynamic and passionate young RSB trust officer wrote in a memo to colleagues, “If we elect to provide any service, it must be provided excellently.”
The following year, The Trust Company of Louisiana was formed out of the RSB Trust Department, and in 1991, desiring the flexibility to work independently and offer service with excellence, that same young trust officer—Kyle McDonald—led the purchase of the company, known today as Argent Financial Group. Kyle continues to serve as our CEO to this day.
Argent’s raison d’etre, our guiding purpose, is “To impact legacies by serving others.” We have a deep-seated commitment to making a positive impact on our world and believe deeply that every institution, business, family, and individual leaves a legacy, and every Argent employee, irrespective of their role, possesses the ability to serve and influence the legacies of others within the company, our clients, and beyond.
Our name, chosen as a homage to our Louisiana origins, holds significance in the French language, part of Louisiana’s rich cultural heritage. “Argent” translates to “money,” precisely capturing the essence of what Argent excels at – handling client assets.
Our vision for ourselves is to be the leading, independent client asset services firm. We aim to grow in ways supportive of our goal of corporate sustainability, working to ensure that the company is securely positioned to continuously serve our clients and employees for generations to come. To achieve this, we constantly pursue remaining at the leading edge of what has always set Argent apart: a blend of unparalleled creativity in helping clients navigate complex financial situations and an unwavering commitment to genuine partnership with our clients. This ethos is embodied in our client service mantra: Humble Confidence.
Click the "1996-2008 Foundational Years" tab above to read on about Argent's early days.
1996 - 2008
OUR HISTORY
Foundational Years
In support of our growth and sustainability goals, Argent has methodically expanded our footprint and services over the last two decades, beginning in 2005 with our entrance into oil and gas mineral management services in North Louisiana. At that time, we identified a need to assist clients and other property owners with oil and gas leasing and revenue verification services, thereby creating our mineral management group. In 2008, Northwest Louisiana experienced a boom in oil and gas exploration.
The earlier decision to form our mineral management group uniquely positioned Argent to help clients capture significant revenue from that boom. That activity, in an otherwise dismal investment market period, marked the beginning of a decade and a half of exceptional growth for Argent.
Click the "2009-2015 A New Era" tab above to read on about Argent's growth.
2009 - 2015
OUR HISTORY
A New Era
In 2009, recognizing the benefit of Tennessee’s progressive and flexible trust laws for clients, Argent purchased an independent trust company in Memphis. This allowed clients across our footprint access to the benefit of Tennessee trust laws. That company expanded in 2012 into Nashville and Louisville and is now our flagship entity, Argent Trust Company, which has a presence in 25 of our 37 markets.
We completed additional mergers and acquisitions in 2013 and 2014 that substantially grew our geographic footprint into South Carolina, Texas, Georgia and Mississippi and further expanded our slate of services, all to better serve clients. Key among those additions were Highland Capital Management of Memphis and San Antonio-based The Trust Company of Texas. In 2015, we expanded into Alabama, Florida and North Carolina, and in 2016, we acquired Oklahoma City-based Heritage Trust Company, Heritage Institutional Services and Heritage Mineral Management.
Click the "2016-2023 Strategic Growth" tab above to read about Argent's most recent growth.
2016 - 2023
OUR HISTORY
Strategic Growth
Argent’s growth continued in 2017, with the opening of our in-house operations center in Birmingham, and carried over into 2018, beginning with the acquisition of Independence Trust, a Nashville-based group with expertise in funeral trust services, and then with the opening of new trust offices in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth and New Orleans. In 2018, AmeriTrust Companies of Tulsa, Oklahoma merged with Argent, and in 2019 we opened offices in Wilmington, NC; Ridgeland, MS and Baton Rouge, LA.
At the close of 2022, we acquired funeral trust administrator Funeral Services Inc, based in Tallahassee; assumed trustee responsibilities from Simmons Bank’s oil & gas royalty trust division in Dallas; and purchased the trust and wealth management division of Ameris Bank in the Metro Atlanta area.
In mid-2023, we acquired Pinnacle Wealth, a Ridgeland, Mississippi RIA, which has since rebranded as Argent Wealth. Shortly thereafter, institutional services firm TMI Trust Company, with offices in Atlanta, Fort Worth, Tampa, Milwaukee and New York City, along with its custody division Salem Trust, joined Argent as Argent Institutional Trust Company.
Our most recent acquisition, that of Mandeville and Metairie, Louisiana-based institutional asset RIA Orleans Capital Management, was announced in mid-December 2023.
Click the "2024+ Looking Forward" tab above to read where Argent is today.
2024+
2024 and Beyond
Looking Forward
Today, in our 38 markets located across 16 states, Argent boasts a team of 500 professionals overseeing more than $65 billion in client assets and 3 million mineral acres.
We continue to be a company that is privately owned by our staff, clients, and avid supporters, all committed to serving others with excellence, just as we began.
Our Subsidiaries
Argent Financial Group operates through several wholly-owned subsidiaries. We offer a wide range of wealth management, asset management and asset servicing solutions to meet the needs of individuals and families, businesses and institutional clients. Our unique blend of professional staff experience and solutions—from trust administration and portfolio management to negotiating and monitoring mineral wealth matters—allow us to help you protect, manage and grow your financial assets. Argent Financial Group has offices in 38 markets located across 16 states and we are ready to serve you and your needs.
Select a subsidiary to learn more about our company.
