In 2019, one of Atlanta’s largest independent accounting firms that caters to high-net-worth individuals and families opened a state-chartered trust company in Chattanooga to take advantage of Tennessee’s more favorable trust regulations and taxes.
Known as Magnolia Trust Company and located in the Volunteer building in downtown Chattanooga, the business has grown in the past three years to have more than $1.4 billion of assets under management. Todd McMullen, vice chair of the Atlanta-based Moore Colson CPAs, took over as president of Magnolia Trust last month and is eager to sustain the company’s growth.
“I’m deeply impressed by Magnolia’s phenomenal growth and commitment to delivering the highest level of service to clients throughout the region,” McMullen said in a statement after being named CEO of the Chattanooga-based trust.
The firm currently has three employees at the Chattanooga headquarters and six employees who work out of the Moore Colson office in Atlanta.
“Our plan is to use Chattanooga as our hub and spoke,” McMullen said during a recent interview. “Headquartered in Chattanooga, we see opportunity in Nashville and Knoxville.”