Fiduciary Investing, Accounting, & Trust Taxation

Designed for Your Organization

Our Enterprise Solutions team works with you to build the right experience — whether that's a keynote address, a half-day workshop, a multi-session webinar series, or a fully integrated training program. Topics, format, session length, and depth of content are all customizable to align with your audience, your objectives, and your timeline.

Course Topics

Principal and Income Law
Explore the Uniform Principal and Income Act and its role in fiduciary accounting and trust administration. This session explains how income and principal are allocated, why these rules matter for trustees and beneficiaries, and how proper application supports compliance and fairness.

Prudent Investor Considerations
In this session, we will examine fiduciary investing, its common law rules, expansion or limitation by the document, and changes under state law to glean insights into issues affecting the investment decisions, documentation, and areas of liability. Using the Uniform Prudent Investor Act as a guide, we will examine the thought process, considerations, documentation, and ongoing review of challenging investment decisions.

Investing for Different Types of Trusts
In this session, we will examine fiduciary investing, its common law rules, expansion or limitation by the document, and changes under state law to glean insights into issues affecting the investment decisions, documentation, and areas of liability. Using the Uniform Prudent Investor Act as a guide, we will examine the thought process, considerations, documentation, and ongoing review of challenging investment decisions.

Asset Location for Asset Allocation - Why "Where" Matters
As important as asset allocation is to investment management, asset location becomes the next layer necessary to understand the power of location related to taxation of the assets in our investment portfolio. Taxable versus tax-deferred versus tax-free accounts drive decisions as to where to locate the assets appropriate to the asset allocation to enhance results while meeting the client’s needs.

DINGS - Shifting Income Taxation to a Tax-Haven State
State income tax rates can dampen a portfolio's return. Where the assets are passive portfolio assets, they can sometimes be moved to another state via an irrevocable trust that “lives” in the other state. This technique is so effective and valuable that California has recently enacted legislation to prevent its use. Learn this technique to enable clients with excess portfolio assets to reduce their state tax exposure.

The Advisor's Guide to Trust Income Taxation: What Matters (and What Doesn't) for Investment Strategy
State income tax rates can dampen a portfolio's return. Where the assets are passive portfolio assets, they can sometimes be moved to another state via an irrevocable trust that “lives” in the other state. This technique is so effective and valuable that California has recently enacted legislation to prevent its use. Learn this technique to enable clients with excess portfolio assets to reduce their state tax exposure.

Who Should Enroll and Why

Trust Officers and Fiduciaries will gain a deeper understanding of how fiduciary investment standards, accounting rules, and trust taxation influence administration and risk management. This course helps you make more informed investment and distribution decisions, apply principal and income rules appropriately, and understand how tax considerations affect beneficiaries and long‑term trust objectives.

Investment Professionals and Portfolio Managers working with trusts and fiduciary accounts will benefit from a clearer view of the legal and tax constraints that shape fiduciary investing. The course strengthens your ability to align investment strategy with fiduciary obligations, account types, and trust tax realities, while improving documentation and communication with fiduciaries and beneficiaries.

Financial Advisors and Wealth Managers will deepen their understanding of how trust taxation and fiduciary accounting impact portfolio construction, asset location, and client outcomes. This knowledge enables more effective coordination with trustees and tax professionals and supports stronger planning conversations around trust investments and distributions.

Aspiring Fiduciary, Trust, and Wealth Professionals will find this program to be a strong foundation in fiduciary investing and trust taxation. By building fluency in fiduciary standards, accounting concepts, and tax drivers, participants will be better prepared for developing roles in trust administration, fiduciary investment management, or wealth advisory services.

Course Instructors

Daniel A. Smith, CFP®, CWS®

As a dedicated professional, Daniel Smith believes that everyone deserves sound advice and exceptional service. With his extensive real-world experience, Daniel brings a spirited approach to his instruction, helping advisors put their knowledge into immediate, practical use to better serve their clients. His expertise lies in sales and relationship management skills, which he seamlessly integrates with the complexities of estate planning, estate taxation, charitable giving, and investment management. By doing so, Daniel empowers advisors to effectively guide wealthy clients and their families in achieving their goals.

Before joining Cannon, Daniel spent years as a client-facing advisor in the Wealth Management and Trust business. His 25 years of experience with Cannon have further enriched his knowledge, as he constantly interacts with top financial advisors and wealthy individuals across the globe, incorporating best practices into his teachings.

A sought-after speaker, Daniel frequently presents at financial services firms and conferences worldwide, covering topics such as sales, exceptional service, estate planning, taxation, and industry trends. His insights have been featured in numerous publications, including Trusts & Estates and Registered Rep magazines. As the leader of Cannon Trust School, the largest trust school in the country, Daniel continues to make a significant impact on the industry. His consulting work spans distance-based learning solutions, private family wealth consultation, and expert witness services.

Meagan MacBean, J.D.

Meagan MacBean is a dedicated professional who believes that exceptional service is rooted in a deep understanding of the complexities of estate and trust law. As the founder of The MacBean Law Firm, LLC, she brings extensive experience as both a practicing attorney and a former Trust Officer to her work. Meagan provides a spirited, real-world approach to her instruction, helping advisors translate technical knowledge into immediate, practical solutions for their clients. Her expertise seamlessly integrates the nuances of estate planning, asset protection, and planning for incapacity with the operational realities of trust and estate administration.

Before establishing her own firm, Meagan spent years advising high-net-worth clients on wealth transfer strategies and fiduciary responsibilities. Her professional background is further enriched by her academic contributions; she serves as a Lecturer at Mississippi State University, where she teaches Real Estate Law, International Business Law, and Entrepreneur Law. This dual perspective, balancing private practice with academic instruction, allows her to empower advisors to effectively guide wealthy families in achieving their long-term goals.

A highly credentialed expert, Meagan is an honors graduate of Cannon Financial Institute Trust School and holds a J.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Law. Her insights have been featured in publications such as SC Lawyer Magazine, and she is a recognized leader in the field, having been selected for the Mississippi Bar Association’s Leadership Forum and Portico Jackson Magazine’s "Portico 15". Through her work as a guest instructor and her specialized practice in fiduciary litigation and tax preparation, Meagan continues to make a significant impact on the industry.