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NATIONAL-BANK Vermögenstreuhand
NATIONAL-BANK Vermögenstreuhand opened in Essen as the wealth advisory subsidiary of NATIONAL-BANK AG, a private regional bank with deep ties to the...
NATIONAL-BANK Vermögenstreuhand
NATIONAL-BANK Vermögenstreuhand opened in Essen as the wealth advisory subsidiary of NATIONAL-BANK AG, a private regional bank with deep ties to the industrial Ruhr region. Originally incorporated as NB - Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, the firm rebranded to its current structure in January 2012 to signal a sharper focus on multi-generational family wealth. Managing directors Sebastian Kuhlmann and Thomas Franke both sit on the boards of regional institutions — Kuhlmann on the board of the International School of Management, Franke on the board of the Stiftung Universitätsmedizin — anchoring the firm in the local civic ecosystem that generates its client base. The wealth origin is generational industrial and entrepreneurial capital concentrated in Germany, though the firm does not name specific families. The firm deploys across real estate, private equity, and infrastructure, with a disclosed European geographic focus and a confirmed emphasis on PropTech. Mandates span direct property, fund commitments, and secondary-market closed-end positions, coordinated through an internal Immobilien-Office that handles sourcing, due diligence, and asset management. The investment process layers strategic asset planning, risk management, and legal-structuring services on top of portfolio construction — a bundling that reflects the parent bank's in-house trust and tax capability. Partners include the Ruhrstiftung, where the firm administers foundation assets through a dedicated Stiftungsoffice, and a 2025 collaboration with REVIER MANAGER on a study of business succession in the region. The internal team draws from specialists in tax law, trust administration, and real estate management rather than a large dedicated investment staff; syndicate tax advisor Matthias Borgmeier has lectured at FOM University since March 2023. The firm has not publicly disclosed a total headcount or cumulative deployment figure. It maintains membership in the German Federal M&A Association (BM&A) and provides pro-bono support to charities including the Johannes und Cordula Trum-Stiftung and WDR 2 Weihnachtswunder. In September 2023, the firm participated in a business-bankruptcy and restructuring event alongside Wirtschaftsförderung Münster. What distinguishes the architecture is the coupling of a private bank's balance sheet and in-house legal infrastructure with the fiduciary distance of a separately branded multi-family office. While most German multi-family offices are either pure advisory boutiques or arms of large wealth managers, NATIONAL-BANK Vermögenstreuhand sits inside a regional private bank — giving clients access to banking mechanics, tax structuring, and trust execution under one roof without the product-push incentives of a universal bank. The two managing directors' long-standing civic board seats suggest a governance model built on regional continuity rather than external marketing.
General information
Firm type
Multi Family Office
Year founded
—
AUM
$1.5B (Altss estimate)
Location
Region
Europe
Country
Germany
City
Essen
Corporate office
Essen, Germany
Principals
Sebastian Kuhlmann
Managing Director
Thomas Franke
Managing Director
Altss tracks 2 additional named team members for this firm — including direct investment leads, IR, and operating principals not listed on the public website.
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Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at NATIONAL-BANK Vermögenstreuhand?
Day-to-day management rests with managing directors Sebastian Kuhlmann and Thomas Franke, who lead a team of in-house specialists covering tax, real estate, trust administration, and succession planning. The firm applies a corporate-finance discipline to private wealth, drawing on the parent bank's internal resources while operating as an independent multi-family office. Specific investment committee structures are not publicly detailed.
How does the firm source proprietary deal flow?
The firm's proprietary edge appears to come from deep embeddedness in the Rhine-Ruhr industrial community rather than a standardized sourcing network. Managing directors sit on regional civic boards such as the International School of Management and Stiftung Universitätsmedizin, while the firm actively participates in Ruhr-focused succession and M&A events. The 2025 REVIER MANAGER study partnership and the Stiftungsoffice mandate from the Ruhrstiftung suggest that deal flow often originates from corporate-succession and foundation-asset transitions in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Does NATIONAL-BANK Vermögenstreuhand operate as a pure advisory firm or a bank-tethered allocator?
It is a bank-tethered multi-family office. As a subsidiary of NATIONAL-BANK AG, it can access in-house trust execution, tax structuring, and banking mechanics that standalone advisory boutiques typically outsource. At the same time, the firm brands itself separately and explicitly positions its advice as independent, coordinating family assets across external banks, asset managers, insurers, and legal advisors rather than funneling capital into proprietary products.
What asset classes and geographies does the firm typically target?
Publicly confirmed allocations include real estate, private equity, and infrastructure, with a published secondary-market capability for closed-end funds. The firm discloses a European geographic focus, with a specialist Immobilien-Office managing property investments. One confirmed sector lens is PropTech, though the firm does not break out stage or vintage targets.
Is the firm involved in foundation or philanthropic asset management?
Yes. NATIONAL-BANK Vermögenstreuhand runs a dedicated Stiftungsoffice that provides administrative management and advisory to foundations. The Ruhrstiftung is a confirmed service client for its trust assets. Additional philanthropic relationships include the Johannes und Cordula Trum-Stiftung and WDR 2 Weihnachtswunder events.
Who owns NATIONAL-BANK Vermögenstreuhand, and does this create conflicts?
The firm is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NATIONAL-BANK AG, a private Essen-based regional bank. The bank lists SIGNAL IDUNA Krankenversicherung VVaG among its shareholders. The subsidiary's separate branding and publicly stated mission to coordinate across external banks and asset managers suggest a structural effort to mitigate product-placement conflicts, though the ownership model naturally creates a tighter integration with the parent bank's trust and legal services than a fully independent MFO would have.
Does the firm have a succession-planning or family-governance specialization?
Yes, that specialization is central to its proposition. The firm explicitly markets private and entrepreneurial succession, testament execution, and notary coordination as core pillars. A 2025 study with REVIER MANAGER on business succession in the Revier region underscores that this is a primary channel through which the firm acquires and retains family-office mandates, capturing transitions in the tightly-held industrial economy of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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