Truist Advisory Services

It operates as a corporate registered investment advisor wholly owned by Truist Financial, the bank holding company created in 2019 via the BB&T and SunTrust merger. The advisory entity sits within Truist Wealth, the bank's high-net-worth and institutional wealth management division. This structure means investment management is bundled with private banking, trust, and lending capabilities under one regulatory roof rather than operating as a standalone asset manager.

Sterling Capital Management is the institutional asset management affiliate also owned by Truist Financial. Truist Advisory Services can allocate client assets into Sterling Capital strategies — including the Sterling Capital Funds mutual fund family — as part of its managed account programs. The two entities share a parent but operate under separate registrations, with Sterling serving as a sub-advisor to certain Truist Advisory Services portfolios.

The firm uses a hybrid model. It offers some internally managed strategies — particularly in taxable and municipal fixed income — but also constructs multi-asset portfolios using a curated roster of external sub-advisors reviewed by a centralized manager research team. The proprietary Sterling Capital Funds also serve as building blocks within certain advisory programs.

The client base is concentrated in the legacy footprint of BB&T and SunTrust, principally North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Virginia, with additional density in the Mid-Atlantic and Texas. Truist's broader wealth division reports clients in all 50 states, but the advisory entity's physical presence and advisor networks remain strongest in the Southeast.

The $15.5 billion sale of Truist's remaining insurance stake to Stone Point Capital and CD&R, announced in early 2024, did not directly restructure the advisory subsidiary. However, it signaled a strategic pivot by parent Truist Financial toward core banking and wealth management, potentially increasing internal capital and executive attention allocated to the advisory platform.