EXPERTISE
Fiduciary and compliance issues under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, Collective Investment Trusts (CITs), Retirement Investment Vehicles, Private Investment Vehicles, Personal Trusts, Institutional Trusts, Custody, Compliance with Securities Law Issues and Banking Regulations

EXPERIENCE

Bruce Ashton joined Alta Trust as General Counsel in May of 2022 after a lengthy career in private practice, serving as a partner and senior counsel in the Benefits & Executive Compensation Practice Group of the international law firm of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP.

During his more than 50 years of private law practice, Bruce gained wide experience representing businesses in sophisticated business transactions and employee benefits matters. Bruce’s practice focused on all aspects of employee benefits issues, including representing public and private sector plans and their sponsors, negotiating the resolution of plan qualification issues under IRS remedial correction programs, advising and defending fiduciaries on their obligations and liabilities, structuring collective investment trusts, qualified plans, non-qualified deferred compensation arrangements and health care arrangements, and representing plan service providers (including trustees, RIAs, independent record-keepers, third party administrators, broker-dealers and insurance companies) in fulfilling their obligations under ERISA. Combining his employee benefits and transactional expertise, Bruce was also active in the installation and funding of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs).

EDUCATION
Southern Methodist University, JD
Member of Order of the Coif
Rice University, BA in History
Selected as a Roy R. Ray Scholar
Recipient of the Johnson, Bromberg, Leeds & Riggs Award
Recipient of the Arthur Stedley Hansen Consulting Actuaries of Dallas Award

RESIDES IN
Los Angeles, California

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