Legg Mason Trust Executive Named President of Davidson Trust Co.

GREAT FALLS, Mont. -- Arthur P. Sims has been named president of Davidson Trust Co., a regional trust and wealth management company based in Montana. He was most recently director and president of Legg Mason Trust, the wholly owned trust subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc., an international financial

Sims will assume leadership of Davidson Trust Co. in October. The company manages more than $700 million in assets and has seven offices in the greater Northwest and Rocky Mountain region.

"We are very excited to have Art as a valued partner on our management team," said Bill Johnstone, president and CEO of Davidson Companies, the financial services holding company that owns Davidson Trust Co. "With his extensive experience and successful record of leadership, we look forward to the continued growth and development of Davidson Trust, in partnership with D.A. Davidson & Co. and Davidson Investment Advisors, as the premier trust and wealth management firm in our region."

Sims oversaw and led the growth and development of Legg Mason Trust since its inception in 1992. During that time, Legg Mason Trust grew to nearly $6 billion in assets in 2004. Sims also played a key role in converting the company from a state charter to a federal charter and integrated the trust and wealth management services into the brokerage business of Legg Mason.

Sims has more than 29 years of experience in the trust business after serving as an executive and trust officer with a number of financial institutions. He joined Legg Mason in 1992 after serving as executive vice president of American Capital Trust Company, where he managed and marketed a $3 billion trust company. Previously, he was director, president and national product manager of Shearson Lehman Hutton Trust Company and President of E.F. Hutton Bank, following experience in the trust areas of Chase Manhattan Bank, Mellon Bank and the Central Bank of Cleveland.

He is a graduate of the University of Texas, holds a law degree from Case Western Reserve University, and is a member of the Ohio and Pennsylvania bar associations.

Davidson Trust Co. provides comprehensive wealth management services that include customized personal trusts, investment management, retirement planning and estate and financial consulting services to individuals and organizations. The firm is headquartered in Montana and operates offices in Montana, Idaho, Utah and Washington.

Davidson Trust Co. is owned by Davidson Companies, an independently owned financial services holding company based in Great Falls, Montana. Also part of the Davidson Companies family are D.A. Davidson & Co, the largest full-service brokerage based in the greater Northwest; Davidson Investment Advisors, a professional money management firm; and Davidson Travel, a full-service travel agency.