The US-based Hershey Trust Company said it has temporarily suspended acceptance of any new private wealth clients due to an internal review concerning whether registrations must be filed with national regulators.

The company said an internal review raised questions about whether registrations need to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The trust company has not been registered with the SEC based on advice that it did not have to do so, it said.

The SEC has been notified of the review.

In the meantime, the trust said it has decided that no new clients would be accepted until the situation is resolved.

The trust currently has about 500 private clients who typically need a minimum of $500,000 in assets to use the trust's services. Among those clients, the trust has about $1.2 billion under management.

Its main holding is stock in The Hershey Co, the US confectionery company.