Trustee Investing
August 10th, 2010Since the introduction of The trustee Act 2000, trustees now have specific responsibilities relating to the serving and admin of trust funds. The responsibility applies to lay and professional trustees. However higher standards are expected from professional trustees.
A statutory duty of care applies to the trustee investments that are contained within the trust. For new or existing trusts, the trustees must take into account the trusts objectives and the suitability of the investments to be held.
Trustees have a responsibility to protect the value of the trust fund, whilst providing income for the beneficiaries. It is fundamental for trustees to think about the suitability of the investment funds held, funding, the type of arrangement and the demands of the beneficiaries.
A wide-ranging portfolio of assets should be used to meet the trusts special targets.
This type of approach can help to reduce the risks within the trust investment by putting across varied asset categories. It is important to take into account risk any unique prerequisites of the trustees. This could also include placing investments in an ethical or sociably responsible style.
Trustees have an administrative responsibility to review the assets held within the trust on a regular basis. This can be an endless and protracted process, especially if the trust executives are not seasoned investors.
Trusts and Independent Financial Advice.
It is fundamental to seek unbiased and impartial advice on the assets held inside any form of trust agreement. We continually advise existing and new trustees on suitable asset allocation investment strategies.
Trustees often engage the investor services of a bank or stockbroker. Sometimes the service is not unique to the demands of the individual trust. A 1 size fits all approach may not take into consideration the individual needs of the trust. For example, the requirements of a large educational trust would be totally different to a small family trust.
The costs to administrate the investments are an all-important element. The admin costs charged by banks and stockbrokers for trust investment funds management can be high. This could impact on the investment returns the trust can achieve.
Our investing process takes into account the costs, as this is a known element when we recommend particular investment funds.
If as trustees you are looking at investing it is essential to remember that the value of the trust investment and the income given might fall as well as rise. There is no guarantee you will get back more than you invested.
Consilium Asset Management are based in Chipping Sodburychipping Sodbury and offer a unique Trustee investment management service for individual and corporate trusts.