September 30, 2010
Trustee Investing
Since the introduction of The trustee Act 2000, trustees now have unique duties concerning the serving and admin of trust funds. The duty of care applies to professional and lay trustees. However higher standards are expected from professional trustees.
A statutory duty of care applies to the trustee investment funds that are held. For existing and new trusts, the trustees must take into consideration the trusts aims 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 essential for trustees to think about the suitability of the investments held, funding, the type of trust arrangement and the requirements of the beneficiaries.
A wide-ranging portfolio of assets should be used to meet the trusts specific targets.
This approach can help to reduce the volatility within the trust investment funds by investing across different asset categories. It is fundamental to take into account risk any specific prerequisites of the trustees. This could also include vesting in an ethical or sociably responsible style.
Trustees have an administrative duty to re-examine the assets contained within the trust on a regular basis. This can be a long-term and protracted process, specially if the trust decision makers are not veteran investors.
Trusts and Financial Advice
It is critical to seek independent and impartial advice on the assets held inside any form of trust agreement. We continually advise new and existing trustees on acceptable asset allocation investment strategies.
Trustees often engage the investor functions of a bank or stock-broker. Occasionally the service is not particular to the demands of the individual trust. A 1 size fits all approach may not take into consideration the personal needs of the trust. E.g., the demands of a large educational trust could be different to a small family trust.
The costs to administrate the investments are an important element. The admin charges charged by banks and stockbrokers for trust investment funds advice can be expensive. This will impact on the investment returns the trust can achieve.
Our investing procedure takes into account the costs, as this is a well-known factor when we advocate unique investment funds.
If as trustees you are looking at investing it is fundamental to remember that the value of the trust investment and the income generated could fall as well as rise. There is no guarantee you will get back more than you invested.
Consilium Asset Management are based in Chipping Sodbury and offer a unique Trustee investment management service.
Filed at 10:42 pm under Counseling, Finance News, Your Business
Comments Off