Trust Investing
August 17th, 2010Since the introduction of The trustee Act 2000, trustees now have unique responsibilities relating to the service and administration of trust funds. The duty of care is applicable to lay and professional trustees. Even So higher standards are expected from professional trustees.
A legal duty of care applies to the trustee investment funds that are held. For existing and new trusts, the trustees must take into account the trusts objectives and the suitability of the investments to be held.
Trustees have an obligation to protect the value of the trust fund, whilst providing income for the beneficiaries. It is crucial for trustees to take into account the suitability of the investments held, funding, the type of trust in place and the demands of the beneficiaries.
A varied portfolio of assets should be used to meet the trusts unique aims.
This type of approach can help to limit the volatility within the trust investment by vesting across several asset classes. It is fundamental to take into account risk any unique demands of the trustees. This could also include investing in an ethical or sociably responsible way.
Trustees have an administrative responsibility to re-examine the assets contained within the trust on a regular basis. This can be a drawn-out and lengthy process, especially if the trust administrators are not seasoned investors.
Trusts and Independent Financial Advice.
It is important to seek independent and unprejudiced advice on the assets held within any form of trust agreement. We continually advise existing and new trustees on suitable asset allocation investment strategies.
Trustees frequently engage the investor services of a bank or stockbroker. Sometimes the service is not particular to the needs of the individual trust. A 1 size fits all philosophy may not take into account the individual needs of the trust. For Instance, the requirements of a large educational trust would be totally different to a small family trust.
The costs to administer the investment funds are an all-important element. The admin charges charged by stockbrokers and banks for trust investment management can be high. This can impact on the returns the trust can accomplish.
Our investment procedure takes into account the fee, as this is a known factor when we advocate special investment funds.
If as trustees you are deliberating about vesting it is critical to remember that the value of the trust investment and the income given could fall as well as rise. There is no guarantee you will get back more than you vested.
Consilium Asset Management are based in Chipping Sodbury and offer a unique Educational Trustee investment management service Education trusts.