Trustee Investment
Since the introduction of The trustee Act 2000, trustees now have particular obligations relating to the services and admin of trust funds. The responsibility applies to professional and lay trustees. Yet higher standards are expected from professional trustees.
A statutory duty of care applies to the trustee investment funds that are contained within the trust. 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 duty to protect the value of the trust fund, whilst offering income for the beneficiaries. It is important for trustees to take into account the suitability of the investments held, funding, the type of trust in place and the requirements of the beneficiaries.
A diversified portfolio of assets should be used to meet the trusts particular objectives.
This approach can help to reduce the volatility within the trust investment funds by investing across various asset categories. It is important to take into account risk any particular requirements of the trustees. This could also include placing investments in an ethical or sociably responsible way.
Trustees have an administrative duty to review the assets held within the trust on a regular basis. This can be a time-consuming and lengthy process, specially if the trust executives are not experienced investors.
Trusts and Independent Financial Advice.
It is fundamental to seek individual and impartial advice on the assets held within any form of trust arrangement. We regularly advise new and existing trustees on suitable asset allocation investment strategies.
Trustees frequently engage the investor services of a bank or stock-broker. Occasionally the service is not unique to the needs 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 fees charged by stockbrokers and banks for trust investment management can be expensive. This might have an affect on the 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 considering investing it is important to remember that the value of the trust investment and the income generated could possibly rise as well as fall. 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.