Trustee Investment
Posted in Finance Network, Money Making, Tips + Tricks on August 11th, 2010Since the introduction of The trustee Act 2000, trustees now have specific obligations concerning the service and admin of trust funds. The duty of care is applicable to professional and lay trustees. Yet higher standards are expected from professional trustees.
A legal duty of care is applicable to the trustee investment funds that are held. For new or existing trusts, the trustees must take into consideration the trusts objectives and the suitableness of the investment funds to be held.
Trustees have a duty to protect the value of the trust fund, whilst offering income for the beneficiaries. It is crucial for trustees to consider the suitableness of the investments held, funding, the type of trust in place 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 vesting across various asset classes. It is fundamental to take into account risk any specific demands of the trustees. This could also include placing investments in an ethical or sociably responsible manner.
Trustees have an administrative duty to review the assets held within the trust on a regular basis. This can be a drawn-out and lengthy process, particularly if the trust decision makers are not practiced investors.
Trusts and Independent Financial Advice.
It is essential to seek unbiased and unprejudiced advice on the assets held inside any form of trust arrangement. We regularly advise new and existing trustees on acceptable asset allocation investment strategies.
Trustees often engage the investor functions of a bank or stockbroker. Sometimes the service is not specific to the needs of the individual trust. A one size fits all approach may not take into account the individual needs of the trust. For example, the requirements of a large educational trust could be different to a small family trust.
The costs to administrate the investment funds are an all-important factor. The admin charges charged by banks and stockbrokers for trust investment funds management can be high. This can have an effect on the investment returns the trust can achieve.
Our investing process takes into account the fee, as this is a well-known factor when we recommend specific investments.
If as trustees you are thinking about vesting it is essential to remember that the value of the trust investment funds 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.