Since the introduction of The trustee Act 2000, trustees now have particular obligations concerning the servicing and admin of trust funds. The duty of care applies to professional and lay trustees. Even So higher standards are expected from professional trustees.
A legal duty of care applies to the trustee investments that are contained within the trust. For new or existing trusts, the trustees must take into consideration the trusts objectives and the suitableness of the investments to be held.
Trustees have a responsibility to protect the asset value of the trust fund, whilst offering income for the beneficiaries. It is fundamental for trustees to take into account the suitableness of the investments held, funding, the type of trust in place and the requirements of the beneficiaries.
A wide-ranging portfolio of assets should be used to meet the trusts specific objectives.
This approach can help to reduce the volatility within the trust investment by placing across several asset categories. It is critical to take into account risk any unique requirements of the trustees. This could also include vesting in an ethical or sociably responsible way.
Trustees have an administrative responsibility to survey the assets contained within the trust on a regular basis. This can be a time-consuming and protracted process, particularly if the trust decision makers are not veteran investors.
Trusts and Financial Advice
It is fundamental to seek individual and impartial advice on the assets held inside any form of trust agreement. We continually advise new and existing 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 demands of the individual trust. A one size fits all approach may not take into account the specific needs of the trust. For Instance, the prerequisites of a large educational trust will be totally different to a small family trust.
The costs to administrate the investment funds are an all-important component. The admin charges charged by stockbrokers and banks for trust investment funds management can be high. This can have an affect on the returns the trust can achieve.
Our investment procedure takes into account the costs, as this is a well-known factor when we recommend particular investment funds.
If as trustees you are considering vesting it is important to remember that the value of the trust investment funds and the income generated 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.