Investment Advice for Trusts
September 3rd, 2010Since the introduction of The trustee Act 2000, trustees now have unique responsibilities relating to the servicing and administration of trust funds. The responsibility is applicable to lay and professional trustees. Yet 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 aims and the suitability of the investments to be held.
Trustees have a responsibility to protect the value of the trust fund, whilst offering income for the beneficiaries. It is fundamental for trustees to take into account the suitableness of the investment funds held, funding, the type of trust in place and the demands of the beneficiaries.
A diversified portfolio of assets should be used to meet the trusts particular aims.
This type of approach can help to reduce the risks within the trust investment by placing across various asset classes. It is fundamental to take into account risk any specific demands of the trustees. This could also include vesting in an ethical or sociably responsible way.
Trustees have an administrative obligation to review the assets contained within the trust on a regular basis. This can be a time-consuming and lengthy process, especially if the trust administrators are not seasoned investors.
Trusts and Independent Financial Advice.
It is essential 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 often engage the investor functions of a bank or stockbroker. Sometimes the service is not particular to the demands of the individual trust. A 1 size fits all philosophy may not take into consideration the personal needs of the trust. For example, the requirements of a large educational trust will be totally different to a small family trust.
The costs to administer the investment funds are an important element. The admin costs charged by banks and stockbrokers for trust investment funds advice can be high. This might have an affect on the returns the trust can achieve.
Our investment funds procedure takes into account the fee, as this is a known factor when we recommend particular investment funds.
If as trustees you are deliberating about investing it is essential to remember that the value of the trust investment and the income given could possibly 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.











