Trustee Investment Responsibilities

There are several duties that a person who has been appointed as a trustee should follow in order to complete their role as a Trustee successfully. The Trustee Act 2000 outlined new guidelines for trustees in terms of the responsibilities and duties they should abide by.

These trustee investment responsibilities include the following:

• Statutory duty of care – care and skill applied to all areas of trustees’ duties.
• Review investments regularly – to ensure they are suitable for the beneficiary
• Obtain professional advice – professional legal and financial advice will serve to strengthen the trustees’ understanding of their duties.
• Be aware of the ‘standard investment criteria’ – the need to consider a diverse range of investments for the trust
• Follow the wishes of the settlor – the intentions of the deceased should always be considered (usually represented in a letter of wishes) before the trustees’ personal wishes, even if the trustee has the beneficiaries’ interests at heart.
• Ensure fairness and equality between beneficiaries – the trustee should make sure that each beneficiary receives equal portions of trust income upon maturity and that these separate amounts reflect the wishes of the settlor.
• Take account of tax considerations – the trustee should consider the individual tax situations of the beneficiaries and consider this before investing. Trustees should also consider the tax and administration costs involved in investing.

Take a look at our comparison tables to compare a range of trustee savings account deals and bonds to find the best option for you:

For alternatives to the above trustee charity saving account deals, see the tables below where we offer a range of structured deposit plans. Whether you're looking for growth or income, structured deposits are term deposits offer the potential for higher returns, although these returns are linked to an Index, such as the FTSE 100. They are capital protected, so providing you can commit the capital for the plan term then your capital will be returned to you upon maturity.

See below to learn more about structured deposits and how they might help you to fulfil your trustee investment responsibilities.

Duty of care is the statutory responsibility that the trustee should exercise when carrying out trustee duties. Trustees should act in the best interests of the beneficiary and obey the terms of the trust. Duty of care encompasses three areas of the trustees’ responsibilities concerning trust investment. The duty of care should be followed in the following scenarios:

• Investing in property or land
• Appointing agents, custodians or nominees
• Insuring trust property

Once you are sure of what your investment responsibilities as a trustee are, you can begin the important task of choosing the right investment, or savings account deal.