Duty to Invest Prudently Flashcards
Duty to Invest Prudently
governed by
Uniform Prudent Investor Act (UPIA) which is incorperated into the UTC
Duty to Invest Prudently
The investment functions requires that a trustee
asseses the trust assets and creates an investment stratagy to support the purposes of the rust and the needs of the beneficiaries, based on the kinds of property in the trust
Duty to Invest Prudently
3 centraal directives of the UPIA:
- duty to diversify
- the duty to tailor investments to the risk tolerance of the trust
- duty to delegate investing to the professionals
Duty to Invest Prudently
Modern Portfolio theory
certain risks can be minimized by diversification
- one performing poorly can be offset by good performance of others
modern portfolio theory
UPIA 1 Prudent investor rule
- execept as in b, a trustee who invests and manages trust assets owes a duty to the beneficiaries of the trust to comply with the prudent investor rule set fourth in this act
- The prudent investor rule, a default rule, may be expanded, eliminated, or other wise be altered by the provisions of a trust
- A trustee is not liable to a beneficiary to the extent that the trustee acted in reasonable reliance on the provision of the trust
UPIA 2 Standad of Care Portfolio Stratagy, risk and return objectives
A trustee shall invest and manage trust assets as a prudent investor would, by considering
- the purposes, terms, distribution requirements, and other circumstances, of the trust
- In satisfying this standard, the trustee shall exercise reasonable care, skill, and caution
UPIA 2 Standad of Care Portfolio Stratagy, risk and return objectives
A trustee’s investment and management decisions respecting individual assets must be evaluated
- not in isolation, but as a whole
AND - as a part of an overall investment stratagy having risk and return objectives reasonably suited to the trust
UPIA 2 Standad of Care Portfolio Stratagy, risk and return objectives
Among circumstances that a trustee shall consider in investing and managing trust assets are such of the following
- As are relevent to the trust or its beneficiaries:
(8)
- general economic conditions
- the positive effect of inflation or deflation
- the expected tax consequences of investment decisons or stratagies;
- The role that each investment or course of action plays within the overall trust portfolio, which may include:
- financial assets, interests in closely held enterprises, tangible and intangible personal property, and real property; - The expected total return from income and appriciation of capital;
- other resources of the beneficiaries;
- needs for liquidity, regularity of income, and presercaion or appriciation of capital, and
- an assets specal relationship or special value, if any, to the purposes of the trust or to one or more of the beneficiaries
UPIA 2 Standad of Care Portfolio Stratagy, risk and return objectives
A trustee shall make a reasonable effort to verify
facts relevent to the investment and management of trust assets
UPIA 2 Standad of Care Portfolio Stratagy, risk and return objectives
A trustee may invest in any kind of
property or type of investment consistant with the standards of this act
UPIA 2 Standad of Care Portfolio Stratagy, risk and return objectives
A trustee who has special skills or expertise, or named in
reliance upon the trusts representation that the trustee has special skills or expertise
- has a duty to use these special skills or expertise
Duty to Invest Prudently
A trustees failure to diversify an investment is breach of trust, if
under the circumstances, a prudent person would have diversified
Duty to Invest Prudently
The damages for a trustee’s improper retention of stocks are the
difference between the value upon eventual sale or accounting and the value when the stock should have been sold.
Duty to Invest Prudently
generally, the concentration of more then 5-10% in a single security requires
some kind of explaination or documentation
Duty to Invest Prudently
Exceptions to rule to diversify
- trustee not required to diversify if because or special circumstances, the purposes of the trust are better served without diversifying
- relatively limited, for the most part involves family property
- Not required to diversify, if the trust property is a family home, family land, or family heirlooms