Trustee Investment Powers

A trust is a specific investment relationship where a designated trustee holds title to assets for the benefit of designated beneficiaries. A trust is established when an owner of property (called the settlor) makes a disposition of property to a trustee on terms describing how the trustee is to administer the property to confer the benefits that the settlor intends. In British Columbia, the principal statute concerned with trust law is the Trustee Act. This report identifies and discusses a number of problems with the investment powers under the Trustee Act as it stood when the report was published. The report contains recommendations to provide trustees with adequate statutory powers to invest trust property efficiently and productively under contemporary circumstances. The recommendations were implemented by amendments to the Trustee Act in 2003.

Keywords:  trusts and trustees, Trustee Act, legal investments, powers of trustee, trustee investment, business & non-profits, wills, estates & life planning, mutual funds, modern portfolio theory, delegation, Trustee Act Modernization Committee