We know from experience that the overriding aim of a trustee is to be able to demonstrate that they are carrying out the statutory duty of care imposed by the Trustee Act 2000, and are acting in the best interests of the beneficiaries at all times.
We have many years’ experience of working in this field and are fully conversant with the competing factors to be considered, both from the perspective of the settlor and the beneficiaries. The Trustee Act 2000 stipulates that when managing trusts, trustees must:
Navigating the dynamic and often volatile world of investments has become an increasingly burdensome task for trustees. As well as a high duty of care, they must also be able to produce evidence in support of their actions.
We are ideally suited to support trustees with these obligations, whether you are a professional or lay trustee. For professional trustees, we are a Registered Advisor with MPI – The STEP Member Service and offer a service tailored for all STEP members. We won the Financial Advisor Team of the Year category at the STEP 2019/20 Private Client Awards, a celebration of excellence across the private client world.
We have a number of skilled advisers in this area. Partner and Head of PWM International, Nathan Prior, was invited by STEP to provide an article on sustainable investing for their member publication, the STEP Journal. In the ‘Green Light’ he analysed data to show opportunities in the expanding field of sustainable investing and illustrated that a performance lag should not be expected from sustainable investments.
At Partners Wealth Management, we offer a comprehensive Trust Review Service where we provide an assessment on behalf of the trustee, monitoring the costs, performance and risk associated with the trust on an ongoing basis.
Our first step is to engage with the trustees in a thorough fact-finding exercise to enable a comprehensive independent review to be carried out. Our independence is important to us and our clients; having no in-house products to sell, we are truly independent from any financial group and are thus able to tailor investment strategies to suit the trust.
Our investment approach allows us to engage in impartial and wholly independent analysis, research and due diligence of the underlying investments on an ongoing basis. We provide trustees with both an objective measure against benchmarks and a qualitative insight into the managers, based on the critical 7 R’s: Returns, Risk, Realism, Reporting, Resources, Reputation and Remuneration.
This information is collated and presented in the form of a defined, repeatable methodology that clearly demonstrates trustee stewardship and delivers value and excellence for beneficiaries.
Our Manager Select service leverages our investment manager analysis to provide trustees with independent professional advice in the selection of suitable investment strategies that meet their beneficiaries’ objectives. With a focus on key attributes such as risk controls, performance monitoring, ESG considerations, and costs, our clients receive comprehensive advice and due diligence on the selected managers. Additionally, our position enables us to advise on the efficient blending of different investment strategies/managers in order to enhance diversification and reduce risk. With the aid of market leading technology, this can be achieved without increasing administrative requirements or costs and, in many circumstances, the ongoing administration may be reduced resulting in a more efficient final cost than utilising a single discretionary manager.
The service is available for trusts with a range of requirements, including currencies such as GBP/EUR/USD, UK or offshore custody, sustainable considerations and US tax reporting requirements.
Our service does not stop after the initial selection, but offers ongoing advice and oversight, providing trustees with a robust process to ensure the investments remain suitable. Our manager analysis is refreshed quarterly, driving a traffic light system to indicate where managers continue to perform as expected, where there may be items that need consideration, or indeed where we recommend switching to an alternative. Our annual report to the trustees can be used as evidence of ongoing suitability of the selected investment managers or to detail when and why action has been recommended.
Your Partners Wealth Management adviser can be the first port of call for any of your clients’ or you own financial needs. We can also offer you a wide range of financial expertise available through our own 360° service, and can also source relevant additional input from our established network of business partners. We operate on a fee basis, operating a clear and transparent charging structure for the work undertaken.
Our aim is to work in partnership with you to deliver an outstanding level of service to your clients. It is often through the smallest initial question that our deepest relationships emerge. Feel free to contact us, we’re happy to arrange an introductory meeting to discuss how we could be of service to you in fulfilling your clients’ needs.
For further information on how we can help you build and protect your wealth, please contact us.
