State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_HB3056

 
                                               LRB9200640ACtm

 1        AN ACT in relation to the investment of trust assets.

 2        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section 0.01.  Short title.  This Act may be cited as the
 5    Uniform Prudent Investor Act.

 6        Section 1.  Prudent investor rule.
 7        (a)  Except as otherwise provided in  subsection  (b),  a
 8    trustee  who  invests and manages trust assets owes a duty to
 9    the beneficiaries of the trust to  comply  with  the  prudent
10    investor rule set forth in this Act.
11        (b)   The  prudent  investor rule, a default rule, may be
12    expanded, restricted, eliminated, or otherwise altered by the
13    provisions of  a  trust.   A  trustee  is  not  liable  to  a
14    beneficiary   to   the  extent  that  the  trustee  acted  in
15    reasonable reliance on the provisions of the trust.

16        Section 2.  Standard of care;  portfolio  strategy;  risk
17    and return objectives.
18        (a)   A trustee shall invest and manage trust assets as a
19    prudent investor would, by considering the  purposes,  terms,
20    distribution  requirements,  and  other  circumstances of the
21    trust.   In  satisfying  this  standard,  the  trustee  shall
22    exercise reasonable care, skill, and caution.
23        (b)  A  trustee's  investment  and  management  decisions
24    respecting   individual  assets  must  be  evaluated  not  in
25    isolation but in the context of  the  trust  portfolio  as  a
26    whole  and as a part of an overall investment strategy having
27    risk and return objectives reasonably suited to the trust.
28        (c)  Among circumstances that a trustee shall consider in
29    investing and managing trust assets are such of the following
30    as are relevant to the trust or its beneficiaries:
 
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 1             (1) general economic conditions;
 2             (2) the possible effect of inflation or deflation;
 3             (3) the  expected  tax  consequences  of  investment
 4        decisions or strategies;
 5             (4)  the  role  that  each  investment  or course of
 6        action plays within the overall  trust  portfolio,  which
 7        may  include  financial assets, interests in closely held
 8        enterprises, tangible and intangible  personal  property,
 9        and real property;
10             (5)  the  expected  total return from income and the
11        appreciation of capital;
12             (6) other resources of the beneficiaries;
13             (7) needs for liquidity, regularity of  income,  and
14        preservation or appreciation of capital; and
15             (8)  an  asset's  special  relationship  or  special
16        value, if any,  to the purposes of the trust or to one or
17        more of the beneficiaries.
18        (d)   A  trustee shall make a reasonable effort to verify
19    facts relevant to the  investment  and  management  of  trust
20    assets.
21        (e)  A trustee may invest in any kind of property or type
22    of investment consistent with the standards of this Act.
23        (f)  A trustee who has special skills or expertise, or is
24    named  trustee  in reliance upon the trustee's representation
25    that the trustee has special skills or expertise, has a  duty
26    to use those special skills or expertise.

27        Section  3.   Diversification.  A trustee shall diversify
28    the investments of the trust unless  the  trustee  reasonably
29    determines   that,  because  of  special  circumstances,  the
30    purposes of the trust are better served without diversifying.

31        Section 4.  Duties at inception of trusteeship.  Within a
32    reasonable time after accepting a  trusteeship  or  receiving
 
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 1    trust  assets,  a  trustee  shall review the trust assets and
 2    make and implement decisions  concerning  the  retention  and
 3    disposition  of assets, in order to bring the trust portfolio
 4    into  compliance  with  the  purposes,  terms,   distribution
 5    requirements,  and other circumstances of the trust, and with
 6    the requirements of this Act.

 7        Section 5.  Loyalty.  A trustee shall invest  and  manage
 8    the trust assets solely in the interest of the beneficiaries.

 9        Section  6.   Impartiality.   If  a trust has two or more
10    beneficiaries, the trustee shall act impartially in investing
11    and managing  the  trust  assets,  taking  into  account  any
12    differing interests of the beneficiaries.

13        Section  7.  Investment costs.  In investing and managing
14    trust assets,  a  trustee  may  only  incur  costs  that  are
15    appropriate  and  reasonable  in  relation to the assets, the
16    purposes of the trust, and the skills of the trustee.

17        Section 8.  Reviewing compliance.   Compliance  with  the
18    prudent investor rule is determined in light of the facts and
19    circumstances existing at the time of a trustee's decision or
20    action and not by hindsight.

21        Section  9.   Delegation  of  investment  and  management
22    functions.
23        (a)   A  trustee  may  delegate investment and management
24    functions that a prudent trustee of comparable  skills  could
25    properly delegate under the circumstances.  The trustee shall
26    exercise reasonable care, skill, and caution in:
27             (1) selecting an agent;
28             (2)   establishing   the  scope  and  terms  of  the
29        delegation, consistent with the purposes and terms of the
 
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 1        trust; and
 2             (3) periodically reviewing the  agent's  actions  in
 3        order  to  monitor the agent's performance and compliance
 4        with the terms of the delegation.
 5        (b)  In performing a delegated function, an agent owes  a
 6    duty  to the trust to exercise reasonable care to comply with
 7    the terms of the delegation.
 8        (c)  A trustee who  complies  with  the  requirements  of
 9    subsection  (a)  is not liable to the beneficiaries or to the
10    trust for the decisions or actions of the agent to  whom  the
11    function was delegated.
12        (d)  By accepting the delegation of a trust function from
13    the  trustee  of  a  trust that is subject to the law of this
14    State, an agent submits to the jurisdiction of the courts  of
15    this State.

16        Section  10.   Language  invoking  standard  of Act.  The
17    following terms or comparable language in the provisions of a
18    trust, unless otherwise limited or modified,  authorizes  any
19    investment or strategy permitted under this Act: "investments
20    permissible  by  law  for  investment of trust funds," "legal
21    investments," "authorized investments," "using  the  judgment
22    and care under the circumstances then prevailing that persons
23    of  prudence,  discretion,  and  intelligence exercise in the
24    management of their own affairs, not in regard to speculation
25    but in regard to the permanent disposition  of  their  funds,
26    considering  the  probable  income  as  well  as the probable
27    safety  of  their  capital,"  "prudent  man  rule,"  "prudent
28    trustee rule," "prudent person rule," and  "prudent  investor
29    rule."

30        Section  11.   Application  to existing trusts.  This Act
31    applies to trusts existing on and created after its effective
32    date.  As applied to trusts existing on its  effective  date,
 
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 1    this  Act  governs  only decisions or actions occurring after
 2    that date.

 3        Section 12.  Uniformity of application and  construction.
 4    This  Act  shall  be  applied and construed to effectuate its
 5    general purpose to make uniform the law with respect  to  the
 6    subject of this Act among the States enacting it.

 7        Section  13.   Short  title.  (See Section 0.01 for short
 8    title.)

 9        Section 14.  Severability.  If any provision of this  Act
10    or  its  application  to  any  person or circumstance is held
11    invalid, the invalidity does not affect other  provisions  or
12    applications  of  this  Act which can be given effect without
13    the invalid provision or application, and  to  this  end  the
14    provisions of this Act are severable.

15        Section  14.1.  The Trusts and Trustees Act is amended by
16    changing Sections 5, 5.1, and 5.2 as follows:

17        (760 ILCS 5/5) (from Ch. 17, par. 1675)
18        Sec. 5.  Investments.   (a)  Prudent  Investor  Rule.   A
19    trustee administering a trust has a duty to invest and manage
20    the  trust  assets  in  accordance  with  the Uniform Prudent
21    Investor Act. as follows:
22             (1)  The trustee has a duty  to  invest  and  manage
23        trust  assets as a prudent investor would considering the
24        purposes, terms,  distribution  requirements,  and  other
25        circumstances  of  the  trust. This standard requires the
26        exercise of reasonable care, skill, and caution and is to
27        be applied to investments not in isolation,  but  in  the
28        context  of  the trust portfolio as a whole and as a part
29        of an overall investment strategy that should incorporate
 
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 1        risk and return objectives  reasonably  suitable  to  the
 2        trust.
 3             (2)  No  specific investment or course of action is,
 4        taken alone, prudent or imprudent. The trustee may invest
 5        in every kind of property and type of investment, subject
 6        to this Section. The trustee's investment  decisions  and
 7        actions  are  to  be  judged  in  terms  of the trustee's
 8        reasonable business judgment  regarding  the  anticipated
 9        effect  on the trust portfolio as a whole under the facts
10        and circumstances prevailing at the time of the  decision
11        or action. The prudent investor rule is a test of conduct
12        and not of resulting performance.
13             (3)  The   trustee  has  a  duty  to  diversify  the
14        investments of the trust unless, under the circumstances,
15        the trustee reasonably believes it is in the interests of
16        the beneficiaries and furthers the purposes of the  trust
17        not to diversify.
18             (4)  The  trustee  has  a  duty, within a reasonable
19        time after the acceptance of the trusteeship,  to  review
20        trust   assets   and  to  make  and  implement  decisions
21        concerning the  retention  and  disposition  of  original
22        pre-existing  investments  in  order  to  conform  to the
23        provisions of this Section.  The  trustee's  decision  to
24        retain  or dispose of an asset may properly be influenced
25        by the asset's  special  relationship  or  value  to  the
26        purposes   of  the  trust  or  to  some  or  all  of  the
27        beneficiaries, consistent  with  the  trustee's  duty  of
28        impartiality.
29             (5)  The  trustee has a duty to pursue an investment
30        strategy that considers both the reasonable production of
31        income  and  safety  of  capital,  consistent  with   the
32        trustee's  duty  of  impartiality and the purposes of the
33        trust.  Whether  investments   are   underproductive   or
34        overproductive of income shall be judged by the portfolio
 
                            -7-                LRB9200640ACtm
 1        as a whole and not as to any particular asset.
 2             (6)  The circumstances that the trustee may consider
 3        in   making   investment   decisions   include,   without
 4        limitation, the general economic conditions, the possible
 5        effect  of  inflation,  the  expected tax consequences of
 6        investment  decisions  or  strategies,  the   role   each
 7        investment  or  course of action plays within the overall
 8        portfolio, the  expected  total  return  (including  both
 9        income  yield  and appreciation of capital), and the duty
10        to incur  only  reasonable  and  appropriate  costs.  The
11        trustee  may but need not consider related trusts and the
12        assets of beneficiaries when making investment decisions.
13        (b)  The provisions of  this  Section  may  be  expanded,
14    restricted,  eliminated,  or  otherwise  altered  by  express
15    provisions  of  the  trust  instrument.   The  trustee is not
16    liable to a beneficiary for the trustee's reasonable and good
17    faith reliance on those express provisions.
18        (c)  Nothing in this Section abrogates or  restricts  the
19    power  of  an appropriate court in proper cases (i) to direct
20    or permit the trustee to deviate from the terms of the  trust
21    instrument  or  (ii) to direct or permit the trustee to take,
22    or to restrain the trustee from taking, any action  regarding
23    the making or retention of investments.
24        (d)  The  following  terms  or comparable language in the
25    investment  powers  and  related  provisions   of   a   trust
26    instrument,  unless  otherwise  limited  or  modified by that
27    instrument, shall be construed as authorizing any  investment
28    or  strategy  permitted  under  this  Section:   "investments
29    permissible  by  law  for  investment of trust funds", "legal
30    investments", "authorized investments", "using  the  judgment
31    and  care under the circumstances then prevailing that men of
32    prudence,  discretion,  and  intelligence  exercise  in   the
33    management  of  their  own  affairs,  not  in  regard  to the
34    speculation but in regard to  the  permanent  disposition  of
 
                            -8-                LRB9200640ACtm
 1    their  funds,  considering the probable income as well as the
 2    probable safety of their capital", "prudent  man  rule",  and
 3    "prudent person rule".
 4        (e)  On  and  after the effective date of this amendatory
 5    Act of 1991, this Section applies to all existing and  future
 6    trusts,  but  only as to actions or inactions occurring after
 7    that effective date.
 8    (Source: P.A. 87-715.)

 9        (760 ILCS 5/5.1) (from Ch. 17, par. 1675.1)
10        Sec. 5.1.  Duty not to delegate. (a)  The trustee  has  a
11    duty  not  to  delegate to others the performance of any acts
12    involving the exercise of  judgment  and  discretion,  except
13    that  acts constituting investment functions may be delegated
14    in accordance with the Uniform Prudent Investor Act.  that  a
15    prudent  investor  of  comparable skills might delegate under
16    the circumstances.  The trustee may delegate those investment
17    functions to an investment agent as  provided  in  subsection
18    (b).
19        (b)  For   a  trustee  to  properly  delegate  investment
20    functions  under  subsection  (a),  all  of   the   following
21    requirements apply:
22             (1)  The  trustee  must  exercise  reasonable  care,
23        skill,  and caution in selecting the investment agent, in
24        establishing  the  scope  and  specific  terms   of   any
25        delegation,  and  in  periodically  reviewing the agent's
26        actions in  order  to  monitor  overall  performance  and
27        compliance  with  the  scope  and  specific  terms of the
28        delegation.
29             (2)  The trustee must conduct an  inquiry  into  the
30        experience,  performance  history, professional licensing
31        or registration, if any, and financial stability  of  the
32        investment agent.
33             (3)  The  investment  agent  shall be subject to the
 
                            -9-                LRB9200640ACtm
 1        jurisdiction of the courts of the State of Illinois.
 2             (4)  The investment agent shall be  subject  to  the
 3        same standards that are applicable to the trustee.
 4             (5)  The  investment  agent  shall  be liable to the
 5        beneficiaries of the trust and to the designated  trustee
 6        to  the  same  extent  as  if the investment agent were a
 7        designated  trustee  in  relation  to  the  exercise   or
 8        nonexercise of the investment function.
 9             (6)  The  trustee  shall  send written notice of its
10        intention to begin delegating investment functions  under
11        this  Section  to  the  beneficiaries eligible to receive
12        income from the trust on the date of  initial  delegation
13        at least 30 days before the delegation. This notice shall
14        thereafter, until or unless the beneficiaries eligible to
15        receive income from the trust at the time are notified to
16        the   contrary,   authorize   the   trustee  to  delegate
17        investment functions pursuant to this Section.
18        (c)  If all requirements of subsection (b) are satisfied,
19    the trustee  shall  not  otherwise  be  responsible  for  the
20    investment  decisions  or  actions of the investment agent to
21    which the investment functions are delegated.
22        (d)  On and after July 1, 1992, this Section  applies  to
23    all  existing  and  future  trusts, but only as to actions or
24    inactions occurring after that date.
25    (Source: P.A. 87-715; 87-895.)

26        (760 ILCS 5/5.2) (from Ch. 17, par. 1675.2)
27        Sec.  5.2.   Investments  in  mutual  funds.  A  trustee,
28    including a trustee of a common trust fund,  may  invest  and
29    reinvest  the  trust  estate  in interests in any open-end or
30    closed-end  management  type  investment  company   or   unit
31    investment  trust registered under the Investment Company Act
32    of 1940 or any investment fund exempt from registration under
33    the Investment Company Act of 1940, any of  these  investment
 
                            -10-               LRB9200640ACtm
 1    companies,  unit investment trusts, or investment funds being
 2    a "mutual fund" for purposes of this Section, or may  retain,
 3    sell,   or   exchange  those  interests,  provided  that  the
 4    portfolio of the mutual fund, as an  entity,  is  appropriate
 5    under  the  provisions  of  this  Act and the Uniform Prudent
 6    Investor  Act.   A  trustee  shall  not  be  prohibited  from
 7    investing,  reinvesting,   retaining,   or   exchanging   any
 8    interests  held  by  the  trust estate in any mutual fund for
 9    which the trustee or an affiliate acts as advisor or  manager
10    or in any other role solely on the basis that the trustee (or
11    its  affiliate)  provides  services  to  the  mutual fund and
12    receives reasonable remuneration for those services.  Neither
13    a  trustee  nor  its affiliate shall be required to reduce or
14    waive its compensation for services  provided  in  connection
15    with  the  investment,  management, and administration of the
16    trust estate  because  the  trustee  invests,  reinvests,  or
17    retains  the  trust  estate  in a mutual fund, so long as the
18    total compensation paid by the trust estate as trustee's fees
19    and mutual fund fees, including any  advisory  or  management
20    fees,  in connection with the investment of a trust estate in
21    a mutual  fund  is  reasonable;  provided,  however,  that  a
22    trustee  may  receive  Rule 12b-1 fees equal to the amount of
23    those fees that would be paid to any other party.
24    (Source: P.A. 90-297, eff. 8-1-97.)

25        Section 15.  (Blank)

26        Section 16.  (Blank)

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