Bank of New Zealand - BNZ Partners Growth Programme

Learning to be an effective trustee

These workshops have been developed to help trustees who are part of a board, as well as people who sit on trust committees.

As you might already know, trustees can’t fully pass their responsibilities over to another trustee or external party, which means that every trustee needs to fully understand the obligations of the role. This is especially important if your trustee position involves managing funds and investments on behalf of the trust.

After attending these workshops, you’ll come away with:

• an understanding of your role, responsibilities and obligations as a trustee to ensure you meet your fiduciary responsibilities;
• the ability to develop a framework in which investment decisions are made to ensure your responsibilities as a trustee are met;
• skills to develop an investment policy statement for your trust;
• connections to future help for ongoing governance and monitoring requirements;
• an understanding of how to monitor your trust’s performance.

More important than ever

The regulations related to trusts are constantly evolving and trustees’ responsibilities are likely to increase. Attending these workshops will provide trustees with the tools to ask the right questions of their advisors. It is particularly relevant for boards that do not have an existing investment policy in place and trusts with limited investment management experience within their board. The three 90-minute workshops will be facilitated by experienced, trained BNZ staff, using a programme developed by Fi360, a leading provider in fiduciary learning, advice and standards.

Topics covered

Workshop one - Trustee Responsibility

• What a trustee needs to know about the management of trust assets - a legal perspective
• Definitions of those who have fiduciary responsibilities, including trustees and providers
• Responsibility vs. liability – what can be delegated
• The concept of fiduciary excellence and the ‘Prudent Practices Handbook’
• The benefits of working to a clear checklist of actionable items
• The characteristics of successful investment trustees

Workshop two - Essentials of Portfolio Investment

• The need for an Investment Policy
• Statement (i.e. a Plan; SIPO etc) and the benefits
• How a ‘hierarchy of decisions’ ensures the most important tasks are prioritised
• What is involved in designing an effective investment portfolio
• Preparation and content outline
• Periodic reviews and alignment with providers

Workshop three - Ongoing Monitoring

• The fiduciary obligation to monitor
• The frequency and steps in reviewing a monitoring report
• The practical aspects of performance measurement
• Unbundling relationships and costs
• Ensuring internal procedures get a periodic health check

These workshops are 90mins each and can be run end to end if required.