Gregson v HAE Trustees Ltd - another aspect
30th May 2008
Now that I have seen the full transcript of this case, I see that another important issue was argued. This is the application of section 4 of the Trustee Act 2000.
The particular point argued was whether shares in a company, which were part of the original trust fund, were investments within the Trustee Act. The argument was that, because the trustees had not themselves invested the trust fund by buying the shareholding, the shares were not investments. The judge, Robert Miles QC, said (para [81]):
It seems to me that on its natural reading “the investments of the trust” comprise any asset of the trust which happens to be invested, whether it was in that state when originally settled or it came into that state of investment later. It is an “investment”, and since it is owned by the trust it is an “investment of the trust”.
