We have been administering a NRB discretionary trust for a decade. The settlor’s wife died two years ago and the trustees decided to wind up the trust. The portfolio had substantial gains so trustees appropriated the various investments to three beneficiaries and claimed holdover relief. One of the beneficiaries doesn’t have an account with the investment management firm and isn’t taking any action to either open an account or transfer the holdings to an account with another firm.
The trustees want to wind up the trust but won’t be able to do so until the portfolio account is closed. Can anyone suggest options for the trustees? The investment managers said they wouldn’t be able to issue certificates for the various holdings.
I am puzzled as to why the investments need to be transferred into another managed account for the beneficiary. It isn’t down to the investment managers as to whether certificates are issued for the investments - this is something that the individual company registrars deal with. When it comes to unit trusts, many are non-certificated anyway and no certificate is issued - the ownership is merely evidenced by the records with the unit trust managers.
I would suggest that you ask the investment managers to arrange the transfer of the relevant holdings into the personal name of the beneficiary. They should do this in conjunction with the company registrars and unit trust managers and in due course you should get certificates and/or letters confirming the ownership that you can pass on to the beneficiary. It is then up to him how he manages the investments going forward.