A
unit trust is an investment in which the funds are pooled and
then invested. The fund is "unitised" and the investor,
who is one party to the unit trust, is a unit holder, holding
a certain number of units. A second party, the manager, is responsible
for the day-to-day running of the trust and for investing the
funds. The trustee, who is governed by the Trust Companies Act
1967, is the third party, and their role is to monitor the manager's
performance against the trust's deed. The deed outlines the objectives
of, and vital information about, the trust. The assets of the
trust are held in the name of the trustee; they are held "in
trust" for the unit holders.
A group investment fund (Gif) is the same
as a unit trust, except that the trustee and manager are the same
Trustee Company. For the purposes of the information on this site,
all other information about unit trusts applies equally to Gifs.
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