Investment Trusts secure wealth



As time goes by, the world is getting smaller and life is getting more complicated. We are all interested in investing, making our money work as hard as we do and also expect it to grow. With a wide range of investment options available, our focus has always been to choose the right investment, be it conservative debt or a more aggressive investment like equity.

While choosing the right investment options is important, it is equally important to identify in whose names these investments should be.

Also important is to identify the vehicle for such investments: In the name of individuals, investment companies, investment trusts, etc.

The main reason behind investing in multiple names could at times be tax issues, but that again may turn out to be a short-lived one. By planning short-term tax benefits today, you may take certain decisions that can have much bigger implications for you and your family in the long run. Some people even prefer to set up companies purely for investment purposes.

You may have also invested in your children's names to keep part of your assets exclusive ly for their benefit. Although your intentions are noble and right, this, however, may not be the best way because the returns from these investments may not be directly under your control and may differ.

The changing lifestyle in India with different options -a family having one or more members as NRIs, growing uncertainties relating to marriage, the possibility of children acquiring an NRI status in future, etc -has brought forth a big question in the realm of succession planning: In whose name should you invest?

Investing in your name, investing in your wife's name, in the name of the children, etc. In case of children, if they choose to settle abroad and become NRIs, that may restrict you from making certain profitable investments directly in their name. Another important question also pops up: Whether you are ready to share full or part of your wealth with your children by investing directly in their name or should you bequeath it after the demise of your spouse and yourself ?

All these complicated questions arising out of various situations could be ad dressed if you put in place the right vehicle for your investments. And the most appropriate solution would be setting up an investment trust.

An investment trust is a very useful and flexible device that can be used creatively for an individual's investments.

The essential elements of a trust always remain the same. Here, the `Settlor' passes legal title of his/her assets to a Trustee but the beneficiaries of the trust have the beneficial entitlement. Here, an Investment Advisory Board or expert fund managers are brought on board to manage the investments.

A trust formed with investing as the main objective has many advantages. These include asset protection, demarcation of personal and business income, consolidation of investments, safeguarding interests of the dependents, efficient and uninterrupted management, confidentiality, professional fund management, and better money management for retirement. In addition to these advantages, such trusts also do not restrict you from investing in any investment instrument that you would have chosen to invest in your personal capacity. Such permissible investments could be in real estate, equity, bonds, other debt instruments, etc.

Creating a trust for investment also means having the leeway to review your investments through a consolidated view, and to also derive quality and provide stability for your portfolio. Through such a structure, you can also put in place a strategy with a permanent and long term view which could benefit even generations that would follow you and can also keep the family's wealth secured and protected.