Independant Trustees
Independent Trustees add important knowledge and expertise to Trustee bodies. This should help to run the scheme more effectively and ensure that all the necessary duties are carried out on time.
It may seem that by appointing an Independent Trustee you are solving a number of problems - this could well be true if you have appointed an appropiate individual or organization. However, in our experience, not all Independent Trustees are equal. Just like any group of Trustees, each have their particular areas of strength and also areas where there knowledge is not so strong. On top of this it is important that their character fits in with the the other Trustees.
For this reason it is vital that when looking to appoint an Independent Trustee that you have a clear picture of the skills that they will need to bring to the table. This will greatly improve the chances of making the right appointment. In order to to this you should have considered your Trustee Board Composition.
As with any appointment, you should not just leave it to run from there. It is important that you monitor and review their performance. We have found a number of occasions where an inappropriate individual has been appointed and it has been difficult make the necessary changes. You should always put in place a clear set of criteria against which to monitor and review to avoid any future difficulties.
My View
The role of Investment consultants can broadly be split into to areas - investment strategy and manager selection. In general manager selection naturally follows on from the strategy that is set by the trustees.
With detailed analysis of recommendations and subsequent monitoring of the strategy Trustees will a better chance of being sold unnecessarily complex and expensive investment solutions.