WYOMING UNIFORM PRUDENT INVESTOR ACT
2019 Wyoming Statutes
Title 4 – Trusts
Chapter 10 – Uniform Trust Code
Article 9 – Uniform Prudent Investor Act
4-10-901. Prudent investor rule; definitions.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section, a trustee who invests and manages trust assets owes a duty to the beneficiaries of the trust to comply with the prudent investor rule set forth in this article.
(b) The prudent investor rule, a default rule, may be expanded, restricted, eliminated or otherwise altered by the provisions of a trust. A trustee is not liable to a beneficiary to the extent that the trustee acted in reasonable reliance on the provisions of the trust.
4-10-902. Standard of care; portfolio strategy; risk and return objectives.
(a) A trustee shall invest and manage trust assets as a prudent investor would, by considering the purposes, terms, distribution requirements and other circumstances of the trust. In satisfying this standard, the trustee shall exercise reasonable care, skill and caution.
(b) A trustee’s investment and management decisions respecting individual assets shall be evaluated not in isolation but in the context of the trust portfolio as a whole and as a part of an overall investment strategy having risk and return objectives reasonably suited to the trust.
(c) Among circumstances that a trustee shall consider in investing and managing trust assets are such of the following as are relevant to the trust or its beneficiaries:
(i) General economic conditions;
(ii) The possible effect of inflation or deflation;
(iii) The expected tax consequences of investment decisions or strategies;
(iv) The role that each investment or course of action plays within the overall trust portfolio, which may include financial assets, interests in closely held enterprises, tangible and intangible personal property and real property;
(v) The expected total return from income and the appreciation of capital;
(vi) Other resources of the beneficiaries;
(vii) Needs for liquidity, regularity of income and preservation or appreciation of capital; and
(viii) An asset’s special relationship or special value, if any, to the purposes of the trust or to one (1) or more of the beneficiaries.
(d) A trustee shall make a reasonable effort to verify facts relevant to the investment and management of trust assets.
(e) A trustee may invest in any kind of property or type of investment consistent with the standards of this article.
(f) A trustee who has special skills or expertise, or is named trustee in reliance upon the trustee’s representation that the trustee has special skills or expertise, has a duty to use those special skills or expertise.
(g) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, a trustee who discloses the application of this subsection and the limitation of the trustee’s duties it provides either in the trust instrument or in a separate writing delivered to each insured at the inception of a life insurance contract or thereafter, if the disclosure is prior to an event giving rise to a claim thereunder, may acquire or retain a life insurance contract upon the life of the settlor or the settlor’s spouse, or both, without liability for a loss arising from the trustee’s failure to perform any of the following duties, unless the trust instrument states or limits otherwise:
(i) Determine whether the contract is or remains a proper investment;
(ii) Investigate the financial strength or changes in the financial strength of the life insurance company;
(iii) Make a determination of whether to exercise any policy option available under the contract;
(iv) Make a determination of whether to diversify the contracts relative to one another or to other assets, if any, administered by the trustee; or
(v) Inquire about changes in the health or financial condition of the insured or insureds relative to a contract.
4-10-903. Diversification.
A trustee shall diversify the investments of the trust unless the trustee reasonably determines that, because of special circumstances, the purposes of the trust are better served without diversifying.
4-10-904. Duties at inception of trusteeship.
Within a reasonable time after accepting a trusteeship or receiving trust assets, a trustee shall review the trust assets and make and implement decisions concerning the retention and disposition of assets, in order to bring the trust portfolio into compliance with the purposes, terms, distribution requirements and other circumstances of the trust, and with the requirements of this article.
4-10-905. Loyalty.
A trustee shall invest and manage the trust assets solely in the interest of the beneficiaries.
4-10-906. Impartiality.
If a trust has two (2) or more beneficiaries, the trustee shall act impartially in investing and managing the trust assets, taking into account any differing interests of the beneficiaries.
4-10-907. Investment costs.
In investing and managing trust assets, a trustee may only incur costs that are appropriate and reasonable in relation to the assets, the purposes of the trust, and the skills of the trustee.
4-10-908. Reviewing compliance.
Compliance with the prudent investor rule under this article is determined in light of the facts and circumstances existing at the time of a trustee’s decision or action and not by hindsight.
4-10-909. Delegation of investment and management functions.
(a) A trustee may delegate investment and management functions that a prudent trustee of comparable skills could properly delegate under the circumstances. The trustee shall exercise reasonable care, skill and caution in:
(i) Selecting an agent;
(ii) Establishing the scope and terms of the delegation, consistent with the purposes and terms of the trust; and
(iii) Periodically reviewing the agent’s actions in order to monitor the agent’s performance and compliance with the terms of the delegation.
(b) In performing a delegated function, an agent owes a duty to the trust to exercise reasonable care to comply with the terms of the delegation.
(c) A trustee who complies with the requirements of subsection (a) of this section is not liable to the beneficiaries or to the trust for the decisions or actions of the agent to whom the function was delegated.
(d) By accepting the delegation of a trust function from the trustee of a trust that is subject to the law of this state, an agent submits to the jurisdiction of the courts of the state of Wyoming even if investment advisory agreements or other related agreements provide otherwise, and the agent may be made a party to any action or proceeding if issues relate to a decision, action or inaction of the agent.
4-10-910. Language invoking standard of this article.
(a) The following terms or comparable language in the provisions of a trust, unless otherwise limited or modified, authorizes any investment or strategy permitted under this article:
(i) “Investments permissible by law for investment of trust funds”;
(ii) “Legal investments”;
(iii) “Authorized investments”;
(iv) “Using the judgment and care under the circumstances then prevailing that persons of prudence, discretion and intelligence exercise in the management of their own affairs, not in regard to speculation but in regard to the permanent disposition of their funds, considering the probable income as well as the probable safety of their capital”;
(v) “Prudent man rule,” “prudent trustee rule,” “prudent person rule” or “prudent investor rule.”
4-10-911. Application to public funds of the state of Wyoming.
This article applies to public funds of the state of Wyoming unless a different investment standard is specifically provided for the investment of specified public funds.
4-10-912 – Repealed
Repealed by Laws 2019, ch. 135, § 1.
4-10-913. Short title.
This article may be cited as the “Wyoming Uniform Prudent Investor Act.”