NORTH DAKOTA PRUDENT INVESTOR RULE
2019 North Dakota Century Code
Title 59 Trusts
Chapter 59-17 Prudent Investor Standards
59-17-01. Prudent investor rule.
1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, 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 sections 59-16-02, 59-16-03, 59-16-05, 59-16-06, and 59-16-07 and in this chapter.
59-17-02. Standard of care – Portfolio strategy – Risk and return objectives.
1. 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.
2. A trustee’s investment and management decisions respecting individual assets must 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.
3. Among circumstances a trustee shall consider in investing and managing trust assets are any of the following that are relevant to the trust or its beneficiaries:
a. General economic conditions;
b. The possible effect of inflation or deflation;
c. The expected tax consequences of investment decisions or strategies;
d. 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;
e. The expected total return from income and the appreciation of capital;
f. Other resources of the beneficiaries;
g. Needs for liquidity, regularity of income, and preservation or appreciation of capital; and
h. An asset’s special relationship or special value, if any, to the purposes of the trust or to one or more of the beneficiaries.
4. A trustee shall make a reasonable effort to verify facts relevant to the investment and management of trust assets.
5. A trustee may invest in any kind of property or type of investment consistent with the standards of this title.
59-17-03. 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.
59-17-04. 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 chapter.
59-17-05. Reviewing compliance.
Compliance with the prudent investor rule is determined in light of the facts and circumstances existing at the time of a trustee’s decision or action and not by hindsight.
59-17-06. Language invoking standard.
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 chapter: investments permissible by law for investment of trust funds, legal investments, authorized investments, 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, prudent man rule, prudent trustee rule, prudent person rule, and prudent investor rule.
2019 North Dakota Century Code Title 59 Trusts Chapter 59-16 Duties and Powers of Trustee
59-16-02. (802) Duty of loyalty. 1. A trustee shall administer the trust solely in the interests of the beneficiaries. 2. Subject to the rights of persons dealing with or assisting the trustee as provided in section 59-18-12, a sale, encumbrance, or other transaction involving the investment or management of trust property entered into by the trustee for the trustee’s own personal account or which is otherwise affected by a conflict between the trustee’s fiduciary and personal interests is voidable by a beneficiary affected by the transaction unless the transaction was authorized by the terms of the trust; the transaction was approved by the court; the beneficiary did not commence a judicial proceeding within the time allowed by section 59-18-05; the beneficiary consented to the trustee’s conduct, ratified the transaction, or released the trustee in compliance with section 59-18-09; or the transaction involves a contract entered into or claim acquired by the trustee before the person became or contemplated becoming trustee. 3. A sale, encumbrance, or other transaction involving the investment or management of trust property is presumed to be affected by a conflict between personal and fiduciary interests if it is entered into by the trustee with the trustee’s spouse; the trustee’s descendants, siblings, parents, or their spouses; an agent or attorney of the trustee; or a corporation or other person or enterprise in which the trustee, or a person that owns a significant interest in the trustee, has an interest that might affect the trustee’s best judgment. 4. A transaction between a trustee and a beneficiary that does not concern trust property but that occurs during the existence of the trust or while the trustee retains significant influence over the beneficiary and from which the trustee obtains an advantage is voidable by the beneficiary unless the trustee establishes that the transaction was fair to the beneficiary. 5. A transaction not concerning trust property in which the trustee engages in the trustee’s individual capacity involves a conflict between personal and fiduciary interests if the transaction concerns an opportunity properly belonging to the trust. 6. An investment by a trustee in securities of an investment company or investment trust to which the trustee, or its affiliate, provides services in a capacity other than as trustee is not presumed to be affected by a conflict between personal and fiduciary interests if the investment complies with the prudent investor rule of chapter 59-17. In addition to its compensation for acting as trustee, the trustee may be compensated by the investment company or investment trust for providing those services out of fees charged to the trust. If the trustee receives compensation from the investment company or investment trust for providing investment advisory or investment management services, the trustee at least annually shall notify the persons entitled under section 59-16-13 to receive a copy of the trustee’s annual report of the rate and method by which that compensation was determined. 7. In voting shares of stock or in exercising powers of control over similar interests in other forms of enterprise, the trustee shall act in the best interests of the beneficiaries. If the trust is the sole owner of a corporation or other form of enterprise, the trustee shall elect or appoint directors or other managers who will manage the corporation or enterprise in the best interests of the beneficiaries. 8. If fair to the beneficiaries, an agreement between a trustee and a beneficiary relating to the appointment or compensation of the trustee; payment of reasonable compensation to the trustee; a transaction between a trust and another trust, decedent’s estate, or conservatorship of which the trustee is a fiduciary or in which a beneficiary has an interest; a deposit of trust money in a regulated financial service institution operated by the trustee; or an advance by the trustee of money for the protection of the trust is not precluded by this section. 9. The court may appoint a special fiduciary to make a decision with respect to any proposed transaction that might violate this section if entered into by the trustee.
59-16-03. (803) Impartiality.
If a trust has two or more beneficiaries, the trustee shall act impartially in investing, managing, and distributing the trust property, giving due regard to the beneficiaries’ respective interests.
59-16-04 – (804) Prudent administration
A trustee shall administer the trust as a prudent person would by considering the purposes, terms, distributional requirements, and other circumstances of the trust. In satisfying this standard, the trustee shall exercise reasonable care, skill, and caution.
59-16-05. (805) Costs of administration.
In administering a trust, the trustee may incur only costs that are reasonable in relation to the trust property, the purposes of the trust, and the skills of the trustee.
59-16-06. (806) Trustee’s skills.
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, shall use those special skills or expertise.
59-16-07. (807) Delegation by trustee.
1. A trustee may delegate duties and powers that a prudent trustee of comparable skills could properly delegate under the circumstances. The trustee shall exercise reasonable care, skill, and caution in selecting an agent; establishing the scope and terms of the delegation, consistent with the purposes and terms of the trust; and periodically reviewing the agent’s actions in order to monitor the agent’s performance and compliance with the terms of the delegation. 2. 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. 3. A trustee who complies with subsection 1 is not liable to the beneficiaries or to the trust for an action of the agent to whom the function was delegated. 4. By accepting a delegation of powers or duties 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 this state.]
2. 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.