RHODE ISLAND UNIFORM PRUDENT INVESTOR ACT
2019 Rhode Island General Laws
Title 18 – Fiduciaries
Chapter 18-15 Rhode Island Uniform Prudent Investor Act
§ 18-15-1. Prudent investor rule. (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 chapter.
(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.
History of Section. (P.L. 1996, ch. 276, § 1.)
§ 18-15-2. 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 must be evaluated not in isolation but in the context of the trust portfolio as a whole and as 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 any of the following that are relevant to the trust or its beneficiaries:
(1) General economic conditions;
(2) The possible effect of inflation or deflation;
(3) The expected tax consequences of investment decisions or strategies;
(4) 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;
(5) The expected total return from income and the appreciation of capital;
(6) Other resources of the beneficiaries;
(7) Needs for liquidity, regularity of income, and preservation or appreciation of capital; and
(8) An asset’s special relationship or special value, if any, to the purposes of the trust or to one 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 chapter.
(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.
History of Section. (P.L. 1996, ch. 276, § 1.)
§ 18-15-3. 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.
History of Section. (P.L. 1996, ch. 276, § 1.)
§ 18-15-4. 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.
History of Section. (P.L. 1996, ch. 276, § 1.)
§ 18-15-5. Loyalty. A trustee shall invest and manage the trust assets solely in the interest of the beneficiaries.
History of Section. (P.L. 1996, ch. 276, § 1.)
§ 18-15-6. 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.
History of Section. (P.L. 1996, ch. 276, § 1.)
§ 18-15-7. 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.
History of Section. (P.L. 1996, ch. 276, § 1.)
§ 18-15-8. 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.
History of Section. (P.L. 1996, ch. 276, § 1.)
§ 18-15-9. 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:
(1) Selecting an agent;
(2) Establishing the scope and terms of the delegation, consistent with the purposes and terms of the trust; and
(3) 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 this state.
History of Section. (P.L. 1996, ch. 276, § 1.)
§ 18-15-10. Language invoking standard of chapter. The following terms or comparable language in the provisions of a trust, unless otherwise limited or modified, authorize 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.”
History of Section. (P.L. 1996, ch. 276, § 1.)
§ 18-15-11. Application to existing trusts. This chapter applies to trusts existing on and created after August 6, 1996. As applied to trusts existing on its effective date, this chapter governs only decisions or actions occurring after that date.
History of Section. (P.L. 1996, ch. 276, § 1.)
§ 18-15-12. Uniformity of application and construction. This chapter shall be applied and construed to effectuate its general purpose to make the law uniform with respect to the subject of this chapter among the states enacting it.
History of Section. (P.L. 1996, ch. 276, § 1.)
§ 18-15-13. Short title. This chapter may be cited as the “Rhode Island Uniform Prudent Investor Act”.
History of Section. (P.L. 1996, ch. 276, § 1.)