§ 91-9-617. Delegation of investment and management

MS Code § 91-9-617 (2019) (N/A)
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(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) The investment agent shall comply with the scope and terms of the delegation and shall exercise the delegated function with reasonable care, skill and caution and shall be liable to the trust for failure to do so. An investment agent who represents that he has special investment skills shall exercise those skills.

(c) A trustee who complies with the requirements of subsection (a) 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.

(e) A cofiduciary may delegate investment and management functions to another cofiduciary if the delegating cofiduciary reasonably believes that the other cofiduciary has greater investment skills than the delegating cofiduciary with respect to those functions. The delegating cofiduciary shall not be responsible for the investment decisions or actions of the other cofiduciary to which the investment functions are delegated if the delegating cofiduciary exercises reasonable care, skill and caution in establishing the scope and specific terms of the delegation and in reviewing periodically the other cofiduciary’s actions in order to monitor the cofiduciary’s performance and compliance with the scope and specific terms of the delegation.

(f) Investment in a mutual fund is not a delegation of investment function, and neither the mutual fund nor its advisor is an investment agent.