Ohio Code 5809.02 – 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 requirement, the trustee shall exercise reasonable care, skill, and caution.
Terms Used In Ohio Code 5809.02
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Personal property: All property that is not real property.
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
(B) A trustee shall make a reasonable effort to verify facts relevant to the investment and management of trust assets.
(C) A trustee’s investment and management decisions respecting individual trust assets shall not be evaluated 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.
(D) Among circumstances that a trustee shall consider in investing and managing trust assets are the following as are relevant to the trust or its beneficiaries:
(1) The 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 appreciation of capital;
(6) Other resources of the beneficiaries;
(7) Needs for liquidity, regularity of income, and preservation or appreciation of capital;
(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.