STEP Advanced Certificate in Trustees' Duties: Investment and Management of the Trust Fund

The course is designed for practitioners involved in international trust administration and management to develop your understanding of a trustee’s duties when investing and managing the trust fund. It covers in depth insight into the capital markets, money markets, sophisticated investment funds, private equity, structured products and derivatives to enable you to implement investment advice, analyse and monitor trust investments, and report to the beneficiaries.

You will be able to:

• Understand the standard of care expected of a trustee when investing and managing the trust fund and be able to comply with it
• Appreciate why it is necessary and how to monitor investment performance
• Identify sources of investment risk and be able to measure and balance risk with anticipated return
• Understand the components of and be able to establish a suitable and appropriate asset allocation for a trustee
• Comply with a trustee’s need for adequate liquidity by investing in cash and on the money markets
• Appreciate the broad investment characteristics of different types of bonds, factors affecting price movements, calculate bond yields and evaluate credit ratings
• Identify the broad investment characteristics of different types of stocks, factors affecting stock prices and how to invest for the maximum return with minimum risk by implementing MPT and CAPM
• Appreciate the broad investment characteristics of collective investment funds, including sophisticated-investor hedge funds and private equity funds
• Identify the broad investment characteristics of structured products and understand how they can be used by a trustee in substitution for a tailor-made portfolio of securities
• Use hedging techniques to reduce risk by acquiring options and derivatives
• Manage real estate and high-value moveable chattels held in trust

The course is designed for all professionals moving into or working in financial services (specifically trusts and corporate services), who wish to develop their understanding and knowledge of this area.

Students of this course typically include:

• Trust Assistants/Officers/Administrators
• Trust Managers (Senior)
• Trustees/Fiduciaries
• Corporate Administrators
• Lawyers/Solicitors/Attorneys
• Wealth Managers
• Accountants
• Tax AdvisorsCompliance Officers/Managers
• Private Bankers
• Secretarial/Administration
• Client Relations/Marketing/Sales
• Financial/Estate Planners

• Ideal for practitioners looking for professional accreditation.
• A recognised ‘gold-standard’ professional qualification for those working in the industry, globally recognised by employers, regulators, clients and professionals.
• This course is also subject to the rigorous quality assurance procedures of Alliance Manchester Business School (Alliance MBS), a school of the University of Manchester.
• Can be taken as a standalone qualification or as part of the STEP Diploma in International Trust Management.
• Blended delivery, written and taught by practitioners, focusing on everyday matters encountered when investing and managing a variety of asset classes.
• Provides students with the ability to grow their own professional network, interact with students online from a range of professions, build relationships and share study tips/support as a cohort.
• Provides 30 Diploma-Level credits towards STEP membership.
• The course is subject to the rigorous quality assurance procedures of Manchester Business School, a Faculty of the University of Manchester

Please note all courses are delivered fully online. 

This Advanced Certificate forms part of the STEP Diploma in International Trust Management, combined with three additional STEP Advanced Certificates.

• Advanced Certificate in Trusts: Law and Practice
• Advanced Certificate in Company Law and Practice
• Advanced Certificate in Trustees’ Duties: Investment and Management of the Trust Fund
• Advanced Certificate in Principles of International Tax, AML and Compliance

Each of these Advanced Certificates can be taken as a standalone qualification or as part of the Diploma programme.

This course is available for study all year round, with intakes at different points throughout the year. The core programme is delivered through a blend of distance-learning and four virtual workshops as part of a revision-week series delivered by experts in the field who possess vast amounts of professional experience and practical knowledge.
We recommend that you spend four to six hours per week on private study for a minimum of four months prior to the examination.

Enrolment onto this course will provide access to an online learning platform that contains:

• bespoke soft copy course manual
• supplementary resources
• self-assessment material
• distance learning support
• four days of online tuition
• examination fees

Thanks to our online classroom, students can take this course from anywhere. 
The regions listed are indicative of the locally focused content of the workshops. Where possible, we encourage students to pick the region nearest to where they are studying from, as they reflect the time zones of the teaching.

• UK & Crown Dependencies
• Europe
• Asia
• Caribbean & The Americas

The course is assessed by way of a five-hour open-book written examination which comprises 25 compulsory multiple-choice questions (each worth 1 mark), followed by three 25-mark essay/problem style questions chosen from a selection of five questions. The questions will be drawn from across the syllabus and candidates must achieve 50% to pass the Advanced Certificate.

Additional charges will apply for re-sit attempts and deferrals.

Once you have successfully completed this course, you will gain 30 Diploma-Level credits towards STEP membership and be awarded the STEP Advanced Certificate in Trustees’ Duties: Investment and Management of the Trust Fund.

Course Timetable - 2022

Course Timetable - 2023

Please note that all regions are indicative of time zone only. Applications from students globally are accepted onto all courses, subject to satisfying the entry criteria. 

Please note all courses are delivered fully online. 

Thank you for your interest in CLTI or STEP products. Due to government regulations, we are unable to accept online payments from, or, on behalf of students from certain countries and territories without prior agreement. Please contact us for further details on cltinternational@centlaw.com, +44 (0) 121 362 7733.

Singapore Funding:

Eligible Singapore-based students can now receive funding of 50% of the course fees. Visit Funding and Support for further details.

If you are based in Hong Kong or Singapore, please choose either Hong Kong Based or Singapore Based Course start date. All other students should select from the 2022 Course start date.

Please be aware that workshops have a limited capacity to guarantee optimum teaching conditions. Therefore, where several dates are listed per workshop, we are unable to guarantee your selection of dates will be allocated to you.

Please check your final booking confirmation for your final workshop dates. If you have any queries, please email cltinternational@centlaw.com