GreenFunds Education, not financial advice India
How a fund is built ยท 6 min ยท one of the trickiest

The trustees

The guardians who hold it for you

Students mix up trustees and the AMC constantly, and the exam knows it. One line fixes it: trustees are the referee, the AMC is the player.

Requirements such as the minimum number of trustees and the independence ratio are set by SEBI and can be revised. Education for the NISM Series V-A exam, not financial advice.

  1. 1

    The trustees hold the fund's property in trust for you. They watch over it, they do not manage the money.

  2. 2

    The sponsor appoints the trustees, but only with prior approval from SEBI.

  3. 3

    There must be at least 4 trustees, and at least two-thirds of them must be independent.

  4. 4

    Trustees can be a board of individual trustees or a trustee company.

  5. 5

    Their core duty is to ensure the AMC follows the rules and to protect unit holders' interest.

Rupee example

If the AMC wants to launch a scheme or change a fee, the trustees check it serves investors first. They are the referee, not a player.

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Practice

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Real exam format. Answer by voice, tap, or press 1 to 4. No negative marking, so always attempt.

Answer by voice
Tap the mic and say A, B, C or D. Typing is optional.

Who appoints the trustees, and with whose approval?

The sponsor appoints them, but SEBI must approve first.
The AMC does not appoint its own overseer, and investors do not vote them in.

A mutual fund must have at least how many trustees?

At least 4 trustees.
Two and three are common distractors.

What share of the trustees must be independent?

At least two-thirds independent, to keep oversight at arm's length from the sponsor.
One-half is the AMC board rule, not the trustee rule.

The trustees' main job is to:

Oversight and investor protection. Stock picking and NAV are the AMC's side.
Selling is the distributor's role.

Trustees can be structured as:

Either a board of individual trustees or a trustee company.
They are independent of SEBI and of the investor base.

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