UNIT TRUST DEVELOPMENTS
Regrettable as it undoubtedly is that the financial position of the British General Fixed Trust has become impaired, there is no cause here for any worrying on the part of unit investors. nvestors. British General Fixed Trust is the manage- ment company responsible for four unit trust series, British General " A," " B," and " C," and First Recovery. For the first three the trustees are the General Accident Fire and Life Assurance Corporation and Martin's Bank are trustees for the fourth. Both trustees have already an-
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FINANCE AND INVESTMENT
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flounced that the underlying securities, which are the main interest of the certificate holders, are intact. Thus, in spite of the troubles of the management company, the functioning of a trustee of solid worth and integrity, which has been one of the integral features of the unit trust movement, has saved the investor from any loss. Arrangements for the transfer of the management of the trusts operated by. British General Fixed Trust will now make reassurance doubly sure.
What is the moral of this development? Obviously, it emphasises the desirability of unit trust management being in strong hands. Recent transfers of management have fortunately gone some way towards eliminating weakness on the management side, but it is probable that the amalga- mation movement has not yet run its course. Meantime, the unit trust sub-unit holder can rest content that whatever changes may take place on the management side, the existence of a trustee who is either a bank or an insurance company is an effective safeguard for the underlying securities. These are subject, of course, to fluctuating values on the Stock Exchange which affect the prices of the sub-units, but to judge from the small volume of business which has taken place in recent weeks, the unit trust investor has continued in his policy of seeing things through.
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