§ 64.2-781 Prudent investor rule
A. Except as otherwise provided in subsection B or § 2.2-4519 or 64.2-1502, a trustee who invests and manages trust assets owes a duty to the beneficiaries of the trust to comply with the prudent investor rule set forth in this article.
B. The prudent investor rule, a default rule, may be expanded, restricted, eliminated, or otherwise altered by the provisions of a trust. A general authorization in a controlling document authorizing a trustee to invest in such assets as the trustee, in his sole discretion, may deem best, or other language purporting to expand the trustee’s investment powers, shall not be construed to waive the rule of subsection A unless the controlling document expressly manifests an intention that it be waived (i) by reference to the “prudent man” or “prudent investor” rule, (ii) by reference to power of the trustee to make “speculative” investments, (iii) by an express authorization to acquire or retain a specific asset or type of asset such as a closely held business, or (iv) by other language synonymous with clause (i), (ii) or (iii). A trustee shall not be liable to a beneficiary for the trustee’s good faith reliance on a waiver of the rule of subsection A.
History
This law was first created in 1999. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 772 of that year’s edition of “Acts of Assembly,” the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. It has been modified 1 time. Those modifications are cataloged by “The Acts of Assembly,” a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly’s website will be linked accordingly. That modification is as follows: in 2012, chapter 614.
1999, c. 772, § 26-45.3; 2012, c. 614.