This week we look back at the February 1974 issue of Money Management, with a feature about the role of trustees as the cover story. The cover price of the issue was just 50p.
The cover story describes trustees as “the hand that governs”. The Prevention of Fraud Act in 1939 made it mandatory for a unit trust to have a trustee in order to be authorised by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Investors at the time may have thought that the trustee’s role was simple – it has to keep the register of unit holders and hold the assets of a unit trust in its one name. However, the feature attests that the role is often more complicated, and that the interpretation of the role could vary from trustee to trustee.
At the time, the largest trustee in terms of total value of trusts was Barclays Bank Trust Co with £375m worth of trusts. Midland Bank Trust Co had the largest number of trusts at 88, followed by Royal Bank of Scotland with 55.
Investment trusts were the topic of the review section, saying “Some would argue that investment trust shares have never been cheaper in recent years than they were at the beginning of 1974, with the shares of many leading investment trusts standing at discounts of 25 to 30 per cent.” The reporter goes on to argue that this is not merely a reflection of high interest rates (12.5 per cent at the time) and market uncertainty, but also a poor reflection on the trust movement as a whole.
In other news…
Then UK prime minister Edward Heath called for a snap election in the midst of a protracted miners strike.
The election that followed resulted in a hung parliament, with a minority Labour government led by Harold Wilson eventually taking shape. This is the second most recent hung parliament – the most recent was in May 2010.
The number one single on the music charts was “Tiger Feet” by Mud, and the top film in cinemas was Blazing Saddles directed by Mel Brooks.
More Back in the day…
February 1985
May 1990
April 1986
