§ 100-c. Common trust funds. 1. For the purpose of investment and
reinvestment of moneys received and held by any trust company as
executor, administrator, guardian, trustee, donee of power during
minority to manage property vested in an infant, custodian under any
Uniform Gifts to Minors Act, any Uniform Transfers to Minors Act or The
New York Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, conservator or committee, such
trust company may establish and maintain common trust funds and short
term investment common trust funds. In any case where the instrument or
the order, decree or judgment under which such moneys are held does not
forbid, such trust company, either alone or in conjunction with one or
more other persons acting with it in any fiduciary capacity, may invest
and reinvest such moneys or any part thereof by adding the same to any
such common trust funds and short term investment common trust funds.
Such trust company shall have the same power to invest common trust
funds in securities of any management type investment company or
investment trust, registered pursuant to the federal investment company
act of nineteen hundred forty, as is set forth in, and subject to the
provisions of, sections 11-2.2 and 11-2.3 of the estates, powers and
trusts law.
2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a trust company may
deposit securities investments of a common trust fund, or arrange for
the deposit of such investments through a subcustodian, (a) with a
clearing corporation pursuant to EPTL 11-1.9, (b) with a federal reserve
bank pursuant to EPTL 11-1.8, or (c) with a securities depository,
clearing agency, or bank, whether or not subject to the laws of a
jurisdiction other than the United States of America, or any state or
subdivision thereof, for the account of the trust company and such
investments shall be deemed for the purposes of this section to be in
the custody of such trust company.
3. A common trust fund shall not be deemed a separate trust fund on
which commissions or other compensation is allowable and no trust
company maintaining such a fund shall make any charge against such fund
for the management thereof. Provided, however, that in those instances
where a trust company invests common trust funds in securities of any
management type investment company or investment trust pursuant to the
provisions of subdivision one of this section, such trust company may
charge the common trust fund for the fees and expenses of such
securities pursuant to and consistent with the provisions of sections
11-2.2 and 11-2.3 of the estates, powers and trusts law.
4. If money of an estate, trust or fund or any part thereof held by a
trust company in conjunction with one or more other persons in any
fiduciary capacity is invested in a common trust fund, the participating
interest therein so acquired shall be withdrawn therefrom upon the
written request of any such other person acting in such fiduciary
capacity with such trust company.
5. If any investment held in a common trust fund shall cease to be
eligible as a new investment of such common trust fund, the trust
company maintaining the common trust fund, prior to any further
additions to or withdrawals from such fund, either shall sell such
investment or shall set the same apart in a liquidating account for the
benefit ratably of each participant then interested in such common trust
fund.
6. At least once every ten years, each trust company maintaining a
common trust fund shall file an account of its proceedings in respect
thereof either in the office of the clerk of the supreme court or in the
office of the surrogate in any county in which such trust company
maintains an office.
Upon the filing of the petition for the settlement of such account,
the court shall assign a time and place for a hearing on the settlement
of such account and order notice thereof by: (a) one publication not
less than twenty days prior to the date of such hearing, of a notice in
a newspaper to be designated by the court, and (b) mailing on or before
the day of publication a copy of the notice to all persons whose names
and addresses appear, at the close of the period accounted for, upon the
records maintained by the trust company pertaining to the common trust
fund as well as to any estate, trust or fund, any part of which shall
have been invested in the common trust fund and who at the close of the
period accounted for were known by such trust company to be or to claim
to be included in any of the following classes of persons: (i) those who
at any time during the period accounted for were entitled to share in
the income of any estate, trust or fund invested in the common trust
fund at any time during the period accounted for; (ii) those who became
entitled to share in the principal of any estate, trust or fund invested
in the common trust fund which became distributable in whole or in part
during the period accounted for; (iii) those who at the close of the
period accounted for would have been entitled to share in the principal
of any estate, trust or fund invested in the common trust fund if the
event upon which such estate, trust or fund would become distributable
in whole or in part had occurred at the close of the period accounted
for, provided, however, that in the case of a trust which at the close
of the period accounted for can be revoked in its entirety in favor of
and by the grantor, donor, trustor or creator, it shall not be necessary
for such trust company to include the names and addresses of any persons
interested in the principal of such trust other than the grantor, donor,
trustor, or creator; (iv) those living at the close of the period
accounted for who had any interest in the income or principal, or both,
of any estate, trust or fund invested in the common trust fund, and who
prior to the close of the period accounted for shall have notified the
trust company in writing to send a copy of the notice or citation of any
proceeding for the settlement of any account or the trustee of such
common trust fund to such person at an address furnished to the trust
company by such person; (v) those who at any time during the period
accounted for were acting with the trust company in a fiduciary capacity
with respect to any such estate, trust or fund; (vi) the guardian of any
infant, the committee of any incompetent and the conservator of any
conservatee included among the persons hereinbefore described; (vii) the
personal representative of any deceased person included among the
persons hereinbefore described in class (i), (ii), (iii), or (v).
Upon the filing of such petition, the court shall appoint a person to
appear as guardian ad litem for each person who has or who may
thereafter have any interest in the income of such common trust fund and
a person to appear as guardian ad litem for each person who has or who
may thereafter have any interest in the principal of such common trust
fund. Each such interested person may appear in such accounting
proceeding and on his failure to appear shall be deemed to be
represented in such proceeding by the person designated respectively as
such guardian ad litem.
Except as otherwise herein provided, such proceeding shall be
conducted in the same manner as any other proceeding for the voluntary
judicial settlement of the account of a testamentary trustee. The decree
in such proceeding shall be thereafter binding and conclusive in respect
of any matter embraced in the account or in such decree upon all persons
having or who may thereafter have any interest in such common trust fund
or in any participating estate, trust or fund.
7. As used in this section, subject to subdivision eight of this
section the term "trust company" shall mean any trust company, any bank
duly authorized to exercise fiduciary powers and any national bank
having a principal, branch or trust office in this state and duly
authorized to exercise fiduciary powers; the term "estate" shall mean
the assets held by an executor or an administrator, with or without the
will annexed, of the goods, chattels and credits of a decedent, but not
a temporary administrator; the term "trust" shall mean the assets of any
trust however created held by the trustee thereof, including, but
without limitation, any assets held by a fiduciary as donee of a power
during minority to manage property vested in an infant; the term "fund"
shall include the assets of an infant held by the guardian thereof, the
assets of an incompetent person held by the committee thereof, and the
assets of a conservatee held by the conservator thereof. The term "donee
of a power during minority to manage property vested in an infant" shall
for the purposes of this section include only a fiduciary who has power
during a period measured by a minority to hold and invest moneys under
the terms of an instrument under which the fiduciary had theretofore
held such moneys as executor or as personal or testamentary trustee.
8. (a) A trust company, at least ninety per centum of the capital
stock of which is directly or indirectly, or through a subsidiary or
subsidiaries, owned, controlled or held with power to vote by a bank
holding company may establish and maintain one or more common trust
funds and short term investment common trust funds, or may utilize one
or more common trust funds and short term investment common trust funds
previously established by it, for funds held in any of the fiduciary
capacities mentioned in subdivision one of this section, by itself and
by other trust companies at least ninety per centum of the capital stock
of each of which is directly or indirectly, or through a subsidiary or
subsidiaries, owned, controlled or held with power to vote by such bank
holding company. Each trust company, the capital stock of which is so
owned, controlled or held, may invest and reinvest in one or more of
such common trust funds and short term investment common trust funds
moneys held in any of the fiduciary capacities mentioned in subdivision
one of this section. The trust company establishing, maintaining, or so
utilizing any such common trust funds and short term investment common
trust funds shall comply with, and be subject to, all of the provisions
of this section as though such trust company and the other trust
companies participating in such fund were one and the same corporate
entity.
(b) For the purpose of this subdivision, (i) the term "bank holding
company" shall be given the same meaning as is contained in the
definition of such term in section one hundred forty-one of this
chapter, and (ii) the term "trust company" shall be given the same
meaning as is contained in the definition of such term in subdivision
seven of this section, except that such term shall be deemed to include,
in addition to the entities listed in such subdivision, any banking,
trust or financial company, corporation or association, organized under
the laws of the United States, whether or not having its principal
office outside this state, or of any state of the United States, which
is duly authorized to exercise fiduciary powers.
9. (a) As used in this subdivision, unless the context otherwise
required:
(i) "Short term investment common trust fund" means a common trust
fund maintained and administered by a trust company exclusively for the
collective investment and reinvestment of moneys contributed thereto
which are invested and reinvested in any short term investment by a
trust company, in its capacity as a fiduciary or co-fiduciary.
(ii) "Short term investment" means bonds, notes or other evidences of
indebtedness which are payable upon demand (including variable amount
notes) or which have a maturity date of one year or less from the date
of purchase, or which may be prescribed, from time to time, by rules or
regulations promulgated by the superintendent of financial services, and
which are acquired or held by a trust company in a short term investment
common trust fund.
(iii) "Participant" means any estate, trust, donee of a power during
minority, guardianship, committeeship, conservatorship, or custodian
under any Uniform Transfers to Minors Act administered by a trust
company, as fiduciary or co-fiduciary, having a participation.
(iv) "Participation" means the interest of a participant in a short
term investment common trust fund.
(b) Any trust company may administer one or more short term investment
common trust funds.
(c) Any trust company shall, at least once each year, cause an audit
of each short term investment common trust fund administered by the
trust company to be made by auditors who are independent certified
public accountants. A copy of such audit shall be available at the
office of the trust company maintained for the transaction of trust
business, during all regular business hours, for inspection by any
person having an interest in any participant, and upon request a copy of
any such audit shall be furnished without any cost to such person. The
reasonable expenses of any such audit made by independent certified
public accounts or of any examination by the superintendent may be
charged to the income of the short term investment common trust fund.
(d) A trust company administering a short term investment common trust
fund shall not be required to render a court accounting with regard to
such fund.
10. The superintendent of financial services shall promulgate such
regulations and rules as he or she considers appropriate to govern the
administration of common trust funds and short term investment common
trust funds.