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Investments in Unit Trust:
Sole Account or Joint Account - Does It Matter?

(Source: Public Mutual Berhad)

As an investor, you may be already aware of the benefits of investing in unit trusts (UT), but may not pay particular attention to the setting up of your investment account. Questions such as, "Should I add a joint holder to my account as part of estate planning purpose?","Is it possible to maintain sole authority to operate a joint holder account?" or "How important is it that I remain as a first holder in a joint holder account?" deserve some consideration.

In this article, we will explore on the aspect of the treatment and operation of the UT investment account should something were to happen to you as the first holder. It is important for you to know what the arrangements are and if your loved ones can gain access to or control of your UT investments.

UNIT TRUST ACCOUNT WITHOUT A JOINT HOLDER OR WITH A MINOR* AS JOINT HOLDER

UNIT TRUST ACCOUNT JOINT HOLDER

You may have the perception that once a joint holder is named, you may lose your absolute rights over your investment account. In fact, this need not be the case. You can opt to confine the authority to operate the account to yourself as the first holder.

The advantage of naming a joint holder is that if anything happens to the first holder, the surviving joint holder (who must not be a minor) can have immediate access to the unit trust investment account.

In light of the above, naming a joint holder (age 18 and above) for selected unit trust investment accounts can be a very simple way of ensuring that your family members can have immediate access to some money should anything happen to you.