Definition
This industry comprises legal entities, trusts, estates, or agency accounts, administered on behalf of the beneficiaries under the terms of a trust agreement, will, or agency agreement. A trust is a legal arrangement in which an individual gives fiduciary control of property to a person or institution for the benefit of beneficiaries. Fiduciaries can be individuals, corporations or associations, and they may be given the legal authority to make decisions regarding financial matters. An estate is often, but does not have to be, organized as a trust. The estate is basically a plan of administration and disposition of property before or after death. Estates can include wills, trusts and gifts. Agency accounts are accounts established as a courtesy to individuals or organizations. The account is normally established to receive funds for specific purposes. These could be to fund education, for example. In general, the elected fiduciary is responsible for keeping the account in good financial standing. Often, the trust deed, will, or agency agreement will state an investment objective of the fund. The income of such funds is mostly interest, dividends and other forms of investment income. The investment management of these funds is normally outsourced to third-party administrators, such as portfolio managers. Consequently, a major expense facing these entities is that associated with external management of the entity. The trustee manages the assets for the benefit of others. The trustee is legally obliged to make all trust-related decisions with the beneficiaries' interests in mind, and may be liable for damages in the event of not doing so. One of these decisions might be to outsource the investment decision to portfolio managers.

IBISWorld research reports contain trend analysis, statistics, market size information, industry growth rates as well as market share of competitors.

Major market segments are identified and also those forces affecting demand and supply within the industry. Performance analysis includes emerging industry trends as well as recent results and performance of each key company. Drawing on the depth of information IBISWorld also provides 5 year forecasts for each industry.

Each comprehensive study also examines details such as the barriers to entry, operating cost structure, technology & systems and domestic & international markets. Tables and statistics include: Industry revenue, exports, imports, wages and number of companies in the industry, Industry growth and geographic regional data.

Each comprehensive study also examines details such as the barriers to entry, operating cost structure (including averages), technology & systems and domestic & international markets. Tables and statistics include: Industry revenue, exports, imports, wages and number of companies in the industry, Industry growth and geographic location.