Okla. Stat. tit. 60 § 301.7

Current through Laws 2024, c. 453.

Section 301.7 - Powers of charitable organizations acting as trustees of charitable trusts - Common charitable trust funds investments - Reporting - Recovery of costs - Accounting to court

A. Definitions. For purposes of this section:

1. "Common charitable trust fund" means a fund composed of assets from two or more charitable trusts and other charitable assets which are pooled for investment;

2. "Other charitable assets" means assets owned by an affiliated charitable organization or assets contributed to the charitable organization administering the common charitable trust fund in exchange for the issuance of charitable gift annuity contracts; and

3. "Affiliated charitable organization" means another charitable organization which directly or indirectly controls or is under direct or indirect common control with the charitable organization administering a common charitable trust fund.

B. Powers. Any charitable organization acting as a trustee of charitable trusts in this state may:

1. Establish one or more common charitable trust funds for the exclusive purpose of furnishing investments to itself as fiduciary, to itself and others as cofiduciaries, or to affiliated charitable organizations;

2. Invest funds which it holds for investment in such common charitable trust funds, unless:

a. the investment is prohibited by the instrument, judgment, decree, or order creating the fiduciary relationship,

b. consent to investment in the common charitable trust fund is intentionally withheld in writing by a cofiduciary, or

c. a cofiduciary that is not a charitable organization has the right to direct the management of the common charitable trust fund; and

3. Employ and delegate to investment advisors, investment counselors, state banks in Oklahoma having trust powers, national banking associations having trust powers, and trust companies having trust powers the discretion to make specific investment decisions provided that the charitable organization shall at all times maintain ultimate control of the management of the common charitable trust fund.

C. Common charitable trust fund investments.

1. A charitable organization administering a common charitable trust fund shall not commingle its administrative and operating funds with its common charitable trust funds but may place its endowment and funds its governing board has designated as endowment in its common charitable trust funds.

2. Each charitable trust and each other charitable asset shall be deemed to own a proportionate share of each asset of the common charitable trust fund.

3. In determining whether the investment in the common charitable trust fund by the charitable trust is a proper investment for assets held by a fiduciary, the charitable organization acting as fiduciary may consider the common charitable trust fund as a whole and shall not be prohibited from making the investment if any one or more of the assets of the common charitable trust fund are nonincome producing or might not otherwise be considered proper investments for a fiduciary account.

4. The charitable organization administering a common charitable trust fund may limit investments in its common charitable trust funds to investments which are compatible with or further the charitable, religious, educational, or other eleemosynary purposes of the charitable organization administering the common charitable trust fund.

5. The charitable organization administering a common charitable trust fund consisting solely of assets held in an endowment fund, as that term is defined in the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act, may invest such assets in loans upon adequate collateral security to an affiliated charitable organization provided that the charitable organization administering the common charitable trust fund conforms to the standard for care set forth in the documents creating the trusts or, in the absence of a standard of care in the documents creating the trusts, to the standard of care for fiduciaries as set forth in the Oklahoma Trust Code, the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act, and the Oklahoma Uniform Prudent Investor Act, and provided further that the loan furthers the charitable, religious, educational and other eleemosynary purposes of the affiliated charitable organization.

6. In selecting investments and when making investment decisions pursuant to this subsection, the charitable organization shall be bound by the provisions of the Oklahoma Charitable Fiduciary Act, the Oklahoma Trust Act, the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act, and the Oklahoma Uniform Prudent Investor Act, unless otherwise provided by law.

7. Nothing in this subsection shall diminish the standard of care of a fiduciary of charitable trust funds or institutional endowment funds.

D. Reporting.

1. The charitable organization administering a common charitable trust fund shall keep records which shall at all times show all necessary and proper matters related to the administration of the common charitable trust fund to include the proportionate interest in the common charitable trust fund of each trust or investment account of an affiliated charitable organization.

2. Within one hundred twenty (120) days following the end of the common charitable trust fund's fiscal year, the charitable organization administering a common charitable trust fund shall make a report of the condition of the common charitable trust fund. This report shall include, as of the date of the report, a list of the investments comprising the common charitable trust fund and the value placed on each investment on such list by the charitable organization. The report shall also include a statement of income and disbursements since the last report and appropriate comments as to any investment in default as to payment of principal or interest. The reasonable expenses of preparing the report may be charged to the common charitable trust fund.

3. The charitable organization shall send a copy of the latest report required by this subsection annually to each person to whom a regular periodic accounting of the trusts or other charitable assets participating in the common charitable trust fund ordinarily would be rendered, or shall advise each such person annually that the report is available and that a copy will be furnished without charge upon request.

E. Recovery of costs. The charitable organization administering a common charitable trust fund may recover its costs of administration of the common charitable trust fund to include a reasonable charge for administrative overhead and the fees and costs of investment advisors, counselors and agents.

F. Accounting to court. Unless ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction, the charitable organization administering common charitable trust funds is not required to render an accounting to the court with regard to such funds. The charitable organization administering a common charitable trust fund may, by application to the district court, secure approval of such an accounting after such notice, and on such conditions as the court may establish.

Okla. Stat. tit. 60, § 301.7

Added by Laws 1997, HB 1660, c. 99, § 8, emerg. eff. 4/15/1997; Amended by Laws 2007 , HB 1596, c. 91, §13, eff. 11/1/2007.