I am pleased to present my statement for The Golden Charter Trust for the year ended 31 March 2024.
Net asset value at 31 March 2024:
The Trust’s investment portfolio is held in The Golden Charter Trust Limited, a company 100% owned by the Trust. The audited accounts of this company for the year ended 31 March 2024 are available here.
The audited net assets of the Trust at the 31 March 2024 totalled £1.211 billion (2023 audited – £1.182 billion). Details on the performance of the Trust’s investment portfolio are given in the Investment Report.
The charts below show how the value of the Trust and the average value of an outstanding funeral plan have grown from 31 March 2012 to 31 March 2024.
Regulation:
The period under review was the first full financial year in which funeral plan providers, such as Golden Charter Limited, were subject to regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority (“the FCA”). As I explained in last year’s statement, the Trust itself is not subject to direct FCA regulation. However, after taking legal advice, changes were made to the Trust Deed between Golden Charter Limited and the Trust to recognise the FCA rules for trusts used by funeral plan providers.
One significant requirement of the FCA is that Golden Charter Limited takes sole responsibility for commissioning an independent actuarial report which estimates the ratio between the Trust’s assets and the costs of the funerals underwritten by it.
The FCA rules set out a list of permitted payments from funeral plan trusts which have been incorporated in our new Trust Deed. One of the permitted payments is the payment of surplus to Golden Charter Limited. The payment of surplus is subject to separate rules on the solvency level of the Trust, as determined by the SAR, and must be approved by the independent Actuary appointed by Golden Charter Limited. Any request for payment of surplus must not, in the reasonable opinion of the Trustees, be in breach of any other legal or regulatory obligation applicable to the Trust or the Trustees.
Now that the new regulatory regime has settled down, we have taken advantage of the stability it provides to strengthen our already close relationship with Golden Charter Limited. The principal focus of this work, which continues in the current financial year, is to ensure clarity and agreement between the Trust and Golden Charter Limited on the boundaries of our respective powers and responsibilities.
Outlook:
The Trustees’ responsibilities to release payments for maturing funeral plans, stretch very many years into the future, and our investment policy is correspondingly long term. We do not, however, ignore shorter term market movements, whether they represent threats or opportunities, and we also monitor constantly the performance of the professional investment managers who look after the investment portfolio held by Trust Limited.
I thank my fellow Trustees and the employees of our Executive team for their hard work and dedication over the year to 31 March 2024. In the current year, we say farewell to Leo Gaughan on his retirement. Leo has been at the heart of the Trust for over twelve years; his contribution to the effective management of the Trust has been remarkable. His role as Executive Director has been filled, after a thorough search process, by Jennifer Reid, who comes to us from senior external positions, including Golden Charter Limited. The Board looks forward to working with Jennifer as we face the changes and challenges of the future.
Gareth Howlett
Chair
30 June 2024