It is often a misconception that the shares should be registered in the name of a Trust. A Trust is not a person and so, strictly speaking, it should not be recorded as the holder of the shares. It would be wrong too, although it is often done, to register a Trust as though it were a corporate entity (unless it is a corporate trustee).



Note: Shares, as per any other investment of a Trust, should be held by the trustees in their names on trust for the beneficiaries of the Trust.


To reflect the fact that shares are held by the Trustees on Trust (rather than beneficially) you can include the name of the Trust or the fact that they are being held on trust in the register and on any share certificates as an account designation.


For example: if Jack Jones and Jill Jones are trustees you would first create a joint shareholder.

 How do I create a joint shareholder?



In the above example we have used the designation "re Jones Family Settlement Trust". You could equally have phrased it "as Trustees of the Jones Family Settlement Trust". 


Note: The option to add a designation is always given after you have either allotted or transferred shares.



Simply select Yes and add the designation exactly as you want it to appear including any "re" or "as".


Note: Where there is more than one Trustee, i.e. it is not a sole corporate Trustee, you should include each Trustee as a joint shareholder. The trustees can choose not to have all the trustees recorded as the holder of the shares but where they are individuals at least two must be included so they can give a valid receipt.


Note: You can, however, only enter one address for the trustees. This could be the personal address of the first named trustees or the address of the underlying company.