2023 Texas Statutes › Property Code › Title 9 - Trusts › Subtitle B - Texas Trust Code: Creation, Operation, and Termination of Trusts › Chapter 113 - Administration › Subchapter B. Duties of Trustee › Section 113.053. Purchase or Sale of Trust Property by Trustee

Sec. 113.053.  PURCHASE OR SALE OF TRUST PROPERTY BY TRUSTEE.  (a)  Except as provided by Subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g), a trustee shall not directly or indirectly buy or sell trust property from or to:
(1)  the trustee or an affiliate;
(2)  a director, officer, or employee of the trustee or an affiliate;
(3)  a relative of the trustee;  or
(4)  the trustee's employer, partner, or other business associate.
(b)  A national banking association or a state-chartered corporation with the right to exercise trust powers that is serving as executor, administrator, guardian, trustee, or receiver may sell shares of its own capital stock held by it for an estate to one or more of its officers or directors if a court:
(1)  finds that the sale is in the best interest of the estate that owns the shares;
(2)  fixes or approves the sales price of the shares and the other terms of the sale;  and
(3)  enters an order authorizing and directing the sale.
(c)  If a corporate trustee, executor, administrator, or guardian is legally authorized to retain its own capital stock in trust, the trustee may exercise rights to purchase its own stock if increases in the stock are offered pro rata to shareholders.
(d)  If the exercise of rights or the receipt of a stock dividend results in a fractional share holding and the acquisition meets the investment standard required by this subchapter, the trustee may purchase additional fractional shares to round out the holding to a full share.
(e)  A trustee may:
(1)  comply with the terms of a written executory contract signed by the settlor, including a contract for deed, earnest money contract, buy/sell agreement, or stock purchase or redemption agreement;  and
(2)  sell the stock, bonds, obligations, or other securities of a corporation to the issuing corporation or to its corporate affiliate if the sale is made under an agreement described in Subdivision (1) or complies with the duties imposed by Chapter 117.
(f)  A national banking association, a state-chartered corporation, including a state-chartered bank or trust company, a state or federal savings and loan association that has the right to exercise trust powers and that is serving as trustee, or such an institution that is serving as custodian with respect to an individual retirement account, as defined by Section 408, Internal Revenue Code, or an employee benefit plan, as defined by Section 3(3), Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. Section 1002(3)), regardless of whether the custodial account is, or would otherwise be, considered a trust for purposes of this subtitle, may, subject to its fiduciary duties:
(1)  employ an affiliate or division within a financial institution to provide brokerage, investment, administrative, custodial, or other account services for the trust or custodial account and charge the trust or custodial account for the services;
(2)  unless the instrument governing the fiduciary relationship expressly prohibits the purchase or charge, purchase insurance underwritten or otherwise distributed by an affiliate, a division within the financial institution, or a syndicate or selling group that includes the financial institution or an affiliate and charge the trust or custodial account for the insurance premium, provided that:
(A)  the person conducting the insurance transaction is appropriately licensed if required by applicable licensing and regulatory requirements administered by a functional regulatory agency of this state; and
(B)  the insurance product and premium are the same or similar to a product and premium offered by organizations that are not an affiliate, a division within the financial institution, or a syndicate or selling group that includes the financial institution or an affiliate; and
(3)  receive a fee or compensation, directly or indirectly, on account of the services performed or the insurance product sold by the affiliate, division within the financial institution, or syndicate or selling group that includes the financial institution or an affiliate, whether in the form of shared commissions, fees, or otherwise, provided that any amount charged by the affiliate, division, or syndicate or selling group that includes the financial institution or an affiliate for the services or insurance product is disclosed and does not exceed the customary or prevailing amount that is charged by the affiliate, division, or syndicate or selling group that includes the financial institution or an affiliate, or a comparable entity, for comparable services rendered or insurance provided to a person other than the trust.
(g)  In addition to other investments authorized by law for the investment of funds held by a fiduciary or by the instrument governing the fiduciary relationship, and notwithstanding any other provision of law and subject to the standard contained in Chapter 117, a bank or trust company acting as a fiduciary, agent, or otherwise, in the exercise of its investment discretion or at the direction of another person authorized to direct the investment of funds held by the bank or trust company as fiduciary, may invest and reinvest in the securities of an open-end or closed-end management investment company or investment trust registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. Sec. 80a-1 et seq.) if the portfolio of the investment company or investment trust consists substantially of investments that are not prohibited by the governing instrument.  The fact that the bank or trust company or an affiliate of the bank or trust company provides services to the investment company or investment trust, such as those of an investment advisor, custodian, transfer agent, registrar, sponsor, distributor, manager, or otherwise, and receives compensation for those services does not preclude the bank or trust company from investing or reinvesting in the securities if the compensation is disclosed by prospectus, account statement, or otherwise.  An executor or administrator of an estate under a dependent administration or a guardian of an estate shall not so invest or reinvest unless specifically authorized by the court in which such estate or guardianship is pending.
Added by Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 3332, ch. 567, art. 2, Sec. 2, eff. Jan. 1, 1984.  Amended by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 974, Sec. 1, 2, eff. Aug. 26, 1985;  Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 341, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 28, 1989;  Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 933, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 30, 1993;  Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1103, Sec. 4, eff. Jan. 1, 2004.
Amended by:
Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1337 (S.B. 778), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2013.