To ensure your Wyoming Statutory Trust (WST) can effectively own, trade, and manage stock in a corporation (like Gonen Capital LLC if it were a corporation, or any other brokerage holdings), you must explicitly grant the Trustee “Investment Powers.”
In Wyoming, the “Prudent Investor Rule” is the default, but banks and transfer agents often demand specific, clear language before they will allow a Trust to open a brokerage account or vote on corporate shares.
Essential “Power of Trustee” Clauses
You should include the following specific authorizations in your Trust Instrument:
1. General Investment Power
“The Trustee is authorized to acquire, invest in, reinvest, exchange, or retain any kind of property, real or personal, specifically including but not limited to common and preferred stocks, bonds, debentures, and mutual funds, without being limited by any ‘legal list’ of permitted investments under state law.”
2. Voting and Corporate Rights
This allows the Trust to actually control the companies it owns:
“With respect to any corporate shares or other securities held by the Trust, the Trustee shall have the power to exercise all voting rights, to give proxies, to participate in mergers or consolidations, and to exercise any options, privileges, or conversion rights associated with such securities.”
3. Power to Hold Assets in “Street Name”
This is critical for privacy and modern digital trading:
“The Trustee may hold securities in the name of a nominee or in ‘street name’ without disclosing the fiduciary relationship, to facilitate the transfer of title and the efficiency of trading.”
4. Specific “S-Corporation” Language (Crucial)
If the trust will ever own an S-Corp, you need a “savings clause” to prevent an accidental tax disaster:
“The Trustee is authorized to make any elections and take any actions necessary for the Trust to qualify as a Qualified Subchapter S Trust (QSST) or an Electing Small Business Trust (ESBT), ensuring the Trust remains an eligible shareholder of any S-Corporation.”
Important Distinction: Directed vs. Discretionary
Because you are likely the one making the investment decisions for Gonen Capital, you should use Wyoming’s “Directed Trust” statutes (Wyo. Stat. § 4-10-710).
- Investment Advisor (You): You write into the trust that you have the power to pick the stocks.
- Excluded Trustee (The Wyoming Resident/Company): They are legally required to follow your directions and are shielded from liability for the performance of the stocks you choose.
Why this matters for “Gonen Capital”
If Gonen Capital is structured as a corporation rather than an LLC, the Stock Certificates must be formally reissued.
- Old Certificate: In the name of [Your Name].
- New Certificate: In the name of “[Your Name] Statutory Trust, [Name of Trustee], Trustee.”
Would you like me to create a “Letter of Instruction” template that you can give to a stock broker to move your existing shares into the Trust’s name?