 Investment powers and limits on those powers are set out in Part II of the Act . Section 3 ( 1 ) states that " subject to the provisions of this part , a trustee may make any kind of investment that he could make if he was absolutely entitled to the assets of the trust " . This is far looser than the previous provisions , which were contained in the Trustee Investments Act 1961 . The 1961 Act was repeatedly criticised for its " very conservative investment policy for trustees " . The powers of investment trustees were given were restrictive and narrow , and at the same time the trustees were expected to go through expensive and complicated procedures to exercise them . This new power of investment is treated as a default provision - it is overridden if the trust instrument itself restricts the ways trust money can be invested . If the trust instrument was created prior to 3 August 1961 , however , its provisions regarding investments are treated as void . The new provisions apply retrospectively , i.e. to trusts created before the passage of the Act . They do not , however , apply to trusts governed by the Charities Act 1993 , Authorised Unit Trusts or occupational pension schemes . 
