Three trustees are appointed to manage a large investment trust fund. The trust owns various retail buildings in the local town centre. At a trust meeting last month, the trustees were told that an office block next door to one of the trust’s retail buildings was going on the market for a good price. The trustees agreed (with the benefit of advice from an external adviser) that they were happy with current the investments in the trust fund and were not minded to make any changes to the current portfolio over the next six months.

Using the information from the trust meeting, one of the trustees purchased the building for himself.

Did the chartered accountant breach his fiduciary duty?