1 An arrangement through which one set of people, the trustees, are the legal owners of property which is administered in the interests of another set, the beneficiaries. Trusts may be set up to provide support for individuals or families, to provide pensions, to run charities, to liquidate the property of bankrupts for the benefit of their creditors, or for the safe keeping of the securities bought by unit trusts with their investors' money. The assets which trusts may hold are regulated by law. These must be administered in the interests of the beneficiaries, and not for the profit of the trustees.
2 A US term for a large or monopolistic business formed by amalgamation. This is why US anti-monopoly policy is called antitrust. See also investment trust.
