8.—9

16

Value op New Estates, etc., accepted. 27. In a statement made in July of last year, the late Right Hon. Sir Joseph Ward forecasted that the new business obtained by the Office for the year 1929-30 might possibly reach the sum of £8,000,000. It is gratifying to record that this figure was exceeded, the new business for the year under review having reached the unprecedented total of £8,473,916, as compared with the total new business of £7,091,350 for the preceding year, which itself constituted a record. From the comparative table contained in paragraph 28 of my report it will be seen that the new business for the year exceeded by over £1,000,000 the total value of estates and funds under administration by the Public Trustee in 1910. Growth op the Office Business since 1900. 28. As an illustration of the remarkable extension of the operations of the Office over the past thirty years, the following table reveals the value of estates under administration by the Public Trustee at five-yearly periods since 1900 : —

Government Superannuation and other Funds. 29. A steady increase has been recorded in the volume of cash, and investments administered by the Public Trustee on behalf of the Public Service Superannuation Fund, the Teachers' Superannuation Fund, the Government Railways Superannuation Fund, and the National Provident Fund. It is of vital importance to these funds that the maximum net return by way o*f income should be earned by their investments, and by utilizing the Public Trust Office organization throughout New Zealand the costs of collection of income and of administration of the investments are kept at a very low level. For the whole of its services in connection with the funds the Office makes the moderate charge of 2|- per cent, on the income collected from the investments. In addition to the funds above mentioned, four other smaller Government superannuation funds are administered by the Public Trustee. In these cases the funds are invested in the Common Fund, and the following amounts were so invested at the 31st March, 1930 : — £ Civil Service Act, 1908 .. .. .. .. 9,886 Deferred Pay (Naval) Account .. .. .. 50,752 Post and Telegraph Act, 1908 .. .. .. 4,947 Public Service Classification and Superannuation Act, 1908 (section 31) .. .. .. .. 4,420 £70,005 Local Bodies' Superannuation Funds. 30. During the year the total amount held by the Public Trustee invested in the Common Fund on behalf of local bodies' superannuation funds increased from £217,680 to £243,264. The smallest contribution becomes interest-earning from the date of its receipt by the Office, and the moneys are fully invested, but yet immediately available as required to meet the demands of withdrawals on behalf of contributors to the superannuation funds.

Total Value of Estates in „ , , r , Year ended 31st March, Office, including i? ♦ + ,i v + TT v j a r Estates and Accounts. Unrealized Assets. £ £ 1900 .. .. .. .. 2,192,594 1,065,112 1905 .. .. .. .. 3,577,355 1,913,268 1910 .. .. .. .. 7,358,947 3,453,127 1915 .. .. .. .. 13,580,936 7,182,416 1920 .. .. .. .. 20,860,686 11,911,290 1925 .. .. .. .. 35,570,642 20,864,356 1930 .. .. .. .. 53,049,437 34,824,210