National Investment (Unit) Trust Ordinance, 1965

The National Investment (Unit) Trust Ordinance, 1965 provides the special legal framework for the National Investment (Unit) Trust, one of Pakistan's earliest mutual-fund-style investment vehicles, created under a Trust Deed dated 12 November 1962 between the National Investment Trust Limited (as Management Company) and the National Bank of Pakistan (as Trustee).

Section 3 declares that Units in the Trust are transferable movable property, giving investors clear legal footing to buy, sell, and transfer their holdings. Section 4 allows the Federal Government to authorise the Trust to issue Bearer Certificates for Units sold — certificates payable to whoever holds them — but only once such authorisation is given.

Section 5 gives Units special regulatory status: they are treated as "approved securities" and "approved investments" under the Trust Act, 1882, the Insurance Act, 1938, and the Companies Act, 1913, which historically made them attractive, low-friction holdings for insurers and companies subject to statutory investment rules. Section 6 makes the Trust Deed's terms binding on every Certificate Holder and their heirs, as if they had personally signed it, while Section 7 says the Trust does not have to recognise any notice of a separate trust arrangement someone might try to attach to their Units (though the Management Company or Trustee may still choose to follow a holder's distribution instructions).

Section 8 applies the Bankers Books Evidence Act, 1891 to the Trust's own books and records, as if the Trust were itself a bank. Section 9 gives the Federal Government rule-making power to fill in operational details. This is a specialist financial-regulation law underpinning one of Pakistan's oldest collective investment schemes.