This Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center (EBPAQC) primer provides a general understanding of master trusts. While master trusts can be formed for various business purposes, this primer only addresses master trusts in employee benefit plans.
Included in this primer are:
discussions of the definition of a master trust
the meaning of common control
master trust types and structures
the difference between an undivided interest and a divided interest
valuation of assets held by participating plans via the dollar allocation method and the unitized value method