Since President Obama unveiled the new MyRA as his plan to revive Americans’ saving habits, we have been making comparisons between funding for retirements and preneed. Like the MyRA, the non-guaranteed preneed contract could represent more of an introduction to preplanning funding than the final preneed product. As the AARP acknowledged a few years ago,
diversification
The Wisconsin Master Trust: Between a Rock and a Hard Place
By Bill Stalter on
In a motion to convert the Wisconsin Master Trust from a preneed trust to a liquidating trust, the Receiver outlined to the court why the trust cannot keep its promises to consumers and comply with Wisconsin’s preneed law. Section 445.125 restricts preneed funeral trusts to depository accounts, and CD returns won’t even pay the…
Annual Investment Reviews: the need to diversify
By Bill Stalter on
The ICCFA’s November Magazine included an article by Craig Martin that provides good advice for all death care trusts. Death care trusts are notoriously bad performers, and if operators are to improve investment performance they need to work more closely with their fiduciaries and portfolio managers. Mr. Martin offers 5 tips that are equally applicable…
Cemetery Endowed Care Funds and the Fixed Income Investment
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Cemeteries, Legislation
The Federal Reserve’s December 17th decision to cut its interest rate to less than a quarter of a percent is meant to encourage investors back into the stock market. But for many cemeteries, the prospect of depressed interest rates will have dire consequences to endowed/perpetual care trusts that are subject to state laws which limit…
Un-parking those death care trusts: diversification
By Bill Stalter on
The American Funeral Director recently published Curtis Rostad’s rebuttal letter to a prior story titled “Debunking the Trust Myth”. That same story earned a post on this blog site. While I agree with Mr. Rostad’s views, the sad truth is that many death care trusts do not perform as well as the Indiana Master Trust. It…