Cooperative Funeral Fund is a Corporation serving funeral homes and cemeteries. The Corporation is registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.*
MARK C. MANNIX, PRESIDENT AND CEO
Mr. Mannix is a Graduate of the Boston College School of Management with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance. He has attended Finance classes at Boston University Graduate School of Management. His employment experience has a combined 10 years of service with PepsiCo, Liggett & Myers, and Norton and Simon. For the past 29 years, he has been in the Funeral Trust business. During which time he has served on a Preneed legislative Advisory Panel under the Massachusetts Secretary of Consumer Affairs, Paula Gold. He contributed to an ad Hoc Committee for Preneed Legislation in New York State and most recently assisted the Attorney General’s office in writing new consumer oriented legislation in Connecticut. He incorporated Cooperative Funeral Fund in July of 1989.
A PROGRAM FOR THE DEATH CARE INDUSTRY
Cooperative Funeral Fund, Inc. has created a program for the death care industry to facilitate the creation, investment, tax compliance and payout of Preneed Funeral Trusts.
The objective of this program is to provide maximum security of principal and to outpace inflation (or the rising costs of funerals). Since the funds of an individual escrow account exist on average five years prior to being withdrawn, the investment philosophy is one of passive management. Financial instruments are bought and held for a long duration, not actively traded.
As Investment Advisor, Cooperative Funeral Fund, Inc., directs the investment of the funds in accordance with the Funeral Service Contracts which restricts the portfolio to Government Securities, Corporate Bonds (A or Better rated), Money Market Funds, Certificates of Deposit and Insurance Annuity Products: “Fixed Income Investments”.
The ability to market the services of Cooperative Funeral Fund, Inc. lies not only in the appreciation of principal, but also in the other services the company offers:
- Cooperative Funeral Fund, Inc. prepares and files all forms required by the IRS. To ensure that all work is performed correctly, the Company has retained an independent accounting firm to oversee all aspects of the Company’s tax work.
- Because we handle the tax work for irrevocable trust accounts, Cooperative Funeral Fund, Inc. is able to protect the funeral director and his client funds from attachment by the Department of Social Services, when the client has applied for financial assistance under Title 19 of the Social Security Act.
- Cooperative Funeral Fund, Inc. provides the Escrow Agents and the funeral directors with detailed monthly reports showing beginning balance, all interest allocation, expenses and fees, additional deposits, withdrawals, and ending balance for each individual escrow account, for each funeral director, and to the Escrow Agents for the fund in totality.
- Monthly statements and up-to-the-minute trust balances are also made available to our member funeral homes through http://www.cffhomes.com/.
- Periodically the escrow account is reviewed by an independent Certified Public Accountant. Upon request, a participant funeral director will receive a copy of that report.
Cooperative Funeral Fund, Inc. charges an annual fee as a percentage of the escrow account balance (this may vary depending on state laws). We do not charge a fee to set up a new trust, apply payments or pay claims or withdrawals. The company does not make any commissions from any investments purchased for the fund, nor do we receive any gratuities from any of the brokers or dealers used by the Escrow Agents.