A WORD

FROM FORETHOUGHT TRUST

July 2011 Volume 6 Issue 3

Choosing the right business partner to be successful

Read this article at

forethought.com/news
When you look at a successful funeral home you typically find they have established, successful relationships with key strategic partners. Partners that provide the right mix of products and services to meet the needs of the funeral home. And the funeral home, by combining its business needs maximizes the economic value to their firm. In the May/June 2011 edition of the Funeral Business Advisor you will find an article describing how Forethought can be your strategic partner. You can read about our portfolio of financial products and services available to youmore offerings than any other company in the funeral industry. This includes lending, at-need insurance assignments and preneed trust and life insurance. So take a couple of minutes, go to www.forethought.com/news, read the analysis and see how Forethought can be your business partner.

Trust customers find peace of mind with FFSB

In the midst of what has turned out to be quite a tragic spring, in terms of natural disasters, trust customers who utilize FFSBs full service recordkeeping can have peace of mind knowing their trust contracts and information are safe. For many customers FFSB maintains a hard copy of the preneed contract in our Batesville office and stores contract data and accounting in our IT systems. Firms using this service have access to this information should their location and records incur damage. Details of FFSBs recovery procedures and annual testing records can be found in our annual SAS70. As your trustee and recordkeeper, FFSB is able to provide you with this added layer of protection allowing you to focus on the more important aspects of running your business, particularly in the midst of damage or destruction. If you are not currently utilizing our full recordkeeping services and would like to learn more about what we have to offer, or if you just have questions, please call 1-800-763-0234 and speak to one of our trust administrators.

Investment elections
Deciding which investment vehicle to deposit your trust funds can be difficult. FFSB has tried to simplify your decision-making process with our easy-to-understand product sheets and Funding Option form. Features and benefits are listed on each specific product sheet for reference when writing a preneed trust-funded contract. Once you decide which option to choose, mark it on our recently revised Funding Option form and submit it with the Funeral Planning Agreement. If you need a supply of the current Funding Option form or product sheets, contact us via e-mail at FFS.Trust.Operations@forethought.com.

State expansion continues

FFSB can now serve as trustee in Arkansas for funeral, cemetery merchandise, and cemetery perpetual care trust funds. There are several other states in process. As FFSB continues to expand its authority to serve as trustee in other states, we will keep you informed. Following are current maps outlining the availability of Forethought Trust throughout the U.S.

Changes within Forethought Federal Savings Bank

As part of normal operations, Forethought Federal Savings Bank works with other banks in a variety of ways. In May of 2011, Forethought Federal Savings Bank moved certain banking services from Fifth Third Bank to US Bank. Most of these changes will not affect you and will not require any action on your part, but we wanted to make you aware of them. One of the changes you will notice is that the checks you receive from Forethought Federal Savings Bank will now be from a US Bank account instead of a Fifth Third Bank account. Also, if you are a customer that either sends or receives ACHs or wires, you will notice the new US Bank account. If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Trust customer service at 1-800-763-0234.

Focusing our efforts to better serve you

As you have seen from reading our newsletter over the last year, we put forth great effort to make our Operations processes more efficient and effective for you. We upgraded our trust accounting system to allow for more functionality and on-line, real-time access to your trust accounts. Contracts and forms have been revised and updated to comply with the many state laws that have changed over the past year as well as to accommodate product changes. We also expanded our ability to serve as trustee into 9 new states. We want to make everything simple and hassle-free. To do this we have committed resources to the on-boarding process of new accounts as well as assisting with trust transfers to FFSB. With this goal in mind, Natalie Maret, will focus on these responsibilities. She has been working side-by-side with our other Trust Administrators to ensure smooth transitions into FFSB as new customers sign up to use our trust products. Natalie brings many years of trust experience to this role. Previously, Natalie served as our operations manager. Feel free to contact Natalie by calling 1-800-763-0234.

Contact Forethought Federal Savings Bank

Call: Fax: Visit: Email: 1-800-763-0234 Write: 1-866-208-1236 www.forethought.com FFS.Trust.Operations@forethought.com Forethought Federal Savings Bank P.O. Box 59 One Forethought Center Batesville, IN 47006

2011 FFSB 0711