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Bedford trustees report investment gains, outline cemetery trust restrictions
Summary
Trustees of the Trust Funds gave their annual update on investments, reported capital reserve gains in 2024, and reiterated a restriction on disbursing principal from a group of cemetery trusts transferred from a private association.
The trustees of Bedford’s trust funds delivered their annual update to the Town Council April 20, reporting investment gains in 2024, describing the town’s investment policy and restating legal limits on spending from certain private cemetery trusts.
Ken Peterson, chair of the trustees, said private trust funds are invested more aggressively — the trustees’ policy targets roughly 50–70% equities, 30–50% fixed income and the remainder in cash — while capital reserve funds are invested conservatively in investment-grade corporate bonds and federally guaranteed instruments to preserve principal. Peterson said capital reserve funds returned just under $250,000 in 2024 and that private trust accounts returned about 14.1% in the calendar year.
Peterson reviewed the trustees’ custodial role and cited the New Hampshire Attorney General’s handbook and RSA 91‑A (right‑to‑know law) as governing public meetings and trustee responsibilities. He also discussed a group of 14 private cemetery trusts formerly managed by the Bedford Centered Old Cemetery Association (BCOCA), which transferred $11,700 in principal to the town in 2017. After consulting the town attorney and the state attorney general’s office, trustees agreed no disbursements may be made from that aggregate until the principal is rebuilt to the original legal sum (stated in the trustees’ memo as $21,850).
Ken Peterson, Kerry Boucher (financial advisor) and trustee Ryan Callaghan answered council questions about market volatility and longer maturities for capital reserve investments. Boucher described the recent market selloff tied to tariff policy and said Bedford’s capital‑reserve portfolio (just under $9.95 million, the trustees said) has been resilient because it is positioned in fixed income; he noted the trustees moved maturity targets out to seven years to capture higher yields while keeping duration moderate.
Peterson emphasized the trustees’ volunteer status, fiduciary responsibility and quarterly meetings with investment advisors. The council had no formal vote on the presentation; trustees left the council with follow‑up information on policy updates and the BCOCA memo for the record.
