Fund Openings, Closings, Manager Moves: Time to Bury Tombstone Fund

Looks like the Pauze Tombstone fund is headed for the big sleep.

Its directors have voted to close the fund to new investment immediately and liquidate it on April 24, essentially putting everyone involved out of their misery.

The small and much-maligned fund invests in the death-care industry, primarily funeral homes and casketmakers. The fund tracks Pauze's own Tombstone Index, but it has been mostly comatose since its 1997 inception.

The theory behind the fund is that aging baby boomers will boost death-care stocks as they shuffle off this mortal coil in rising numbers. Judging by the fund's performance, its investment theme had fatal flaws.

The most recent performance figures on the fund's Web site are only through Dec. 31, but they aren't healthy. Since its inception, the fund has lost about 40% each year. In 1999, the fund began fading fast, losing a stunning 74%, compared with a 21% gain for the S&P 500 index.

The fund has already pulled the plug on its portfolio, selling its stocks and investing the money in short-term U.S. government bonds. No current asset figures are available, but as of its most recent annual report on Oct. 31, it had less than $500,000.

Houston-based Pauze is run by Philip Pauze, who has more than 11 years of experience managing pension assets for funeral homes and cemeteries. The firm's three other offerings are bond funds.

See Tuesday's Fund Openings, Closings, Manager Moves.

See Monday's Fund Openings, Closings, Manager Moves.

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