MHA Investment Trusts

An investment program developed for member hospitals of the Mississippi Hospital Association. For participating hospitals, the program utilizes expanded investment alternatives and enhanced liquidity features through a pooling of funds approach. A strategic plan will be developed for each hospital based upon cash flow analysis and forecasting techniques, which result in increased liquidity and higher returns. Trustmark Investment Advisers Inc. is the program’s investment advisor.

Background

All member hospitals are welcome to participate regardless of corporate structure. The pool’s permitted investments will include those allowed in the Mississippi Code for Public and Community Hospitals so they will be allowed to invest funds.The MHA Investment Pool is the result of an amendment to the Mississippi Code of 1972 that was passed in the 1999 and 2000 sessions of the Mississippi Legislature. The law expands the investment options and permits the pooling of hospital funds under certain conditions. Prior to the amendment, public hospitals’ investments, other than deposit accounts, were limited to the following:

  1. bonds or other direct obligations of the United States, the State of Mississippi or of any approved county, school district or municipality of the state.
  2. obligations issued or guaranteed in full by the United States which are subject to a repurchase agreement with a financial institution certified as a qualified depository and
  3. obligations fully insured by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

The new law permits pooling of such funds with those of other hospitals provided that the funds are invested in the investments authorized as described below and are managed by an entity with trust powers or by an investment advisor registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The investment advisor must be approved by the hospital’s commissioners or the board of trustees, whichever is applicable.The new law, effective July 1, 2000, also expands hospitals’ pooled investment alternatives for certain funds to include the following:

  • U.S. Government agency, U.S. Government instrumentality or sponsored enterprise obligations, the principal and interest of which are fully guaranteed by the U.S. Government, without limits,
  • any open-end or closed-end management type investment company (money market and mutual funds) or trust fund that invests in the direct obligations of the United States or repurchase agreements that are fully collateralized by these direct obligations, without limits,
  • and commercial paper, corporate notes and bonds that have an “A” rating or better.

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For more information, email Richard Grimes or call (800) 289-8884.