The Minors Trust Program

A LOOK BACK...THE VERY BEGINNING

Our Minors Trust program was structured and implemented over 25 years ago!! Federal Indian law-the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, 1988, established legal guidelines for tribes who entered into the gaming development industry. One very important aspect of the law addressed if and how per capita payments would be treated particularly where tribal minors were concerned. Tribes were obligated to ensure the protection and preservation of these assets for the benefit of tribal minors (see Section 2710 (b)(3)(C)), and these payments were absolutely taxable (see Section 2701 (b)(3)(D)).

The Revenue Distribution, or Allocation, Plan submitted by Tunica-Biloxi and approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs took an extremely conservative approach regarding the per capita payments placed into a trust for each tribal minor. Investment of the minors' per capita payments were restricted entirely to government bonds when the program was first established. This approach severely limited the earnings potential of the funds. After 2004, the Council began to look at restructuring the investment parameters of the Minors Trust program. Ultimately, a more balanced investment plan was adopted, and stocks as an option for growing the value of the program was adopted.

EXTERNAL ECONOMIC SHIFTS & CHALLENGES

Over the last 2 decades, the Minors Trust program moved from one bank administrative entity to another as banks were acquired through mergers and acquisitions activity in the markets. The program continued to be administered cleanly and free of controversy. In 2016 the Tribe chose to select a new administrative team. JPMorgan/Chase had decided they would no longer financially manage the Tunica-Biloxi Trust program. In addition, their fee schedule had risen to 180 basis points for the trust accounts. Tribal leaders scanned the market to identify a competent investment firm who could offer more reasonable rates and still maintain the level of confidence the trust program had experienced through the years.

The new financial administrator was actually a 'team' of firms, one, Providence First Trust, who would handle all accounting activities for the program. This was essential as the Tribe had decided to consolidate all the hundreds of individual minor accounts into one bucket to facilitate the accounting firm's ability to offer the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe a much more lucrative fee savings. The previously assessed fees of 180 basis points, largely due to the over 500+ minor accounts, dropped significantly to between 48 & 54 basis points, a savings of over 100 basis points!

Second, there would be a separate financial investment firm, Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, who would oversee and guide the actual financial investments. Morgan Stanley would report annually any earnings on the Minors' assets to Providence, who would then be responsible for mailing out all federally required tax documents in order for families to file the annual tax reports on the accounts.

TODAY!!

It has been several years since minors have received any significant distributions to their trust accounts. Some enrolled minors have yet to receive anything into their trust savings accounts. When minors are enrolled, their names are entered into the system, but there's nothing there for many of our youngsters.

Parents have not received any information pertaining to the Tribe's overall strategic plan and if minors will benefit from the various business projects the Tribe has pursued and/or entered into over the last several years.

Parents and guardians MUST be kept up to date on the evolution of the Minors Trust program, and especially how decisions made by Tribal leaders will impact the value of the program. Tribal minors thirty years ago received considerable financial benefits. The gaming market in Louisiana was completely different from today. There were at most 4 competitors within the state's boundaries...over the years, competition rose to over 20 gaming operations that devoured a considerable amount of the market. Today, the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe cannot rely only on gaming proceeds to fund the savings for our children's and grandchildren's futures. Families should receive reports that spell out how Tribal leaders plan to grow the wealth of the Tribe as a whole and on program levels, in this case, the Minors Trust. And once those plans are implemented, Tribal families should receive regular follow up reports and documentation indicating how Tribal leader decisions have, hopefully, added to the overall health & wealth of our Tribal community. Has the net equity position, the overall total wealth of our Tribe, increased as a result of those decisions?

Keep in mind, nobody has the ability to guarantee positive returns every single time for every venture. But there is something to be learned even from the shortfalls. Sharing plans, reports and outcomes with the people benefits our community in several ways...

• It fosters clear communication with Tribal citizens.

• It identifies strategies that worked or did not work.

• It allows everyone to learn from the challenges we face in the market & the mistakes made so the community can avoid duplicating those negative outcomes if at all possible in the future.

• Sharing information through proactive and productive communications helps lift up all of our Tribal citizens...the more our members understand what is happening and why, the greater opportunities to expand our pool of future leaders who have witnessed Tribal governance and operations first-hand!!

FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY can help to ensure the stability of our

Tribal Community for future generations!!