Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

INVESTMENTS

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INVESTMENTS
12 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2020
Investments, Debt and Equity Securities [Abstract]  
INVESTMENTS INVESTMENTS:
At September 30, 2020 and 2019, non-current investments were as follows:

  2020 2019
Equity and fixed income mutual funds $ 24,610  $ 22,986 
Life insurance policies 4,621  4,030 
Equity-method investments 446  39,761 
Other investments 33,573  18,724 
  $ 63,250  $ 85,501 

Equity and fixed income mutual funds represent investments held in trust for the Company's non-qualified supplemental retirement plan and are classified as trading securities and recorded at fair value.  The market value of these investments exceeded cost by $138 and $941 at September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Realized and unrealized gains and losses are recorded in investment income.  Realized gains (losses) for fiscal 2020, 2019 and 2018 were not material.

During fiscal 2019, the Company completed the sale of a 51% ownership interest in a small Memorialization business. This transaction resulted in the recognition of a $5,587 pre-tax loss which was included as a component of administrative expenses for the year ended September 30, 2019. Immediately following the transaction, the Company retained a non-controlling interest in this business, which was accounted for as an equity-method investment. The Company made additional capital contributions to this non-consolidated subsidiary totaling $29,148 during fiscal 2019 and continued to account for this non-controlling interest as an equity method investment.

During fiscal 2020, the Company made $9,482 of additional investments in its non-consolidated Memorialization subsidiary. Subsequently in fiscal 2020, the Company sold its ownership interest in this subsidiary for $42,210 of cash and $15,000 of senior preferred shares. The senior preferred shares earn a yield based on an escalating rate ranging from 6% to 14% and are expected to be redeemed before the end of calendar year 2022. In connection with this sale transaction, the Company recognized a pre-tax gain of $11,208 which has been recorded as a component of administrative expenses. The senior preferred shares are included within other investments in the table above along with ownership interests in various entities of less than 20%, which are recorded under the cost-method of accounting.