U.S. Leads $147 Billion Global Deathcare Industry as Private Equity Bets on Digital Disruption

Benjamin Franklin is credited with the saying, “Nothing is certain except death and taxes.”  While taxes and the aftermath of death and estate management issues are frequent 24/7 Wall Street topics, less covered is death and its immediate impact and costs are actually the underpinnings of what is termed the “Deathcare Industry.” It encompasses the mortuary business and the broader elements of bereavement and post-funeral activities that families frequently demand. 

The global deathcare industry is presently $147 billion, with a CAGR of 6.1%, and a 2030 target of $209.6 billion. With the last of the Baby Boomer generation now officially in retirement age, the pending market, morbid as it may sound, has swelled its ranks. Unsurprisingly, digital technology is making inroads into modernizing deathcare, and the field is spawning numerous startups that are attracting private equity investment. Out of 948 death tech companies in total, 162 of them have received private equity funding to the tune of $837 million. 53 have completed A+ rounds, and 33 of them have finished C+ rounds. While some of these digital platforms may take business away from deathcare institutions, some of them have been embraced by them as well, and the industry’s future may well accommodate a blend of DIY plans created by families that are then executed and enhanced by the deathcare institutions. 

The new technologies and apps that have private equity investors excited and are attracting attention from investment bankers are turning heads in the deathcare industry. Until the death tech companies themselves are in a position to launch their own IPOs, the deathcare companies may be the primary conduit to invest in their upside, if they are current users. Below are five companies that have raised private equity money to keep on the radar for prospective IPOs in the near future. Following that are five deathcare stocks that may be implementing technologies and in some cases, might make a move to acquire one or more of those death tech companies before they can go public. 

Plotbox

In much the way Salesforce.com revolutionized customer relationship management, Plotbox was designed as a digital management platform for the mortuary and deathcare industry.  With a menu of different software modules for cemeteries, crematoriums, funeral homes, to more detailed management software and resources for working with stonemasons, mausoleums, and trust fund management, Plotbox is already in use by notable cemeteries such as Woodlawn in New York City, the resting place for such famous musical artists as Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, and Aretha Franklin. The company has raised over $8 million in 5 private equity rounds to date. 

FreeWill

With over 1 million users, New York based FreeWill has become America’s leading online will creation platform, and has been covered in Forbes, The New York Times, and other publications. It has raised over $30 million in private equity to date, having finished its B round with funds from such notable private equity players as Bain Capital, QED Capital, Highland Capital, and others. 

Empathy

Much like how platforms like WeddingWire and The Knot have become popular for wedding planning, Empathy has become a popular platform for planning death ceremonies and events. With many now wanting to take post-mortem control over how mourning guests will be treated , Empathy has comprehensively and efficiently helped millions of users and delivered impressive metrics: average of $3,000 and 189 saved hours per family. Empathy has raised $162 million in private equity through its C round, led by Adams Street Partners and Index Ventures. 

Remento

Based in Los Angeles, CA, Remento uses AI to capture audio and video stories and reminiscences and organizes them into a collection for instant digital access as a modern day scrapbook that can be saved for succeeding generations. The company has received 4 financing rounds from Alumni Ventures, Flybridge, Upfront Ventures, and most recently Mark Cuban, when the company appeared on the ABC-TV show, Shark Tank.  

Settld

Based in Manchester, England, UK, Settld provides bereavement management tools for helping to settle financial and estate issues left by the deceased for surviving family members to handle. These areas can include: 

• Sending out multiple death notifications to financial, legal, corporate, and other institutions;
• Account closings, freezes, transfers;
• Property clearance of title transfers, sales;
• Probate and estate administration
• Asset search
• Grief Support

Settld has undergone 3 funding rounds to date in the private sector with Innovate UK, Techstars, and SFC Capital.

The following stocks represent the current publicly traded deathcare leaders: 

Service Corporation International

When it comes to an industry’s 800 lb. Gorilla, Houston, TX based Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI) fits that bill for the deathcare industry. Its $11.8 billion market cap has given it the means to expand by acquisition, leading to over 1,900 funeral homes and cemeteries across 44 states in its catalog. 

Carriage Services, Inc.

Operating as a smaller rival of Service Corporation International, Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE: CSV) has a $732 million market cap. Also headquartered in Houston, TX, Carriage Services owns 162 funeral homes and 31 cemeteries across 26 states. With FMR LLC, BlackRock and Vanguard leading among Carriage Services’ 80% institutional ownership, the company has solid financial support to grow. Carriage’s CFO, John Enwright recently disclosed in an analyst call that the company was initiating a number of cost saving measures in casket supply chain, fleet/limo services, and, most tellingly, digital services. 

Matthews International Corporation

For 175 years, Matthews International Corp. (NASDAQ: MATW) has been a leader in the engraving industry, from its Pittsburgh origins before the Civil War through to the 21st century. From headstones and cattle branding irons to printing and military stamps, Matthews built its business from the ground up. Going public in 1994, it entered the deathcare industry in a big way starting in 1996 – first in creating cremation urns, and then expanding to caskets in 2001. Although it had sold to international markets beginning in 1960, the company went all in through its 2008 acquisition of Saueressig in Germany. Subsequent casket and granite memorialization company acquisitions consolidated Matthew International’s leading presence in the deathcare industry. The company’s market cap stands at $770 million at the time of this writing. 

Matthews International has three business segments:

• Memorialization – Matthews International mortuary products include bronze and granite memorials, cremation urns, monuments, caskets, and other memorial items requiring artistic craftsmanship. 
• Industrial Technologies –  This segment handles warehouse automation, barcoding, inventory management, product identification and tracking solutions.
• SGK Branding: Supplies branding, packaging design, and production services for consumer packaged retail products.

Security National Financial Corporation

Establishing its niche as an ”end of life” insurance company, Salt Lake City, Utah’s Security National Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: SNFCA) has since expanded its footprint in the deathcare industry. In addition to its menu of  “end of life” insurance products, the company also owns Memorial Mortuaries and Cemeteries, which is Utah’s top funeral and cemetery services provider. Memorial Mortuaries and Cemeteries also owns the Probst Family Funerals & Cremations and Affordable Funerals and Cremations brands, and operates in 10 different locations. The company’s third segment is a mortgage loan business. Security National recently announced that it was joining the Russell 3000 Index, and has declared its 37th consecutive year for paying annual dividends. 

1-800 Flowers.Com Inc.

While 1-800 Flowers.com Inc. (NASDAQ: FLWS) supplies flowers, gift baskets, and other products for all occasions, a case can be made for its categorization within the deathcare sector. Although the company itself does not break down its flower sales by customer demographic, an article from several years ago quoted an insider that funeral homes accounted for as high as 75% of the company’s floral deliveries. 

The company’s recent underwhelming financials have been attributed to technical “screw-ups” in its order management system, and cited near-term remediations to include new app capabilities, expanded management tools, and AI powered improvements in customer engagement – all digital technology areas which may wish to incorporate some of the death tech tools listed earlier in this article. 

With digital technology and AI permeating so many aspects of modern society, Death Tech was an inevitable by-product that has since become a new industrial sector unto itself. If getting greater control over bereavement and estate events helps families to better manage and save on time and money in handling these issues while under emotional duress, then they will all be well worth it. 

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