Senior Life Settlement Funds

Latchmore

Has anyone used these funds in a SIPP or Drawdown, or have an opinion of them? I recently came across one which gives 10% p.a. return on the amount invested for a 10year term. Very useful given the current volatile stockmarket, but I can't to judge how safe these plans are.

For details see the ARM fund details at catalystinvestment.co.uk.

Latchmore

dunstonh

They are classed as experienced investor products and high risk.

They are illiquid and have no capital guarantee (nor is the return if the underlying investments dont work as expected).

You sound like an inexperienced investor (as you wouldnt be asking the question if you were). So, the product probably isnt right for you.

steve62384

Latchmore,

It does not sound like dunstonh knows the Asset Class very well himself so ADVISING you that this Asset Class is 'probably not right for you' is, itself probably not very constructive or very good advice!

The way the Asset Class works is quite simple. Mr Bush is a retired politician in America who has a life assurance policy worth half a million dollars. He is a bit down on his luck and his hearing has never been good, he can have an operation but it is going to cost $100k. So he goes to AIG asking for a surrender value on his policy and they offer him $50,000 (10%) which is actually quite generous with some insurance companies not offering ANY surrender value. So, Mr Bush decides to sell his policy, which is his asset, no different to a house, or painting and no different in principal to an endowment policy here in the UK (except the US one you know the maturity value and is not dependent on bonuses). So he sells the policy on the open SLS market and is paid $100,000. So he is more than happy, he has doubled his money and can have the operation to restore his hearing.

The organisation who now owns the policy will then be paid out $500,000 when Mr Bush dies. They don’t have to wait until he dies as that asset is now their's. They could choose to re-sell the policy in 2 years time for say $150,000 and make a profit that way.

This is the principal of how a Life Settlement backed investment works and there are some excellent products out there.

My advice, continue to do your due-diligence and make your own INFORMED decision.

If you have any further questions, please ask

Thanks

purch

Wow.................who'da thunk ???:T :rotfl:

Post a Q and along comes Mr 'First Post' with the salesman's pitch...

Must be getting desperate !!!!!!!! :eek:

steve62384

Thanks purch

Is my second post any better?

So are these your words of wisdom for Latchmore ?

Ian_W

steve62384 wrote: »

It does not sound like dunstonh knows the Asset Class very well himself so ADVISING you that this Asset Class is 'probably not right for you' is, itself probably not very constructive or very good advice!

Ignoring the issue of "advice" - as it has a meaning under Financial services legislation so this forum is for discussion - what did he say that's incorrect?

Participation in the Assured Income Plan may involve substantial risks ...

SLS, its value and the income from them may go down as well as up ...

The market for life insurance policies is relatively illiquid when compared to other asset classes.

By agreeing to proceed to further, you accept that you are an experienced investor and you fully understand and accept the risks involved.

Oh, no that wasn't him, was it? It's the disclaimer on the website mentioned by the OP. Sounds like he summarised the issues quite well to me!

EdInvestor

The experience of people looking for "safe" insured secure type investements recently has not been encouraging - many people have been caught out in the demise of Lehman bros and the problems of AIG, the largest insurer in the world..

If the yield is very high ask yourself why.if you don't understand the small print, walk away.

Myrmidon_J

purch wrote: »

Post a Q and along comes Mr 'First Post' with the salesman's pitch...

Must be getting desperate!!

Yes, but you get 10% off the sale.
That's 10%!! :eek:
(Did you know that Senior Life Settlement funds can return 10% per annum over ten years? )

Seriously (for a moment): alternative asset classes such as these can be attractive to investors looking to lower risk, as they are uncorrelated with equity / bond markets. But they are complex and they are illiquid.

In addition to this, there is always the chance that the regulatory environment will turn hostile.

So the risk of the asset class itself increases, though volatility may be exceptionally low.

purch

So are these your words of wisdom for Latchmore ?

No, cos clearly the OP and you are closely linked...

You will find that most people who use this website are not as gullible as you think...

whiteflag_3

purch wrote: »

No, cos clearly the OP and you are closely linked...

You will find that most people who use this website are not as gullible as you think...

Are you sure purch?;)

A few clicks of the mouse and I found this

http://www.drawdown-advisor.co.uk/stephenhuntaugust2006.pdf

Also a rather nice financial promotion posted on another thread (today funnily enough)

Annuities, annuity, annuity rates and income drawdown offer

Company Name: Rockingham Retirement

What we offer: Annuities, annuity, annuity rates and income drawdown

What Discount: 10% refund of commission or 10% commission sacrifice on Annuities, annuity, annuity rate and income drawdown to enhance retirement income.

Instore or online: Both - www.RockinghamRetirement.co.uk or www.Annuity-Advisor.co.uk or www.Drawdown-Advisor.co.uk or visit us at Rockingham Retirement, Rectory Farm Offices, Warmington, PETERBOROUGH. PE8 6UT. Tel 0800 195 4980.

Company Websites: www.RockinghamRetirement.co.uk or www.Annuity-Advisor.co.uk or www.Drawdown-Advisor.co.uk

Store Location : Rockingham Retirement, Rectory Farm Offices, Warmington, PETERBOROUGH. PE8 6UT. Tel 0800 195 4980.

How discount work: If you take out an Annuities, annuity, annuity rates and income drawdown with Rockingham Retirement we will rebate you, in cash at least 10% of all / any commission we receive. Alternatively we will surrender 10% of our commission to enhance your Annuities, annuity, annuity rates and income drawdown.

How long valid for: As long as people find us through Martins web site

My position is MD


What I am about to say now may be the most important piece of advice you will ever get:

SHOP AROUND for your Pension / Retirement Income and go to an expert, someone who can give you all the options as we do here at Rockingham. I have 4 simple questions for you:

1. Do you shop around for the cheapest car insurance? If the answer is yes then why on earth do people not shop around when they retire? After all it has only taken your whole working life to save up your pension fund and it will be a decision that will affect the last 1/4, yes quarter of your life!

2. If I was to offer you a free Christmas Turkey, every year for the rest of your life what would you say? Probably not no. So even if by shopping around you only increase your income by £50 per year why don’t most people do it?

3. Would you go to your local GP for open heart surgery? Retirement Income provision is a very complex and specialist field. There are VERY few companies who will diligently look at every option available to you so you can make an informed decision. Most IFA's do not have this degree of knowledge. That is not to belittle IFA's as like GP's they do a first rate job but we literally handle hundreds of cases every month, more than some IFA's will handle in a lifetime. We are experts at what we do which is Retirement Income.

4. If someone was to give you, gratis, £20,000 would you invest it in a fixed investment product that you could never change in any way for the next 25 years?? Even the Chartered Insurance Institute have said ' ...for 65 year olds approaching retirement, being locked into a product for the next 20 years seems nonsensical. No one would ever buy a car or a home they couldn’t change, and retirement income products are no different.


Selecting your Retirement Income is a ONCE IN A LIFETIME decision. Make sure it is an informed decision because once you have made it there may be no going back.

We may be heading for a period of deflation (or not) even at just 4% inflation (and pensioner inflation is at more like 9%) a level annuity will halve in value in 17 years. So if you are 60 now and take a level annuity paying £4,000 per year at just 4% inflation when you are 77 it will be worth just £2,000 per year.

Thanks

Steve Hunt A.C.I.I. Cert PFS CeMAP - Chartered Insurance BrokerMD Rockingham Retirement

On a serious note, while Purch mentioned desperation in jest (i think?) , its a sad reflection on just how bad things are in financial services , if firms are resorting to these tactics.
)

steve62384

whiteflag

To be honest I did not even know what OP was? I presume that purch was saying that I know Latchmore and have been in cahoots with him?? Wow, I am pretty new to this ‘forum stuff’ and will probably not be continuing!

In my defence, what I was trying to do here and with my post on Martins 'Promotions' thread is actually try and help people with one of the most important decisions of there lives. Yes we are a business and have to make money, like every other business who has posted on Martins 'Promotions' page so I don’t see what was wrong in doing that?

But I stand by my original comment that Latchmore needs to do as much research as possible and make an informed decision. If he goes into an annuity he is committing to that product and income for the rest of his life and possibly a third of his life. If he goes into drawdown as an alternative he may get his fingers very badly burned and most 3rd way products (possibly with the exception of AIG’s living Time Plan) are almost dead in the water as they are equity based products (where Living Time is backed by short term gilts).

I am certainly not saying that SLS is right for him. We have many many clients, far more intelegent than I who love the asset class and have invested millions and some who fully understand the asset class but just dont like it or have chosen to go the lowest risk option of cash. But what they have all done is made an Informed Decision.

Thanks whiteflag

au revoir et salut