Life Settlements can help bridge the gap for senior investors
by Wm. Scott Page
Mr. Page is CEO of PolicyAppraisal.com and LifeGuide Partners, LLC, which provides education and perspective to seniors, their loved ones, and advisors as they consider retirement options and research untapped financial strategies. Visit www.policyappraisal.comInflation is beginning to wreak havoc on the U.S. economy and it’s only a matter of time before clients begin to panic and want to start reconfiguring their portfolios. Of course, adjusting portfolios and reallocating is a smart overall practice – and an easy sell when times are good. However, when a recession is looming and inflation is impacting everyone’s investments, we know that clients will begin to panic now – even if your client base is comprised of individuals who are well off and not living on a completely fixed income.
Everyone’s feeling the pinch, in one way or another. Nobody likes paying nearly $5 per gallon for gas (and certainly not folks who grew up when it was less than $1).
One investment advisor recently said that while everyone feels the pinch of higher prices, the big impact is on those who don’t have a strategy to increase their retirement income over time to offset the higher prices. Basically, a rush to super safe investments, like cash, fixed income, and CDs are going to put more pressure on individuals who may quickly begin to draw on their principal.
To Stabilize And Grow Your Portfolio
Everyone must have a plan in place to stabilize and preferably grow their portfolios because watching the stock market dip and dive doesn’t do anything except increase anxiety.
Many seniors have seen this before, and they have fled the market in the past and gone to safer havens, such as cash or gold. Others will start to look at options like real estate, treasury inflation-protected securities, short-term bonds – or even crypto, as crazy as that might sound.
The real challenge bridging the gap, however, is not finding what to flee to but rather, finding a way to turn previously non-performing assets into cash that can be invested or used to bridge the inflation income gap.
Before clients start to consider selling off real estate or liquidating their coin collections, a life insurance policy appraisal might be a pathway to create bridge income.
Settlements: An Inflation Hedge
Right now, there’s capital flowing into the secondary market for life insurance policies. Life Insurance settlements are not correlated to the stock market and are therefore somewhat immune to rising interest rates and inflationary pressures. I say somewhat because some settlement companies borrow institutional capital, but in general, today’s life settlement companies are accepting large amounts of institutional capital that is fleeing other asset classes.
This means that life settlement companies are now on the lookout for policies.
Life Settlements are an attractive way for a client to turn a non-performing life insurance policy into immediate investible cash. And it’s never been easier.
Understanding the secondary market value of life insurance policies has traditionally been an extremely complicated process. It took a lot of time and energy to get offers and to understand the value of the policy. I have enough gray on my temples to remember sending out dozens of FedEx packages every day, getting medical records, securing offers, and then coordinating complicated transactions.
Today, we practically have an easy button. In fact, we have developed an algorithm to quickly determine a policy’s value on the secondary market. The proceeds from a life insurance settlement can then be invested or used to bridge the gap between a client’s regular interest income and the increases in the cost of living that are impacting everyone.
With the proceeds of a settlement, a client can purchase an annuity, invest in real estate, place the assets under management, or choose from a multitude of ways to generate additional income. And agents and advisors who coordinate the transaction can earn new fee income while helping their clients close the inflation gap.
Mr. Page is CEO of policyappraisal.com and WeBuy75.com, which provides education and perspective to seniors, their loved ones, and advisors, as they consider retirement options and research untapped financial strategies. Visit www.policyappraisal.com
