ORLANDO, Fla. – The Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA) just announced that its Sixth Annual Institutional Investor Life Settlement Conference, the leading professional gathering of institutional investors in the life settlements asset class, will be held on Feb. 22, 2016, at The Ritz-Carlton Battery Park in New York City.
LISA’s annual gathering for institutional investors is the largest event in the industry that brings together executives from pension funds, hedge funds, family offices, foundations and endowments to discuss the latest developments in the life settlement market. The conference has sold out for three years in a row.
“This year’s conference will include an economic outlook, real-life investor experiences in the life settlement market, performance and valuation standards, and an in-depth analysis of building and managing a portfolio in the tertiary and secondary markets,” said Darwin Bayston, president and chief executive officer of LISA.
The most recent Conning & Company study, “Life Settlements and Secondary Markets: Opportunities and Challenges,” reported that life settlements continued to attract investor interest as an alternative asset class in 2015. The analysts noted that “this attraction reflects the desire for investors to generate above average returns in a prolonged low interest rate environment.”
A life settlement is, of course, the sale of a person’s life insurance policy to a third-party investor. In a life settlement, the policy’s owner transfers the ownership of that policy in exchange for an immediate cash payment from the buyer. Candidates for life settlements are typically aged 65 or older, with a life insurance policy that has a “face value” (death benefit) of more than $100,000.
• See also: When is a life settlement right for a client?
The conference will feature a keynote address from Colin Devine, a nationally known consultant who provides strategic advisory services to the insurance and investment management sectors. Devine will provide an overview of the economics of the life settlement business and an outlook for the industry in the coming years.
There will also be a panel discussion regarding the entrance of new capital into the life settlement market. The panelists will include: Bill Corry, owner of Corry Capital Advisors, which works with a large number of pension funds and hedge funds who are institutional investors in life settlements; and Dan Young, president of Magna Life Settlements, a subsidiary of Vida Capital, Inc., a pioneer among institutional investors in the life settlements asset class.
Other conference sessions include:
• A presentation by Jeffrey Bollerman, senior vice president of Houlihan Lokey, who will discuss the characteristics of the tertiary market for life settlements
• An update on the debate about unexpected cost of insurance (COI) increases from several life insurance companies, provided by Michael Brohawn, managing director of ITM|TwentyFirst
• An address by Traci Davis, vice president of underwriting services for Examination Management Services, Inc., regarding innovations in mortality and morbidity risk analysis to improve underwriting outcomes
• A best practices session focused on the dynamic process of constructing a life settlement portfolio and then managing it to achieve the objectives of the investment.
“Our Institutional Investor conference is a one-stop shop for institutions seeking information about life settlements as an asset class,” said Bayston. “This is a safe place for investors to gather with their peers and colleagues in the industry, whether their organization is already investing in the life settlement space or only considering the strategy.”Discounted conference registration fees and hotel room rates are available for anyone who registers by Friday, Jan. 29. For more information or to register now, please go to www.lisa.org/events.
About the Life Insurance Settlement Association: The Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA) is the nation’s oldest and largest organization representing participants in the life settlement Industry, with a current membership of more than 90 companies doing business in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The mission of LISA is to promote the development, integrity and reputation of the life settlement industry, to advance the highest standards of practice and professional development for the industry, and to educate consumers and advisors about a life settlement as an alternative to lapse or surrender of a life insurance policy. For more information, visit www.lisa.org.
