Life settlements consist of the purchase of life insurance policies from US senior citizens with a short life expectancy. The insured US citizens enjoy the immediate benefits of the cash, which is higher than the surrender value of the policy, with the investors (the purchasers) receiving a targeted annualised rate of return between 10% and 12%.
Complete’s life settlement product, The Cascade Portfolio, is a unique direct ownership investment, provided by Mosaic Caribe, an established supplier of life settlement products in the US. Many leading Self-Invested Pension Plan providers have approved the Cascade Portfolio for inclusion within their SIPP, which usually enables the investor to switch under-performing funds within their SIPP to the Cascade Portfolio.
In addition to the relatively high annualised rate of return, investors enjoy the benefit of income from life settlement investments being treated as capital gains (currently charged at 18%), with no CGT or income tax charged if the Cascade Portfolio is purchased via the investor’s SIPP.
Tony Salentino, CEO of Complete, commented: “Mortgage advisers and IFAs are increasingly looking for new ways to offer a holistic service and added benefits to their clients. Although life settlements are relatively new to the UK, they are recognised as a secure and high-performance investment – especially at a time when savings rates are exceptionally low. So, we are delighted that Complete is one of the first UK mortgage and financial planning distributors to offer access to this product. Life settlements have been included in the Sunday Times top tips for saving (February 2009) and we are confident that brokers will be able to increase their business volumes and income levels through Cascade Portfolio referrals via CFPS.”
