Life or something like it

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Independent financial advisers are becoming increasingly interested in US life settlement (LS) policies.

Hardly surprising, given the exceptional returns on this asset class - typically between 8% and 11% per year. And yet not so long ago few people this side of the pond were aware of the LS market. But the market has long since mutated into the model we are much more familiar with today, the US senior citizens' life settlements. In a nutshell, this is a life insurance policy sold at a discount by the policyholder in order to unlock the benefits in their lifetime. It's this discount that provides the investor with a return - the new owner receives the full benefits of the policy on the dea...

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