Author: Greg Winterton
Last year was one that many in the alternative investment industry would like to forget. Fundraising and deal activity fell significantly as investors rotated to liquid credit opportunities due to the relatively better yield offered by these products, along with a perceived lower risk when benchmarked against a more volatile geopolitical climate. For those in the venture capital industry, add the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March and the resulting fallout amongst the start-up ecosystem, and you have something of an annus horribilis for the VC folks. The venture capital-backed life insurance insurtech market certainly took a hit. According…
Life Equity CEO, Scott Willkomm, concluded his tenure as Chair of the European Life Settlement Association last month. Greg Winterton spoke to Willkomm to get his thoughts on his time as Chair at ELSA, and his views on the life settlement market more broadly. GW: Scott, your term as ELSA Chair concluded at the end of December. You’ve been Chair for a number of years: what will you look back on with pride the most when you hand over the reins? SW: When I became chair of ELSA, one of the main things I noticed was that we needed a…
The Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) accounts for nearly all reverse mortgages in the US, and for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s fiscal year 2022-23, the number of HECMs fell by around 50% when compared to the prior year. Indeed, the industry has been on a general downward slope since the heady days of 2007 – 2009, when more than 100,000 mortgages were issued to Americans each year. If the industry is to turn the trend around, it will need to navigate some headwinds. Higher interest rates are the obvious challenge du jour, with the US…
Industry group the European Life Settlement Association (ELSA) published new information recently that provides insight into the status of the regulatory environment of the life settlement industry’s secondary market. The Secondary Market Regulation ‘fact sheet’ shows which states have a regulatory regime, which don’t, which types of companies are regulated (and where), and a list of life settlement providers in each state; ELSA has created what it calls the ‘Licensed Provider Matrix’ (LPM) to illustrate this. The LPM contains 36 licensed providers; 27 of which are licensed in more than one state, and nine of which are licensed in just…
The UK life insurance industry is currently in a period of rapid change. Not only are life insurers furiously pricing and bidding on bulk annuity contracts from defined benefit pension funds, but they are also trying to find the talent to beef up their teams to support growth in this market. Not only are they figuring out how to integrate the array of insurtech products now available to them, but they are also in the midst of a sea change in terms of incorporating generative AI into their businesses. And not only are they having to spend hours in the…
The equity release market in the UK returned to growth in Q3 this year, the first time in 12 months, according to British industry group, the Equity Release Council. So, for this month’s poll, we wanted to know whether our readers thought this was a turning point for the industry. Clearly, there are a lot of bulls out there, as 85.7% of survey respondents thought that the recent growth was sustainable. Only 14.29% were unsure, and nobody thought that the news was a flash in the pan. The Equity Release Council publishes market statistics each quarter. We’ll have to wait…
ISC Services Chief Development Officer, Chris Conway, has recently joined the Executive Board of industry group, the European Life Settlement Association (ELSA). Greg Winterton spoke to Conway to get his thoughts on the current state of the life settlement market and what his hopes are for 2024. GW: Chris, let’s start with something of a retrospective. How would you describe how 2023 has been for the life settlement industry overall and why? CC: My sense of the market is that it is continuing to grow, albeit slowly, due to the recent, significant rise in interest rates, which makes raising capital…
Whilst 2023 is not quite in the books just yet, it has been another busy year in the UK pension risk transfer (PRT) market. In October, consulting firm Barnett Waddingham published a blog post suggesting that this year is set to break records in terms of both the number and volume of deals. Those in the UK licking their lips at the prospect for 2024 bringing ever more deals might want to rein in their excitement, as the regulator is paying close attention. In mid-November, the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) issued a consultation about the funded reinsurance…
A new report asset manager, Conning, suggests that the outlook for growth in the life settlement market is generally positive. Life Settlements: Steady Growth Ahead is the 18th annual report the Hartford, CT -based company has published covering the life settlement market. The report covers a range of factors relevant to the life settlement market, including drivers of demand for life settlements among consumers and investor interest in asset classes such as life settlements. Conning’s bullish view is supported by trends in each of these areas. “Conning’s analysis of the factors driving life settlement growth are mostly positive. Consumers are…
UK industry group the Equity Release Council (ERC) published its quarterly update recently, showing a market that has returned to growth for the first time in a year; both new customers and total lending in the market increased (10% and 8% respectively) from the second quarter of this year. Market activity remains suppressed when compared to recent years, however. The first three quarters of 2023 have delivered three of the five lowest periods of activity since at least 2017, and the number of new plans agreed nosedived at the end of 2022 (although that has plateaued, perhaps indicating a natural…