MEIR ELIAV SPEAKS ABOUT LIFE SETTLEMENTS FOR RATED SECURITIZATIONS
Legacy Benefits President Panelist at Major Investment Conference
Jan. 22, New York — As the life settlement investment market rapidly expands, 30-year finance industry veteran and president of Legacy Benefits, Meir Eliav offered his perspective on the opportunities of this important alternative investment at a major conference in New York on January 18 and 19.
Joining a distinguished panel of finance leaders at the “Emerging Investment Strategies in the Secondary Life Market” conference, Eliav spoke about his firm’s experience in 2004 as the first ever to originate a portfolio of life settlement assets for a securitization transaction. The offering was rated by Moody’s and underwritten by Merrill Lynch. The rated securitization broadened the appeal of this investment class to mainstream institutional and high-net-worth investors and represented a genuine recognition of its value in the investment marketplace.
“By putting actuarial expertise to new use,” Eliav explained, “Legacy Benefits was able to purchase and combine policies into a portfolio that provided bond-like performance, with stable interest payments and principal returns. Merrill Lynch and Legacy used the portfolio and related insurance contracts as collateral for an offering of notes.”
“Moody’s used Monte Carlo financial simulation to size the offering to obtain the desired ratings outcome,” he said.
Eliav spoke before several hundred attendees ranging from investment bankers, equity and hedge fund managers, private equity fund managers, lawyers and insurance and re-insurance company executives. His broad-based knowledge and experience provided invaluable insights into this burgeoning investment area.
The conference also examined the benefits of secondary life insurance assets as an alternative investment, political and regulatory issues, pricing, and overseas investment opportunities in the field.
“The interest in this event was tremendous from all segments of the investment community,” said Eliav. “The large turn-out testifies dramatically to the growing importance of life settlements as an investment vehicle and awareness of its benefits in a diverse range of investment portfolios. As a leader in the secondary life market, we feel the opportunities in this unique investment class are enormous and the future is bright. We look forward to a highly successful year.”
About Legacy Benefits
A recognized leader in the life settlement industry, Legacy Benefits pioneered this burgeoning specialty finance field more than 15 years ago and today maintains its reputation as an industry innovator. Since 1991, Legacy Benefits has specialized in the origination, servicing and management of life insurance assets for a broad range of institutional clients. It utilizes an ever-evolving array of sophisticated analytical tools and upholds the highest ethical standards when evaluating and acquiring unwanted or unneeded insurance policies for its institutional clientele. Legacy Benefits was founded by company president Meir Eliav, a 30-year financial services veteran, who was a founding member and past-president of the Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA), the largest U.S. trade association in the industry.
In 2004, the innovative firm became the first ever to originate a portfolio of life settlement assets for a securitization transaction rated A1/Baa3 by Moody’s Investor Services. In 2006, Legacy Benefits received and reviewed life insurance policies covering 8,000 lives with a total face value of approximately U.S. $12 billion. Visit the company’s website at www.legacybenefits.com.
