Author: Greg Winterton

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…

Life settlements investor Obra Capital has completed its acquisition of Unified Life Insurance Company, a life and health insurance carrier with approximately 100,000 active policy holders, and 49 associated licenses. “We are pleased to welcome the Unified team and the business and the platform they will continue to grow with Obra. Unified is a natural fit within our evolving and differentiated longevity strategy that is designed to balance longevity and mortality risk to provide investors with expected stable and resilient cash flows, lower overall portfolio volatility, and greater targeted absolute returns. We believe this is a unique offering that extends…

David Burrowes has been reappointed to serve as Chair of UK-based industry group the Equity Release Council, a position he has held since 2017, for a third and final term. “It has been a privilege to represent Council members during a period when lifetime mortgages have moved into the mainstream conversation about later life finances,” Burrowes said. “The Council plays a unique role by bringing specialists together from across the market to work together and set standards for the good of consumers. This has seldom been more visible than during challenging economic times this year and during the Covid-19 pandemic,…

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…

Alternative credit investor BroadRiver Asset Management has completed its acquisition of the US & Bermuda businesses of Lombard International Group. “This transaction is an outstanding opportunity for BroadRiver and its investors and an additional step in BroadRiver’s strategic expansion into the insurance sector,” said Andrew Plevin, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of BroadRiver. “We look forward to supporting the sustained development of Lombard US/BDA’s position in specialty life insurance and variable annuity products,” he added. Michael Farrell, previously Chairman, President and CEO of MetLife Insurance Company of Connecticut, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Lombard US/BDA and Tom Considine, CEO of…

Aliso Viejo-based longevity manager expands its leadership and business development teams. Longevity-focused asset manager, Preston Capital LLC, has hired David Posnick, a former Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, and Anne Buchanan, former Head of Distribution for Obra Capital (formerly known as Vida Capital), as it launches a new comingled fund. Posnick has joined Preston as Executive Chairman. Most recently Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of Distressed Investing at Blackstone, Posnick had been with Blackstone Credit (previously known as GSO Capital Partners) since 2007. “David has a wealth of knowledge that spans across multiple decades and investment cycles. He has seen…