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Centurion Brings Longevity Risk Investment To HNW Market
A fund that invests in life settlements policies and seeks to profit through the market for what is called longevity risk, has been made available to private wealthy investors, its management firm has announced.
Centurion Fund Managers, a European firm, said it will make its Defined Return Fund Longevity Plus Class available to high net worth investors, a fund that previously was only available to institutional investors. Investors can tap into a life settlement fund which boasts 48 consecutive months of positive performance and an annualised return of 9.5 per cent since inception eight years ago.
The term longevity risk applies to the “risk” that a person will live longer than actuaries expect. This “risk” has become a significant issue for insurance firms and pension funds which have been feeling the financial strains of dealing with an ageing human population. Unexpected rises in longevity have, for example, put state-funded pension schemes under considerable pressure.
“We originally set up this class for a specific institutional client, but over the past few months we have seen an increasing demand from both professional advisors and institutional investors for a fund that combines a long track record with an annual return close to 10 per cent, competitive fees and no redemption penalties. We believe that the Longevity Plus class meets these requirements perfectly,” said David Rawson-Mackenzie, director of Centurion Fund Managers.
The Longevity Plus class is available in sterling, euros and dollars, and offers an annual distribution option of 6 per cent per annum. The Defined Return Fund was launched in 2002 and is one of the longest-running life settlement funds in the market.
Founded in 1999, Centurion Fund Managers is the longest established fund manager to focus exclusively on life settlements as an asset class, it says.
Life settlements investors typically buy life policies from people looking to sell them before their due maturity date. In such cases, the buyer of the policy will purchase it at a slight discount.
