Life Settlements – An Alternative Investment

For many years now, one of the best alternatives to stock market investment; Life Settlement Investment, has only been available to institutional and ultrahigh-net-worth investors. But with recent legislation, life settlement investments are now available to California residents who meet certain requirements. However, even as this alternative investment continues to grow root around the nation, not many potential investors understand why they should partake in life settlement investments. If you are one of them, here is why you should not be left by this investment wagon.

But first, what is a life settlement investment?

Well, a life settlement investment is simply an undertaking where an investor buys an existing life insurance policy from its owner for more than its cash surrender value, but less than its net death benefit. The investor (individual, institution, or a private equity fund) then takes over the responsibility of maintaining the policy and paying any additional premiums or policy costs associated with it. When the insured passes away, the investor then proceeds to collect the insured death benefit from the policy and earn their returns.

It is important to note, however, that not just any life insurance policy qualifies as a potential investment. It would beat sense to buy a life insurance policy from a healthy, young person with 30 or 40 more years to live because then you would have to wait that long to get your investment’s return.  The best way to go about life settlements is purchasing life insurance policies from the terminally ill, those with a short life expectancy, or even those in high risk positions. With such individuals, you could easily collect your returns in periods ranging from a few months to a few years.  Some investors have actually realized over 100% returns in less than a year.

Are there people who are willing to sell their life insurance policies?

Yes. Indeed there are so many people willing to trade their life insurance policies for a lump sum payment due to reasons such as;

•  The insured is divorced and no longer has heirs to leave their assets to
  •    The insured has lost a spouse and their children are stable financially
  •    The insured needs funds for long-term healthcare costs
  •    There is urgent need for cash to finance a retirement plan
  •    The insured has been unable to keep up with the policy payments or wishes to stop making the payments

For whatever reason they may have, the policy owner decides it’s better to trade their death benefit for some living benefits.

What are the advantages of investing in life settlements?

Attractive returns on investment (ROI)

Life settlements offer great returns on investment with most of them generating double-digit interest rates and nearly no risk of losses on the principle. This is especially true when the policy holder is terminally ill, very old, or in a high risk position.

Stable and secure forms of investment

Unlike many other investments that are under the constant threat of fluctuating stock market prices, interest rates, politics, and many other external factors, life settlements are free from external influences hence stable and secure.

There is a thriving market

Most market players agree that at the moment the market is still a buyer’s market, favoring investors. The growing awareness of life settlements as an option to sell-off unneeded or unaffordable life policies among baby boomers has resulted in a steady rise of demand over the past few years.

As an investor, this is a great alternative investment to consider in your portfolio. However, there is plenty more to learn about life settlements including how to purchase them, legislation’s governing them, qualifications required to pass as an investor, and much more.

So do yourself a favor. The next time you are talking to your insurance broker or financial advisor, ask about investing in life settlements.

Disclaimer

I’m not a certified financial planner/advisor nor a certified financial analyst nor an economist nor a CPA nor an accountant nor a lawyer. I’m not a finance professional through formal education. This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute financial, accounting, or legal advice. I can’t promise that the information shared in this post is appropriate for you or anyone else. Before making any financial, investment or legal decision, you should seek a licensed professional. If you choose to act on any of this information, you agree to hold me harmless from any ramifications, financial or otherwise, that occur to you as a result of acting on information found on this site.

George Orwell’s 2018

George Orwell’s 1984 depicted a population controlled by the government with an all-seeing Big Brother keeping tabs on everyone. He was off by 34 years. His book should have been called 2018, and rather than focusing on the Government, he should have focused on big business.

Big Brother is alive and well today, and it’s not just a popular TV show, its big business. Amazon, Google, and Apple are just a few examples. Even Facebook is collecting personal and sometimes intimate details about its customers.

Technology is Helpful Yet Delicate

Granted, all these devices and services are supposed to make it easier for consumers to use technology. But what people forget is that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data technologies allow these companies to collect enormous amounts of information about their customers, that they can then leverage to make more sales, and even socially engineer your thoughts and feelings towards a product or services, or worse still, for a political candidate of their choice.

While everyone is complaining about security in the cities and the government overreaching its citizens, they are ignoring the fact that big businesses are standing on the sidelines collecting all the information they can about you, and can easily manipulate your thoughts and opinions to further their political agenda.

Right to Privacy

With advancements in AI and big data analytics, people should be aware of how much they are freely waving their rights to privacy by installing numerous apps in their mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, smart watches, computers, and now even on their kitchen appliances like refrigerators. Meaning, these devices are constantly listening or maybe even watching you.

How AI Can Socially Engineer Your Thoughts

The surprisingly deep connection between humans and machines means that even today’s relatively simple apps can exert a significant social influence on the population—for good or ill. Now, if big business wants you to buy more products, they simply engage a guided selling approach to increase sales, and if they want more engagement, they create interactive content that makes visitors go from a few seconds to an hour or more every day.

As much as many multinational corporations are striving to build AI systems that focus on positive behavior, unfortunately, the commercial forces driving technology are not often benevolent. These giant businesses at the forefront of AI technology—e-commerce, social media, and search engines—drive their share value by improving traffic, consumption, and addiction to the technology. Their intention is not ill, but the competitive nature of capital markets may push them towards AI hell-bent to influence your behavior towards their goals, even if that goal is political.

Social media is now a powerful tool in changing human beliefs and behavior. When you focus on building a huge advertising business by entangling politics, half-truths, and trivia, you can bring marvelous changes to the society without pestering or persuading anybody.

Was Your Vote Engineered by AI?

Artificial Intelligence has always raised ethical issues since it can be used to influence an individual’s thoughts and decisions. During the US presidential elections in 2016, AI massively came into play as the Cambridge Analytica Data Science Company rolled out an elaborate advertising campaign targeting persuadable voters by taking advantage of their individual psychology.

They used big data and machine learning to send different messages to voters based on the machine’s predictions about voters’ susceptibility to various arguments. So, those susceptible to paranoia received messages propagating fear while individuals with a conservative inclination received messages based on community and tradition. This could only be made possible by the massive footprints and behavioral patterns people leave behind on the internet regarding their relationships and consumption patterns.

Now, what I find interesting is that if the government was to demand installation of AI devices and begin to listen to your phone calls, most people would view it as an invasion of privacy and call for social activism. However, the same people will return to their homes and share the most intimate details of their lives while a tiny, unobtrusive device such as Alexa or Google Home, which sits quietly listening to every word, waiting for someone to speak its name, all without a warrant.

Bottom Line

With AI, Technology companies have quite a bit of information about you. For instance, Google snuck codes into adverts that would install tracking cookies on your devices without your knowledge. They have access to nearly every Wi-Fi password in the world, thanks to Android technology. Additionally, Google and Apple can track your device’s location with GSM-based technologies. Now, the government is rumored to be spying on technology companies to get their share of the information as well. You can imagine the potential treasure the big businesses could reap by just snooping into your Dropbox, Google drive, Gmail, and every other online platform that you subscribe to. So, it’s your responsibility to minimize the information you freely share with big business through your smart devices and mobile apps and shake off the manipulating hand of big brother.

I’m not against the use of products like Amazon’s Echo or Google Home. I think it is a wonderful technology and has the potential to do real good in this world. But people must take responsibility for their actions when using these AI systems. Whatever you search for online, store on the cloud, or ask Alexa about, just remember, your search is not private. There are people behind the tools you are using, and when people are involved, anything can happen.

As C.S. Lewis once said, “Spying on people by magic is the same as spying on them in any other way.” Today’s technology is clearly the magic used by big business.

Choose Your Battles Carefully

It’s easier said than done. Your father may have told you to “pick your battles carefully”, but what does that mean?

At the time they are occurring most battles seem to be worthwhile to those involved. Many people never spend any time on strategic planning yet proceed forward in the fog of war, stubborn and determined to make someone acknowledge their viewpoint.

Some people love to fight just for the sake of fighting. They cannot stand to lose a battle at any cost. Unfortunately, these people tend to lose more fights than they win and are destined to repeat their mistakes time and time again.

The most difficult choice you will ever have to make is choosing your battles. When choosing your battles you need to ask yourself three questions:

• Which battles can be won?
• Which battles are best to not participate in?
• Which battles do I have to win?

 You cannot win all battles and sometimes it is better to walk away then to fight and lose. A perfect example of this type of situation is fighting with a customer. In nearly every battle with a customer, the customer will win.

However, if you manage to win a battle with a customer, you may lose the war. You may lose your customer, and possibly other customers, due to your former customer spreading the word regarding your poor customer service.

There are battles that can be won, but the cost of winning is too high. I experienced this some time ago with a former employer. The collections department was determined to collect an open balance of $1.74. During a four-month period, the collections department drafted and sent eight collection letters for that $1.74.

At the time, postage was 32 cents, so in postage alone the company spent $2.56, not to mention the cost of the paper, envelopes and the employees’ time to draft and send the letters. Eventually they collected that $1.74, but by my calculations, it actually cost the company over $150.00 to achieve this result.

Finally, there are battles that we have to win. But how do we determine which battles need to be won? To answer that question, you need to ask yourself three simple questions: 

• How much will winning this battle matter in five days?
• How much will winning this battle matter in five months?
• How much will winning this battle matter in five years?

Once you have responded to these questions, the answer is generally very clear. Many times you will find that the battle is not worth the trouble. You may have overpaid by a few cents, or you may have to accept a loss to satisfy a customer, but in the end, (will fighting that fight and losing that customer be worth the win?) (Will the end justify the means?)

Will winning the fight truly matter in five minutes, five days, or five months? If the answer is “yes” then plan your attack and launch your assault.

By now you may be wondering, “What is a battle that I have to win?” Battles that you have to win are battles so important they have impact and make a difference in your personal and/or professional life.

These battles are externally focused. They are not self-promoting and are beneficial to everyone involved. The reward of winning the battle must be tangible and measurable, showing an improvement to a process or possessing long-term benefits.

Battles that have to be won are battles that create excitement, not only by itself, but also for everyone involved and/or affected by the battle. It should capture everyone’s emotions and promote productivity.

Above all, the battle must be able to be won. Each battle is unique to its own situation. It is your decision to pick the battles that you deem are worth winning.

Many times, you are your own worst enemy when it comes to choosing your battles. You may set yourself up for failure because subconsciously you do not think you can win or you place too much importance on battles that do not warrant the effort.

The battle of life is an up hill battle. Occasionally we lose a battle, but without those losses there would be no successes, and therefore nothing to achieve.

Bad News Travels at the Speed of the Internet

It is a well known fact that bad news travels faster and further than good news.

Why is this you may ask? Simply put, if you patronize a business and receive excellent service, you will most likely tell your family and a few friends.

However, if you received poor service or you feel you had been treated unjustly; it is likely that you will tell your family, friends and anyone else that will listen.

When asked to make a recommendation, many people are at a loss as to whom to recommend. However, many people will remember and report bad service they received.

Many businesses claim to have very successful “word of mouth” campaigns, and for the most part these claims are generally correct. By treating their customers well and providing good service the business is assuring that they receive recommendations.

Author Douglas Adams once said, “Nothing travels faster than light, with the possible exception of bad news, which follows its own rules”

This statement couldn’t be more true. People love bad news and thrive on it. The nightly news is full of bad news since this seems to interest people, the media knows this and uses it to get higher ratings

Understanding this phenomenon is your first step to improving your business image and increasing your sales.

It is not enough to simply do your best and treat some customers well while neglecting others. You need to treat every customer as if they are your first and only customer. This means training your staff and making them understand the bad news phenomena as well.

You can spend a lifetime catering to your customers to ensure quality service, but it takes only one representative with a questionable attitude to turn that customer into the local town crier spreading their story of discontent.

A perfect example of this occurred just around the corner from my office. Two sandwich shops with similar menus, but attitudes that couldn’t be further apart. The first business, which we will call “Sam’s Subs” has good food and reasonable prices, but was not known for their customer service. The owner was rather cranky at times and seemed to be under pressure and he routinely exposed his attitude to his customers.

The second sandwich shop, which we will call “Howard’s Hero’s”, did not have as robust of a menu as Sam’s Sub and their prices where considerably higher. Everyone was quick to state they would be out of business in no time with their prices and limited selection.

Howard’s Hero’s, however, had a secret weapon on their side. They understood quality service and knew that their customers could go anywhere they wanted. Howard’s Hero’s knew they had to treat their customers well to keep them paying their prices.

Within six months Sam’s Sub’s closed it doors and Howard’s Hero’s was clearly the destination of choice for the business diners at lunchtime. Howard’s Hero’s treated every customer as if they were family members. I still remember my first order at Howard’s Hero’s. The food was not five star quality, but it was good for a local deli.  What I remember is that every time I visit them they remember my name, they greet me as family, and never fail to add a little something extra to my order “on the house”. At times, the whole meal was on the house.

People love to have their egos stroked. The successful business understands this and realizes their customers can find the same product elsewhere, (possibly for less money), but they know their customers don’t mind paying higher prices if they receive excellent service.

If you believe treating one or two customers poorly isn’t going to affect your business, then think about this.

I could have easily sat here today and written an article blasting any number of businesses I feel have not provided me with quality customer service, but I chose to use my experience to help you understand how fast bad news travels and how it can affect your business.

In today’s fast paced Internet world, your customers have the potential to spread their message to millions of people in only a matter of minutes. A customer who has received good customer service may tell his family and a few friends about the service they received, but treat your customers poorly and they will make it their personal mission to inform as many people as possible.

In today’s world, bad news does travel at the speed of the Internet.

Have You Checked Your Criminal Record Lately?

It may sound like an odd thing to do, particularly if you are a law abiding citizen, but you should take the time to check your criminal record just as you should check your credit report.

As the number of identity theft cases increase, innocent people are finding that they have criminal records for crimes they never committed.

It’s called criminal Identity theft, and occurs when an imposter gives another person’s name and personal information such as driver’s license, date of birth, and/or Social Security number to law enforcement during an investigation or upon arrest.

Frequently, the imposter fraudulently obtains a driver’s license or other personal identification in the victims name and provides that identification to law enforcement as a result of a traffic violation or misdemeanor. The imposter signs the citation and promises to appear in court. When the imposter fails to appear in court, a bench warrant may be issued under the victim’s name.

In one such case, Sarah Long had applied for a lucrative new job as a financial analyst. Confident in her abilities she provided the prospective employer with everything they needed to complete the application process.

Much to her surprise however, she was informed that she would not be considered for the position due to her criminal record. It was at this time Sarah learned she had a history of committing check fraud and had served three years in prison for her crimes. The only problem is, it wasn’t her! It was someone that had used her identity to commit various criminal acts and was eventually convicted of check fraud and identity theft.

As a result of these findings she was forced to accept lower paying jobs and do what ever she could to obtain employment simply to make ends meet. It took Sarah nearly three long years to finally convince a court to erase the criminal record that was wrongfully applied to her identity.

In most cases, people never realize their identity has been stolen and usually find out when they start to receive bills or past due notifications, or worse, when the police knock on their door to take them into custody.

It is therefore wise to check your criminal record before you are in a situation where the information can cause you undue aggravation. The sooner you discover the inaccurate criminal record, the better. It still may take years to correct, but at least you will be prepared to handle any negative effects of the information.

If after researching your own criminal record, you find you do have a record for crimes you did not commit, here are a few of the things that you can do in order to begin the process of clearing your name within the legal system:

• Report the misidentification to your local law enforcement agency
• File an official impersonation report
• Gain knowledge of the particular laws within your state regarding criminal identity theft and your rights as a victim
• Insist that the law enforcement agency who takes the impersonation report files a copy with the authorities in the state or county where the perpetrator resides
• Contact the Motor Vehicle Department, in the event that your license has been violated
• Check to see if your state has victims’ rights groups or other advocates who can help you to win your case
• Hire an attorney that has experience with criminal identity theft

Don’t let someone ruin your good name and destroy your life. Take the necessary steps to protect your documents and other means of identification. Otherwise, there may be an imposter out there who will be laughing all the way to the jail cell, yours.

Note: For more information on check fraud and other methods criminals use to steal your money, buy a copy of my book, “The Truth About Check Fraud”