Grim Risks of Reaping Death's Rewards

The Wall Street Journal

By: Leslie Scism and Larry Light

2/6/2010

Death is inevitable, but good investment returns aren’t—especially those that rest on how long people live.

The increasingly popular practice of buying rights to older people’s life insurance is risky, even downright perilous. People are living longer than actuarial tables say they should, and that is a problem, at least for the investor. Adding to the danger are a recent adverse tax ruling and some scam artists on the edges of the industry.

Commentary by Life Policy Group:

It’s disappointing that even the ‘serious’ papers resort to gimmicky and misleading headlines like their counterparts in the tabloids.

Read the original article here



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