The Life Settlement market has survived the downturn. Large investors have snapped up distressed portfolios, and money is returning to the secondary market. The remaining players are stronger, and new and returning investors have learned from mistakes of the past and are deploying money in a more thoughtful way. This panel explores where the market is headed.

Life Settlements and related investments...the time has come. Alan Buerger, CEO of Coventry will present the current state of the market, the future of the market and how to capitalize on new opportunities to create greater value for consumers and investors.

One of the greatest concerns of regulators is how investments are valued. Several companies have had problems getting auditors to sign off on portfolio values, leading to regulator action or scrutiny. Is longevity exposure the best way to valuate life settlement assets? Should it be mark-to-market, mark-to-model, or some other valuation? Who should create them? Specifically, what concerns have regulators raised? What can the market expect?

The Financial Services Authority labeled life settlement investments "toxic" for retail investors and wants them banned from retail sales. The agency is working with other European regulators as overarching investment regulations are being drawn up. How much capital was raised from the U.K. in recent years? Has there been an effect in other European markets? Should retail sales be banned? What should investment regulation look like? What is the industry doing about it?

This presentation examines what is behind the exodus of Wall Street banks from the asset class and what it will take to get them back. The session presents market data, and discusses potential and returns, financing structures, and counterparty risk while exploring where the market is headed.

More portfolios are ending up in bankruptcy courts these days. Market players talk about what it takes to market such portfolios, do the due diligence and get the best prices for creditors.

Forty states and Puerto Rico have passed laws regulating the market. But this is only the first step. Regulations also must be drafted by the states. Market participants discuss what new laws have been recently passed, how older ones have been tweaked, and what regulations are being put into place.

Many of the large distressed portfolios have been sold, but smaller portfolios are still being shopped around. Tertiary buyers also are trading pieces of their new portfolios. All this requires due diligence on the economic value and litigation risks of policies in the portfolio.

Whether it is a newly created portfolio or a distressed portfolio purchased on the tertiary market, the assets need strong management. Panelists discuss what type of experience and background is necessary in a top fund manager. What are reasonable fees to manage life settlement funds?

Attorneys speak about recent court decisions: from the Pruco case in Florida letting the carrier retain premiums, to a John Hancock ruling in New York requiring the insurer to reverse a lapse. Two lawsuits also have challenged Phoenix's cost-of-insurance increase.

A sufficient cash account is crucial for the success of any life settlement portfolio. Even with accurate life expectancies, and depending on the size of the pool, there could always be a shortfall in maturities. Combining a U.S. life settlement portfolio with secondary market German life insurance policies is an approach that can achieve conservative cash management without jeopardizing return and the non-correlation of the product. This session explores how investing cash into German policies may offer flexibility without market price risk.

This session reviews the challenges facing U.K. investors wishing to access the hedge fund arena given tax and liquidity considerations. It examines the quoted sector (investment trusts of hedge funds, quoted in-house funds of funds, quoted single funds) and looks at reporting status hedge funds and the UCITS III absolute return funds. The session also explores the place for this asset class within portfolios.

Life settlement market players are starting to make inroads in persuading notoriously conservative pension funds to invest in the asset to meet vast underfunded retiree liabilities. Panelists discuss what is necessary to be successful in raising monies from this type of prospect.

It's been more than three years since the big extensions of the mortality estimates. How do fund managers assure their LEs are on target or mitigate in cases where policies in portfolios go long?

Ireland remains a popular destination for life settlement funds because of the double tax treaty with the U.S., which means that the withholding tax won't be taken out of death benefits. Ireland allows speedy regulatory approvals. Panelists discuss the pros and cons of setting up regulated funds known as Qualifying Investor Funds (QIFs), or unregulated entities known as Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs).

From the FBI raid on Imperial Holdings in Florida to the German investigation of Berlin Atlantic Capital, to the sweep of Dutch company Quality Investments BV, to the SEC lawsuit against Life Partners, law enforcement and regulatory activity has heated up. Panelists give an update of the cases and reflect about whether this is a sign of a maturing market, and if this should give investors confidence that the asset is being cleaned up.

Ireland, Luxembourg, the Channel Islands and the Cayman Islands are the popular countries for setting up life settlement funds. There are benefits and challenges to structuring these off-shore entities. Panelists will focus on such emerging issues as compliance with the U.S. Investment Advisers Act, the U.S. ERISA (pension plan) regime, emerging FATCA tax rules and other U.S. legal issues as well as which jurisdictions are more hospitable to life settlements.