BRYN MAWR, Pa., Oct. 7, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Turmoil on Wall Street, the credit crunch and the high cost of energy have caused many Americans to look closely at the value of their assets. But when they turn to their life insurance brokers, financial planners and elder care advisors with questions about selling illiquid financial assets like life insurance policies, annuities and even legal settlements, they may find it difficult to get accurate information, specialty finance company J.G. Wentworth said.
"Since early 2008, we have noticed an increase in the number of inquiries by consumers in some sort of financial distress, as well as financial professionals on behalf of their clients, about selling their illiquid financial assets," said Ken Murray, Chief Marketing Officer of J.G. Wentworth. "We have been working with financial advisors to educate them on the secondary market and how it can provide their clients with liquidity options while also giving advisors additional selling tools to build their practices."
Since secondary markets for many illiquid financial assets were established in the 1990s, the combined value of the most commonly held assets in this category has soared, according to industry estimates and other publicly available data.
Total Value Est. # of
Of Outstanding Americans
Asset Assets Owning these Assets
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Life Insurance $18 trillion 154 million
Annuities $2.2 trillion 17 million
Private Mortgage Loans $3.1 trillion 7.5 million
Structured Legal Settlements $100 billion 2 million
Sources: American Council of Life Insurers, LIMRA International, The Federal Reserve Board, The U.S. Census Bureau and J.G. Wentworth estimates.
"The illiquid financial assets segment as a whole is enormous and can represent a substantial portion of individual consumers' net worth," said Murray. "For consumers, liquidity can provide an important product benefit that can make a material contribution to their financial success. For financial advisors, it represents an opportunity to develop new revenue streams, strengthen client relationships and to stake out a leadership position in an emerging and important segment of the financial services marketplace."
About the J.G. Wentworth family of companies
J.G. Wentworth, Inc., based in Bryn Mawr, PA, is the nation's oldest, largest and most respected buyer of deferred payments for illiquid financial assets like structured settlements, annuities and, through dedicated subsidiaries, life insurance policies. Since 1992, J.G. Wentworth has purchased over $3 billion of future payment obligations from consumers and is also the nation's largest securitizer of structured settlement and annuity backed notes. The company's notes are rated AAA by Standard & Poor's Corporation.
For more information about J.G. Wentworth, go to www.jgwentworth.com.
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