Life Settlement Article on Death Trades
Found a pretty interesting article in Barron’s today. The main thing that caught my attention was the paragraph about Viaticals and Life Settlements. Here it is:
For a time, investors used so-called viatical settlements to bet on deaths of people afflicted with the AIDS virus. That tawdry practice mutated into the so-called life settlements business of buying insurance on healthy, elderly people to prepare for a big payout when they die. At least seven Internet sites exist for betting on the date of death of famous people. Less organized “death pools” exist in offices all over the world. Like betting on who wins the Super Bowl, death pools collect wagers on when well-known people will die. One New York advertising executive wagered on Mother Teresa’s death.
If money can be made betting on a Saint’s demise, what’s so bad about wagering on sinners?
The complete article discusses stocks as well:
New Life for Death Trades
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