BusinessWeek – The market for exotic securities hasn’t entirely gone away. It’s just gone underground—-six feet under, to be precise.
Hedge fund Davidson Kempner Capital Management is plunging into life settlements—a market in which speculators buy-up unwanted life insurance policies from wealthy individuals looking to score some quick cash. The $10 billion New York-based fund is planning on selling so-called “death bonds” to overseas investors, as part of a plan to potentially raise cash to finance its life settlements acquisition business.