Annuity Structured Settlement Was Arranged
In practice, though, most such companies that buy structured settlements do not keep them in their own investment portfolio; they then re-sell the structured settlement annuity payments to an investor, pocket a small slice or charge a markup as a commission, and seek out another structured settlement annuity to buy and repeat the process. Which means ultimately, the company needs to find both an ongoing stream of people who have structured settlement annuities to sell (not surprisingly, easier to find in these difficult economic times), and investors who are willing to buy the seller's unique annuity stream of payments.
So what does this look like from the investor's perspective? Because each structured settlement was arranged for the winning plaintiff's particular circumstances, no two structured settlement annuity investment options are the same. One might offer $2,000/month for the next 18 years; another might provide for a single lump sum payment of $200,000 in 10 years and another $100,000 5 years after that, with no intervening payments; another might provide for a series of $1,000/month payments for 10 years, then a $100,000 lump sum at the end of 10 years.
How does the return work with such irregular payments? From the investor's perspective, this is similar to buying an original issue discount bond that matures at par value. For instance, if the structured settlement provides $200,000 in 10 years and another $100,000 payment 5 years thereafter, then the lump sum required for the investor might be $170,884; if you do the math (it's a standard IRR/NPV calculation for any financial calculator or spreadsheet), "investing" $170,884 today for $200,000 received in 10 years and another $100,000 received in 15 years equates to a 5% internal rate of return. However, it's important to note that you don't receive any kind of ongoing 5%/year payments (unless that happens to be what the annuity offers); your 5% return is solely attributable to the fact that that's how much money would have grown for the future value the investor gets from the annuity payments to equal the lump sum the investor paid today to get them. So the return is legitimate, but it's not comparable at all to the ongoing cash flows from a 5% coupon bond.
In practice, though, most such companies that buy structured settlements do not keep them in their own investment portfolio; they then re-sell the structured settlement annuity payments to an investor, pocket a small slice or charge a markup as a commission, and seek out another structured settlement annuity to buy and repeat the process. Which means ultimately, the company needs to find both an ongoing stream of people who have structured settlement annuities to sell (not surprisingly, easier to find in these difficult economic times), and investors who are willing to buy the seller's unique annuity stream of payments.
So what does this look like from the investor's perspective? Because each structured settlement was arranged for the winning plaintiff's particular circumstances, no two structured settlement annuity investment options are the same. One might offer $2,000/month for the next 18 years; another might provide for a single lump sum payment of $200,000 in 10 years and another $100,000 5 years after that, with no intervening payments; another might provide for a series of $1,000/month payments for 10 years, then a $100,000 lump sum at the end of 10 years.
How does the return work with such irregular payments? From the investor's perspective, this is similar to buying an original issue discount bond that matures at par value. For instance, if the structured settlement provides $200,000 in 10 years and another $100,000 payment 5 years thereafter, then the lump sum required for the investor might be $170,884; if you do the math (it's a standard IRR/NPV calculation for any financial calculator or spreadsheet), "investing" $170,884 today for $200,000 received in 10 years and another $100,000 received in 15 years equates to a 5% internal rate of return. However, it's important to note that you don't receive any kind of ongoing 5%/year payments (unless that happens to be what the annuity offers); your 5% return is solely attributable to the fact that that's how much money would have grown for the future value the investor gets from the annuity payments to equal the lump sum the investor paid today to get them. So the return is legitimate, but it's not comparable at all to the ongoing cash flows from a 5% coupon bond.
