Carlisle CEO Garcia on life settlements’ growing role in the ILS market. – By Susan Barreto, Alternatives Watch

Insurance-linked security (ILS) products have been gaining in popularity in recent years among traditional hedge fund investors especially, but another sub sector outside of catastrophe bonds is growing in influence.

Life settlements are a unique niche at Carlisle Management, a Luxembourg-based fund management firm. At Alternatives Watch, we wondered what was driving interest in this market and what the future holds for this market as allocators look for risk protection amid geopolitical uncertainty.

We caught up with Carlisle Management CEO Jose Garcia following Abacus Life’s July 18 acquisition on of the Luxembourg-based investment manager for approximately $200 million. The deal signalled the U.S. publicly traded Abacus’ continued expansion as a global asset manager.

Garcia, who was at the helm when the firm was established, is currently working on new investment vehicles focused on life settlements as a distinct form of diversification from traditional investment markets. He has a 20-year track record in the capital markets working on everything from structured finance transactions to real estate.

In this Q&A, Garcia outlines the firm’s innovation in this arena and how global allocators are putting these products to work in their portfolios today.

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