J.G. Wentworth launches new Stratus Funding brand to provide alternative asset liquidity options to customers

American households held over $98 trillion of wealth in 2018. Wealth, or net worth, is defined as total assets minus total liabilities, according to data by Brookings Institution. Projections are that nearly $68.4 trillion in wealth will pass hands to heirs over the next 25 years from Baby Boomers to Generation X and Millennials. J.G. Wentworth is one of the most popular companies here in the United States. It’s also the industry leading provider of structured settlement funding.

Today, J.G. Wentworth announced the official launch if its new Stratus Funding brand to address this growing need for liquidity for future payment streams and assets among the clients of professional advisors, attorneys, businesses, institutions, and individuals. Stratus Funding, which will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of J.G. Wentworth, leverages its 25 years of industry experience to help provide liquidity options to customers. This will include facilitating the funding and purchase of a wide array of assets from traditional annuities to Music Catalogs and Sports Contracts.

With more than $2.6 trillion of assets backing annuities in the U.S. alone, annuities have become a major personal finance tool for those looking to lower their tax profile and plan for retirement. Like any other investment, policy holders sometimes need to seek liquidity to facilitate other financial decisions.

“By our estimate there are between $50 and $100 billion of annuities that could be sold into the secondary market annually. This estimate owes itself to the success of annuities as a financial product to begin with,” said John Zepeda, Director of Business Development of Stratus Funding. “Some annuity owners have had life changes and require a lump sum of cash to deal with them. Others want to transfer wealth to the next generation in a more tax-efficient manner. And still other annuity assets are inherited, where the beneficiary is younger and has different financial objectives and needs than the original annuitant.”

When selling an asset, the common denominator is the need for liquidity and to maximize its value. Stratus funding goes beyond the purchase of annuities. As noted by Sam Gawad, Vice President, Alternative Asset & Legal Counsel of Stratus Funding, “advisors, attorneys, and institutions are looking for partners when it comes to creating liquidity for an asset whether lottery payments, annuities or deferred compensation. We see examples of music catalog and royalty owners, athletes, sports agents, and business owners looking to leverage their current and future cash flows to generate a lump sum for new opportunities, as well as to address estate planning considerations where applicable.”

Stratus Funding is a subsidiary of the J.G. Wentworth Company. For over 25 years J.G. Wentworth and its subsidiaries have been purchasing annuity and structured settlement payments from individuals. During this time, the company has purchased over $9.1 billion of annuity payment streams and has completed 39 asset-backed securitizations totaling over $5.6 billion. Stratus Funding and its representatives do not provide legal, financial or tax advice.