Private placement life insurance: 8 unbeatable benefits

For affluent investors, hedge funds can be a powerful wealth management tool, offering attractive returns and broad diversification. 

However, hedge funds can be extremely tax-inefficient. Typically, hedge fund earnings are taxed as ordinary income or short-term capital gain, at federal rates as high as 43.4 percent. Add in state taxes and the combined rate approaches 50 percent. 

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Investors who have an appetite for hedge fund returns, but find the potential tax bite distasteful, should consider private placement life insurance (PPLI) and private placement variable annuities (PPVA). Still a relatively underused strategy, PPLI has grown in popularity in recent years among affluent investors seeking greater tax-efficiency,

A tax-favored insurance structure 

PPLI is a variable universal life insurance product designed to hold interests in various asset classes, including hedge funds, hedge funds of funds, and other “alternative investments.” By covering these assets in an “insurance structure,” PPLI has the power to convert highly inefficient taxable assets into favorable tax-efficient investments.  

Life insurance offers significant tax advantages. So long as a policy remains in force, investments grow and compound income-tax-free. Although withdrawals or surrenders can generate ordinary income if structured improperly, there are two ways clients can tap a policy’s cash value tax-free:

1. take withdrawals up to the amount of your investment in the contract; or

2. take low-cost loans from the policy. 

If you hold a policy for life and the investments perform well, you will accumulate significant cash value without paying tax along the way. This cash value can provide the policy holder with a variety of benefits, including tax-free withdrawals, enhanced death benefits, and funding for children’s education. In addition, when one holds the policy for life, the death benefit transfers to heirs income-tax-free. And by placing a policy in a properly structured irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT), it’s possible to avoid estate taxes as well. 

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PPLI combines the powerful tax benefits of life insurance with the flexibility to invest in hedge funds and other sophisticated asset management offerings. (Photo: Thinkstock)

8 benefits of a flexible investment tool 

Private plancement life insurance avails policyholders of the following 8 benefits:

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• A tax-advantaged money management platform — PPLI combines the powerful tax benefits of life insurance with the flexibility to invest in hedge funds and other sophisticated asset management offerings.

• Lower costs — Typically, PPLI offers lower fees, commissions, and other costs than retail insurance products. 

• No surrender charges— Policies can be surrendered at any time without incurring surrender charges often found in retail life insurance policies. 

• Simplified tax reporting — PPLI eliminates many of the annual reporting burdens associated with hedge funds, including K-1s. 

• Avoidance of “phantom income” — Because earnings accumulate in a tax-free environment, investors avoid paying taxes on income that’s not distributed to them. 

• Estate planning advantages — Clients have opportunities to enhance the benefits of wealth transfer and charitable planning strategies. 

• Tax-free policy exchanges — Investors can transfer existing life insurance policies into a PPLI using a tax-free IRC Section 1035 exchange. 

• Enhanced creditor protection — If structured properly, life insurance policy values cannot be claimed by creditors. 

PPLI offerings are unregistered securities, so they’re available only to investors who meet the SEC’s “accredited investor” and “qualified purchaser” standards. Accredited investors are those with:

1. a net worth of at least $1 million (excluding their primary residence), or

2. income of at least $200,000 ($300,000 for married couples) in each of the preceding two years. Generally, qualified purchasers are individuals (and certain trusts) with at least $5 million in net investments and entities with at least $25 million in net investments. 

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PPLI’s investment options include hedge funds, hedge funds of funds, master-limited partnerships (MLPs) and other alternative strategies. (Photo: Thinkstock)

Planning considerations 

Typically, PPLI policies are designed to maximize cash value growth and minimize death benefits. This allows the owner to keep the costs as low as possible and to participate in more of the investments’ potential gains. These arrangements must be structured carefully to ensure that the relationship between cash values and death benefits satisfies the IRS tax code’s definition of “life insurance.”