Paul Regan, a hedge fund manager and founder of Next Level Holdings LLC, enjoys going against norms and surprising people. Take annuities, for example. As any investor knows, a good return on annuities is 5-6%. “That is paltry, especially when you consider that many people rely on them for monthly income during their retirement,” says Regan. “Why have we accepted such low returns for so many years instead of shooting for the moon? Why not go for 24%, guaranteed?”
Regan knows the eyebrows that just went up. Conventional wisdom in the financial industry has always been, with good reason, that returns like that are not possible and that anyone who claims otherwise is probably a scammer.
“I agree, actually. I’ve been in this industry for decades and know how inundated it is with people who over-promise, but hear me out,” Regan says. “After working for 20+ years as a financial engineer and analyzing trends in non-traditional markets, I created Next Level Holding’s Enhanced Annuity Product, which blows standard annuities out of the water.”
Regan’s new investment strategy that guarantees a 24% return centers on arbitrage trading and insurance policies. In arbitrage, Regan takes advantage of price discrepancies between the same investments in different markets. He buys in one market while simultaneously selling an equivalent size in a different but related market, ultimately taking advantage of price divergences between the two.
“This is possible because global markets do not operate with complete efficiency. Information in one part of the world may not travel as quickly as it does elsewhere, leading to different share prices,” he explains. “By turning over my capital 3-4 times every 30 days, I secure quick profits. I was already seeing 9-12% returns, which were higher than an annuity’s, but at Next Level Holdings, by increasing our monthly transaction volume, we can generate returns of around 80% per annum after expenses. About one-third of that or around 24%, goes straight back to investors in our fund.”
That is one-half of the equation for getting higher annuities, but that still leaves the other half: guaranteeing it. After all, there will always be a risk for any investor.
“That’s where issuing dedicated insurance policies to each of our clients comes in,” says Regan. “Because we work with Lloyds of London and other major insurance carriers, all of whom carry investment-grade ratings from AM Best, the credit rating issuer for insurance carriers, each investment is backed, and yes, that 24% return is guaranteed.”
Regan laughs now when he remembers how challenging it was to get insurance companies to come on board. “They could see that I had a scalable, sustainable model for several niche markets, but true to their industry, they were awash in red tape. Even though I could show them that our investment risk could be measured and minimized to specific levels, I still had to go through nearly two years of financial audits, the equivalent of ten colonoscopies every day. I even had to put up eight figures in counter-guarantees to further satisfy them.”
In the end, however, Regan succeeded, and today his company offers the impossible: an Enhanced Annuity Product that guarantees a 24% return. By combining specific trade, finance, and arbitrage-based strategies with dedicated insurance policies from licensed and regulated insurance companies, investors’ principal and interest are (truly) guaranteed.
“5-6% returns on annuities are for yesterday’s investor,” says Regan. “I get it – caution in this industry is wise because the risk is inevitable. But, if you are willing to set aside what you think you know about investing, you can add to your portfolio an asset that generates consistent, market-beating returns in all market conditions. 24% is worth checking out, don’t you think?”
