Cygnus LS is a specialty consulting firm that provides customized consulting services to private enterprises engaged in a broad range of businesses. Our services are offered to companies who require between $10 million and $85 million for identified projects and can utilize one of our two structured financial vehicles to meet that need.


Each of our structures is based on the privately underwritten sale of Bonds backed (i.e., supported or collateralized) by assets comprised solely of a unique, professionally created, diverse portfolio of senior life settlement insurance policies. We refer to this type of structure as a LS-backed securitization.


The two structures that underlie our consulting services include The Wychelm Series Leveraged Program, “levered” structure (in which the structure includes a separate Credit Facility), and an unleveraged structure. The levered structure is available to projects that require between $10 million and $85 million and can satisfy the other conditions of this format. The other, unlevered structure is suitable only for projects that need approximately $25 million to $50 million for their completion and must take down that entire amount immediately upon the closing of the Bonds sale. In each case, the proceeds received from the sale of the Bonds, alone or with funds obtained from the Credit Facility, will be sufficient to provide the funds promised for the client’s project and the funds required for the acquisition of the LS portfolio and, on an ongoing basis, the maintenance and servicing of the structure until the Bonds are retired.


There is a large and growing market for LS policies. There are many reasons insurance policies find their way into these markets- -some reasons reflect financial decisions, others reflect changed social circumstances. Policies for inclusion in LS portfolios that will be assembled for our clients will be acquired through negotiated transactions in the LS market.


We have established strategic relationships with a team of independent structuring experts whose services complement ours to allow us to offer a complete suite of services necessary for the completion of our clients’ structured financing transactions. The team includes an actuarial advisor, who is responsible for profiling the LS portfolio; an aggregator, which is a specialized insurance industry firm with special expertise and experience in the LS industry, whose job is to acquire the policies that meet the profile prescribed by the actuarial advisor; a special legal counsel with  expertise in the insurance and LS industry; an underwriter who can sell the Bonds on an international basis to sophisticated investors; a Credit Facility operator (for the levered structure only); and U.S. and foreign lawyers, accountants and custodian banks to complete and implement our structured financing program. Our team has considerably more than 100 years of experience in the life settlement and related fields.


Once we have vetted a prospective client’s project and management, we generally expect to complete our assignment in not more than four to six months. Other key benefits of our program include the following:

  • No need for other financing for the project- -100% of the project’s needs as set forth in its business plan are provided by the LS-backed transaction we counsel.
  • No lien on the project’s business or assets.
  • No equity give-up by the project’s sponsor (our client).
  • No Board membership.
  • Reimbursement of expenses upon the successful closing of the financing.
  • Customized services and full transparency.
  • The client controls the process, and can stop it at any time without penalty.
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Our team has worked with clients and prospects who propose to engage in a wide range of fields. These have included energy; construction; production and manufacturing; real estate; and entertainment. 

Services & Structures​