Life Settlement Institute Names New President

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9, 2005 The Life Settlement Institute (LSI), the leading organization representing secondary market providers for life insurance, named Mr. Brian Smith president. Smith is President and CEO of Life Equity LLC, a leading organization in the life settlement industry serving individuals, businesses and estates. Smith has worked in the Life Settlement Industry for 5 years and holds a BS and an MBA from Cornell University.

Previously, Brian Smith was President and COO of Cole National Corporation for 16 years. Cole National is a $1 billion NYSE company, which he took public in 1994.

LSI is a trade association dedicated to: increasing the knowledge and awareness on the part of financial planning professionals and advisors of the life settlement industry, increasing the awareness of life insurance policyholders of the option of obtaining more value for their policy than otherwise would be available from the issuing life insurance carrier, promoting the use of institutional financing in the life settlement industry, supporting laws and regulations that foster the use of such institutional financing and preventing fraudulent or dishonest life settlement transactions. Its founding members include Life Equity, LLC (http://www.lifeequity.net/), the Life Settlement Corporation d/b/a Peachtree Life Settlements (http://www.lumpsum.com/), Maple Life Financial (http://www.maplelifefinancial.com/), and Coventry First (http://www.thecoventrygroup.com/).

For more information about the Life Settlement Institute visit http://www.lifesettlementinstitute.org/.

Website: http://www.lifesettlementinstitute.org/
Website: http://www.lifeequity.net/
Website: http://www.lumpsum.com/
Website: http://www.maplelifefinancial.com/
Website: http://www.thecoventrygroup.com/