Announcing our Investment in Mason Finance
You’re 6̵5̵ ̵6̵6̵ 67, and it’s finally time. Time to rest. Time to spoil your grandkids. Time to pick up that hobby. Time to finally sit back and relax. Except it isn’t. Once a bedrock of the American dream, retirement now looms further and further in the distance for millions of Americans.
Studies estimate that only 44% of Americans have access to a retirement plan at work, and 48% of our elderly are economically vulnerable and on the verge of financial crisis. A pension shortfall on the order of $4 trillion dollars, rising healthcare costs, and increasing life expectancy all exacerbate an already untenable situation.
These issues are close to heart for many of us at DCM — some of us have worked on issues of aging and retirement through the lens of government in our pre-venture careers, and many more support and care for retired parents across the world. That’s why we’re excited to announce our partnership with and investment in Mason Finance, a retirement finance platform for seniors.
Mason Finance is tackling (among other things) one of the largest and yet most misunderstood and undervalued assets around — life insurance policies. The word asset is italicized because it turns out that 86% of Americans don’t realize that life insurance policies are assets much like homes. The dynamics are in fact quite similar to paying into a mortgage. And yet (perhaps by design), millions of life insurance policyholders lapse or surrender their policies annually for far less than their economic value — the equivalent of turning over the keys to a home you’ve been paying a mortgage on for years.
Seniors across the US are particularly at risk — losing an estimated $112 billion annually on policies lapsed or surrendered back to insurance companies. Many continue to pay premiums into policies they’d be economically far better off selling. The minority that do attempt to sell their life insurance — whether to pay medical bills or fund a higher quality of life — often find themselves navigating an opaque, cumbersome 2–4 month process with layers of middlemen collectively extracting up to 30% of their policy’s selling value.
Mason Finance was founded by Felix Steinmeyer and Charles Mourani, two graduates of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Together, they’re building a platform to empower seniors to take control of their financial futures. In life insurance settlements, they’re leveraging technology to streamline the process, dramatically reducing the time, cost, and complexity of selling a policy. Moreover, they’re bringing a new level of trust and transparency to a corner of the retirement finance industry that’s historically suffered in many parts from opacity.
We first met them while they were at Stanford, and saw in them the passion, hunger, and mission-driven zeal we look for in entrepreneurs. We’re honored and privileged to be part of their team, and excited about the journey ahead.
If you or a loved one is above the age of 65 and in possession of a life insurance policy that’s no longer needed or likely to lapse, check them out at masonfinance.com to see if selling the policy might make sense.
If you’re an entrepreneur tackling a big problem in the “elder care” market, reach out to us. We’d love to chat.
Ibrahim AlSuwaidi
DCM Ventures
