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www.canadianlawyermag.com 45 Steadying settlements in shaky markets Structured settlements can help avoid whipsawing markets for personal injury claimants looking to invest FOR STRUCTURED-SETTLEMENT pro Kyla Baxter, there is a claimant that she will never forget. He was "not very wise with his money" in general, but he had taken a few investment classes and wanted to invest his settlement award on his own terms. Then, the 2008- 2009 global recession hit. While market volatility is unsettling for any investor, people who settle personal injury cases may never be able to earn back the money they lose in the market through employment, notes Baxter, president of Baxter Structures. "I'd worry about [him] all the time. And I kept calling the lawyer every few months and I kept saying, 'How's he doing?'" says Baxter. Now, investors are once again facing uncertainty in equity markets as social distancing measures to contain COVID-19 take their toll. The International Monetary Fund's World Economic Outlook suggested on April 14 that Canada's gross domestic product could contract 6.2 per cent this year. Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada's benchmark rate has fallen. But Toronto-Dominion Bank chief executive officer Bharat Masrani told BNN Bloomberg reporters that there was still "a good chance of having a V-type" recovery in the stock market. So, where does one park their settlement slush? LEGAL REPORT STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS BANK OF CANADA'S FALLING INTEREST RATES Source: CBC.ca 01-09-2019 03-06-2019 04-24-2019 05-29-2019 07-10-2019 09-04-2019 10-30-2019 12-04-2019 01-22-2020 03-04-2020 03-16-2020 03-27-2020 0.00% 0.25% 0.50% 0.75% 1.00% 1.25% 1.50% 1.75%