Long Inverse Floating Exempt Receipt - LIFER

A floating rate debt security traded among qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) and originated by German financial firm Deutsche Bank. The receipts pay a yield equal to a fixed base interest rate minus the floating rate of a benchmark (such as LIBOR+). As such, the interest rate paid moves inversely to the direction of the variable rate itself.

LIFERs fall under municipal structured finance; the underlying cash flows for the receipts are provided by municipal authorities, such as airports, roads and schools. These securities are generally exempt from registration with the SEC under a provision in the Securities Act of 1933 known as Rule 144A. Bearer-bond versions (that offer no coupon) are also allowed for trade in the U.S. under Regulation S.

LIFERs are considered more volatile than vanilla floating-rate notes, as the fixed rate of the contract will be set higher than the typical ranges of the (variable) benchmark, and often by a larger margin than the benchmark is from zero. Their complexity and increased risks are why they are only traded among QIBs.