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Edition

Practical Applications of the Impact of Disaster Events on Investments

Overview

In 2022, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) Research Institute Committee on Finance Research (CFR) of the Investment Section in collaboration with the SOA Research Institute Catastrophic and Climate Strategic Research Program, published a research report on the impact of disaster events on investments. The report, The Impact of Disaster Events on Investment-Contagion Channels Perspective, which explored this issue from the perspective of contagion channels, provided a framework for further investigation.

As a next step, CFR is seeking essays on how the concepts in the report and related studies may be practically applied in specific situations and recent experiences.

Content

The following questions are examples of ideas or issues for respondents to consider in crafting essays with a focus on practical applications. Authors may address these issues or issues they consider more relevant for a particular group or more generally among different groups. The list below is neither exhaustive nor intended to be restrictive of other related areas:

  • Which asset classes have been most impacted, and which have not been impacted much if at all? Has the impact usually been spread over multiple asset classes, or has it been concentrated on a sub-set of the market?
  • To what extent do previous events provide a framework, modeling or otherwise, for considering future exposures?
  • How are the ramifications experienced differently between individual investors, corporate entities, financial companies, pension funds and charitable trusts?
  • How do policy actions - including fiscal and monetary but also other financial and non-financial - minimize or exacerbate the impact over investment horizons?
  • How does the reaction of financial markets differ based on the nature of the disaster event? What types of disasters lead to the greatest volatility?
  • What particular issues are raised for insurance company investments and portfolios in the aftermath of a disaster event?

Timeline

The deadline for submissions is February 15, 2023. Essays will be published in a formal collection later in the year.

Length and Instructions for Submission

Essays must be submitted in English with a desired length of between 500 to 2,500 words. There is no requirement for formal or extensive footnoting. Essays are not intended to be rigorous research, but rather can (should?) reflect personal opinions and/or experience. See here and here for examples of previous essay collections produced by the Institute.

Author information must be submitted with the essay and include name; credentials or designations (if appropriate); title; organization/company; e-mail address; and phone number. Please provide all author information at the beginning of the essay.

Essays that contain any overt political statements, commercial content, and other inappropriate material will not be accepted. Articles must comply with the SOA's antitrust guidelines.

Please submit your essay via e–mail to:

Barbara Scott, Sr. Research Administrator
Society of Actuaries Research Institute
e–mail: bscott@soa.org

Awards

$10,000 in award money has been allocated for this call for essays. The review committee will select the leading essays and determine how to allocate the award money among them. Consideration will be given to creativity, originality and the extent to which an idea may be of practical significance. In exchange for award money, selected authors will be required to assign all copyrights in their essays to the Society of Actuaries Research Institute.

Authors are ineligible for awards if an essay is based on an SOA Research Institute-sponsored and funded research study conducted by the author. However, authors are welcome to submit such essays for publication consideration.

Publication and Presentation

Depending on how many essays are received and the range of the topic areas, a suitable format for electronic publication and dissemination will be selected. Essays may also be presented at an SOA Research Institute meeting, webcast, or other professional development event.

In addition, other venues for publication or presentation of the ideas outside of the SOA Research Institute will be considered. It is hoped that publication of the collected essays will further knowledge and stimulate discussion as well as promote future efforts in this area.

Rights Granted

Please understand that by submitting an essay for consideration, the essay author(s) is granting to the Society of Actuaries Research Institute an unlimited license to print or republish their essay, with proper attribution given to the author(s).

Questions

Please direct any questions regarding this Call for Essays to:

Steven Siegel, Sr. Research Actuary
Society of Actuaries Research Institute
e–mail: ssiegel@soa.org