Description: Presented at May 2002 Spring Meeting. Our lecturer presents findings from a research project relating to the Cox, Ingersoll & Ross model of interest rates, including an effective way of pricing general interest rate derivatives and pricing bonds.

Description: Increasing uncertainties and volatility in financial as well as real goods markets increasingly reveal that controlling systems based on deterministic and pseudo-exact values are insufficiently eligible to manage the business activities. This raises the question how management systems can be modified to generate the adequate management impulses in volatile periods. Risk management deals from identifying, evaluating and aggregating chances and risks, which again determine the potential fluctuation range of relevant performance indicators. Everyday corporate life shows that risk management is considered important; but the corresponding processes to identify, evaluate and report chances and risks are seldom part of established decision criteria. This “paradox” lets assume that risks are managed in various differing and unsystematic ways. The combination of traditional controlling methods and risk management is not primarily a methodological challenge. The behavior of the whole organization, practiced over a long-year period, has to be transferred into a new corporate culture of transparent dealing with chances and risks. This paper describes the necessary change management process, which has to come along with necessary methodological modifications.

Description: This session from the 1995 SOA New York City Meeting discusses using equities to support long term liabilities covering the following topics: rates, pricing implications, derivatives, GAAP and risk-based capital RBC implications. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 21, No. 2.

Description: This presentation from the 1983 SOA Vancouver Meeting covers the actuaries' role in matching assets and liabilities, hedging, disintermediation risk and determining the appropriate level of surplus, the future of products with market value cash out adjustments and indexation in the construction of long term debt instruments. From Record of Society Of Actuaries Vol. 9. No. 3

Description: This session from the 1984 SOA New York City Meeting discusses the investment implications of an aging population including the affect on the national savings rate, economic growth, the dependence on social security and opportunities for the insurance industry. From Record of the Society of Actuaries Vol. 10, No. 3

Description: This panel discussion presented at the April 1976 SOA meeting in Washington D.C. presents opinions and information related to investment policy in a changing economy.

Description: This session at the SOA 2001 Annual Meeting looks at issues associated with historically low interest rates from the perspectives of new product development, an investment professional and a corporate view. Included is a discussion of alternative investments ane their risk/return trade offs.

Description: This article presents new funding instruments for equity-indexed life insurance and annuity products.

Description: Is Risk/Return a sound tool for decision-making? No. It is not consistent, not objective, distorts decision and degrades governance. Why? What shall we do then?

Description: The author, head of Alternatives Investment Specialists at Fortis Investments, recently presented a research paper on the potential benefits and possible pitfalls of investing in illiquid assets. This newsletter provides a brief summary of that paper. The full paper is available upon request.