Description: In a paper entitled ‘Using Cash Flows to Allocate Investment Income’ [ARCH 1979.1] reference was made to the conversion of investment rates [and capital gain and loss rates] from rates based upon periods of original contribution to rates based upon dollars of original contribution. Thus arose the topic of this note.

Description: The amount of 1 [i.e., the amount that $ 1 is worth after 1 year] for an account earning a nominal interest r compounded n times annually is Pn[r,t], where t = [t1, . . . ,tn]. Note that Pn[r,t] is a polynomial in r of degree n. Now suppose that the n compounding periods have lengths T1, . . . ,Tn chosen at random. What can we say about Pn[r , T] , where T=[T1, . . . , Tn]? This depends of course on what is meant by choosing random lengths and we will consider two different natural possibilities that give rise to different answers to this question.

Description: Given a financial transaction we are often interested in the number of internal rates of return [yield rates] and their location. From an actuarial point of view, the fundamental question is to identify those transactions with a single yield rate, or a single rate in some interval such as the positive reals. In this paper we are concerned with this counting problem. We survey various results concerning this problem, and provide a unifying approach together with some new insights.

Description: Investment Fallacies: Extended periods of robust macroeconomic growth are healthy for investing.

Description: This session features interviews with several authorities on the following current topics: How the rating agencies view capital management in determining company ratings How the rating agencies view the independent review process How capital management is addressed at a non-insurance company parent How financial reinsurance can be used to strengthen your capital. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 25, No. 3. San Francisco Annual Meeting, October 17-20, 1999, Session 65OF.

Description: Presenters cover the outlook for credit defaults over the next 12 months and approaches used to price the debt market e.g., Merton's 1973 paper and subsequent developments. Attendees leave with an understanding of how the capital markets value debt issuance and knowledge of future trends in default risk. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Volume 29, No. 1: Washington, D.C. Spring Meeting, May 29–30, 2003, Session 10OF.

Description: The disastrous events of September 11, 2001 have focused the reinsurance community’s attention on the subject of managing concentration of risk. A panel of experts discusses: Techniques for limiting exposure, Impact on group and COLI/BOLI insurance and Changes in the catastrophe reinsurance market. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Volume 29, No. 1, Washington D.C. Spring Meeting, May 29–30, 2003Session 65PD.

Description: After reading the Panjer-Bellhouse paper in the Proceedings of the Ball State University Conference, I wondered whether their technique could be used when a realistic investment process was assumed. I believe that such an extension is necessary if the theory is to have any practical application I have had little success in trying to do this. I have decided to present some thoughts and to invite others with different perspectives to bring them to fruition.

Description: Prepared for the Society of Actuaries by STATLAB at the University of Western Ontario, this report contains the results of a cash flow testing, ‘CFT,’ software survey performed in 2004. The results were based on the responses of 110 life insurance companies in the U.S. and Canada. The goal of the survey was to produce a report that will serve as a reference for comparing the available CFT packages and lead to better software and modeling techniques. CFT refers to analysis which is used to support both the Asset Adequacy Analysis for the Actuarial Opinion for U.S. companies, and the ALM Provision for Adverse Deviations in applying the Canadian Asset Liability Method to determine reserves for Canadian companies.

Description: This paper explores Indian futures and options market as a market for hedging by equity holders. The authors have tried to examine optimal hedge ratio and hedge efficiency, and to provide empirical evidence from India.