Description: Interest rates steadily declining ever since the Volcker Fed tackled inflation in the early eighties. Ten years of stimulating monetary policy brought new lows. We should have braced ourselves for a return to neutrality, but that concept remains elusive. We will explore structural issues that have brought rates to these low levels and the potential impacts on the insurance business.

Description: This article is about junk assets. Insurance companies own over one third of the junk assets in the U.S. which has raised concerns and caused certain states to enact laws or regulations regarding junk investments.

Description: Feature article discussing the differences in the Canadian and American real estate markets.

Description: The article is a summary of Session 9PD at the Society of Actuaries annual meeting in New Orleans in October 2001. Terminal funding the purchase of annuities by pension plans usually at plan termination and stable value GIC's became major product lines in the 1980's. This article describes the changes in the those products, the markets and regulatory environment.

Description: The article provides a summary of the Drake Risk & Opportunity Forum held on October 21, 2022. The forum was a hybrid conference that attracted more than 200 attendees from 17 states, two countries, 48 employers, and five universities. Following an introduction by the Zimpleman College of Business Dean, the forum held six sessions. First was an insurance company CRO panel followed by a panel of non-insurance company CROs. Gary Zhu shared his outlook for interest rates and capital markets. The fourth panel discussed insurance capital models. The fifth panel discussed environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria when building insurance company investment portfolios. The final session of the day was a discussion about the NAIC, how they operate, and their priorities for the coming year.

Description: This session 10 of the 1990 Valuation Actuary Symposium is a panel discussion on collateralized mortgage obligations and other asset projections.

Description: This article discusses the possibility of high inflation down the road. The high levels of debt incurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic will be difficult for many countries to support. Central bank activity is "standing in the gap" but this is not necessarily the optimal solution. Inflation can also become an issue due to contagion coming from less financially stable countries, resulting a crisis of confidence, driving up interest rates.

Description: This article lists potential problems as a result of the elimination of Thirty-Year Treasury Auction Issue. Some problems mentioned are 1 discounting pension liabilities, 2 bond market 3 swap curve and 4 liquidity.

Description: A Balanced Outlook: The Latest Views of Jack Bogle

Description: The author explains his negative opinion about the requirement to value collateralized mortgage obligations [CMO] using the New York Seven interest rate scenarios.