Description: U.S. bond markets have undergone dramatic changes due to the 2008 Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and the COVID-19 pandemic. In taking a retrospective view, we can see that bond markets, viewed through the lens of major bond indices, have been evolving for quite some time. Within this paper, TD Asset Management Inc. (TDAM) will explore underlying changes that have occurred within the U.S. Corporate Bond Index, a sub-component of the larger U.S. investment grade bond market, over the past decade. We will highlight key structural changes that have occurred within bond markets and why they are noteworthy

Description: 1993 SOA Annual Meeting, New York. This session provided an overview of the world of international investing and a look at some of the more specific questions and problems that arise from investing in international equities.

Description: This articles educates the reader on Mortgage-Backed Securities. It highlights the value of this asset class and also a few of the challenges.

Description: In recent years, insurance companies have been introducing saving products whose returns are linked to equity market performance. Equity-indexed annuities [EIA's] are one of the products of this kind. This paper is a study on the recent introduction and popularity growth of equity-indexed annuities. An index is considered which provides a minimum interest guarantee and a participation in the increase in an index.

Description: This is a report about inflation and index-linked securities in the United Kingdom.

Description: The investment grade corporate bond market continues to expand in size and is now nearing record levels. The Bloomberg Barclay’s U.S. Corporate Bond Index, representative of the U.S. corporate bond market, now measures over $5 trillion, nearing its all-time high compared to its $2 trillion mark in 2008. The BBB-rated segment of the index has experienced significant growth, and now represents more than 50% of the corporate bond market. Corporate bond market risk has increased beyond what the ratings indicate. Today's investing landscape of relatively low yields, higher corporate leverage and a later-stage credit cycle presents challenges for both insurance and pension portfolios where corporate bonds are a core investment. <br> <br>With representation from a U.S. portfolio manager, Canadian portfolio manager and an investment consultant, attendees will get a full perspective of the North American environment and how to apply this information when making client recommendations.

Description: New Zealand is about to launch its first variable annuity with guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefits. The product design is mindful of the lessons from the financial crisis in the United States, Europe and Japan.

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: This is the abstract of the paper &#39;A Stochastic Definition of Future Shares&#39;. The traditional definition of actuarial future values and stochastic definition of Ramsay are discussed. A modification of Ramsay&#39;s definition is proposed and an application to life insurance reserves is presented.

Description: This article discusses the trend toward outsourcing of insurance assets to third party money managers which has grown steadily as insurers face increasing market challenges. Insurers are finding that a strategic approach to outsourcing investments is critical to enhancing value within both liability reserves and surplus portfolios.