Description: This paper argues that the self-financing axiom with mild assumptions on the conditional expected returns yields a market with an eventual arbitrage. This is accomplished by minimizing the conditional variance of a trade when the conditional expectation is a fixed constant. Examples with common processes shows that most models yield an eventual arbitrage. As a final application, a cost model is applied to prices of stripped coupon and principal payments on U.S. government bonds, where rates of return are estimated and lower bounds on market costs given.

Description: In this paper, we consider the relationship between salary growth, stock and long bond returns. We use this to suggest that equities may have a role in hedging final salary-related benefits. Simulations from the empirical distribution for salaries, equities and interest rates are used to demonstrate the quantile hedge.

Description: This report is an update to a 2014 paper related to changes in the continually evolving pension risk transfer landscape. This updated report seeks to discuss pension risk transfer in depth and identify key de-risking actions, alternatives and triggers that impact pension risk transfer strategies.

Description: This paper investigates a technique for developing investment assumptions for pricing that are consistent with the investment practices of the company for use in the pricing of single premium immediate annuities. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1979, Vol. 31.

Description: This paper attempts to fill the gap in literature by empirically assessing the adequacy of the supply of bonds, quantifying the price impact, gauging the actuarial cost, and proposing appropriate government policy measures.

Description: This paper presents the theory of immunization of investments to changes in interest rates and provides an extensive series of examples and formulas used in its implementation. Also presents some implications for investment behavior, product development, interest assumptions, valuation and adjusted earnings. Discussions of this paper are included.

Description: This paper investigates how the concepts of asset-liability matching can be used to shape investment strategy. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1980, Vol. 32.

Description: With this paper, a new theory of immunization is introduced in which the approach is multivariate, and the goal is stochastic in the sense of minimizing stochastic risk. Discussions of this paper are included.

Description: There have been many examples of interest rate swap deals which have not produced the desired results for the end-user, largely due to unanticipated interest rate movements. While the authors of this paper strongly believe that derivatives, such as IR swaps, are powerful tools, which when used properly can effectively transfer risk and enhance the efficiency of markets, they also believe it is critically important to analyze the potential exposure to interest-rate risk. In this article, they provide the necessary background to measure this potential exposure.

Description: This research report explores investment year methodology to set renewal credited rates. There is an accompanying Excel workbook created as a teaching aide.