Description: The author notes that “many considerations enter into the determination of investment strategy. Important among these considerations is the maximization of investment income on an after-tax basis rather than on a before-tax basis.” The article then discusses how starting in the early 1960’s insurers, using a marginal tax rate approach, invested heavily in tax exempt bonds. The author, expressing his belief that a major depression is likely to occur in the next 10 years, recommends insurance companies divest of their holding in tax exempt instruments, based on the macroeconomic analysis he presents.

Description: This presentation is a section meeting from the 1991 Annual Meeting of the Society of Actuaries, held October 20-23 in Toronto. The guest speaker discusses prospective returns on financial assets, noting that the past, particularly the 1980s, is in many respects irrelevant in making projections of future returns, noting the decade of the 1980s was a nonrecurring and unsustainable period. He provides his thoughts in terms of projected real economic growth, projected inflation, projected real interest rates, and using that data makes projections of returns from a variety of financial assets. Discussion from participants is included. From the Record of Society of Actuaries, Volume 17, No. 4B.

Description: Abstract: A model for analyzing the probability and severity of default of sovereign entities and banks. The methodology analyzes the risks inherent in the investment of debt of sovereign governments and large financial institutions side-by-side, taking into consideration macroeconomic interactions among the sovereign fiscal and monetary authorities, the financial institutions, and the real economy. The signature aspect of the methodology is that it adapts a Merton-style default model to use explicit measures of sovereign assets and asset volatility.

Description: Argues renewable energy will displace fossil fuels, leading to investment opportunities and risks