Description: This article presents recent developments and trends with respect to Economic Capital based on the work of the EC subgroup of the SOA's Risk Management Task Force.

Description: Feature article describing the connection between negative demographics and economic growth.

Description: The article makes reference to how the intervention by government agencies and institutions into the financial marketplace are creating distortions. This artificial tampering into market mechanisms will likely result in major financial dislocations down the road as natural economic forces (coined by the term "invisible hand") eventually are allowed to come into play.

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: After a very challenging year, actuaries need to look back and consider the lessons learned. Have we returned to where we were, or have we moved on to a new norm? What does the COVID-19 pandemic market data tell us that will help us to prepare for future global crises?

Description: All things considered, caution needs to be applied to the use of so-called “standard” mortality tables. Sharpening up these blunt estimates by using individual assumptions reveals material differences in the structure of longevity, both between plans and within plans.

Description: GDP growth has slowed as numerous headwinds have emerged. This article summarizes a research paper by Mark Alberts and Max Rudolph that addresses reasons why this is so and how risk managers can address using scenarios.

Description: This article provides an analysis of Value at Risk VAR and its advantages and limitations as a tool for assessing and quantifying market risk. The article originally appeared in the August 1997 issue of Financial Engineering News and is reprinted with permission.

Description: Against a background of recent capital market downturns, this article discusses the need for increasing the focus on risk control with respect to variable annuity and life products. This article originally appeared in the September 14, 1998 issue of The National Underwriter, a publication of the National Underwriter Company, and is reprinted here with permission.

Description: Feature article provides a glimpse into recent changes to various standards of care owed to customers that will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the products and services offered by many financial institutions.