Description: This webinar is a panel discussion covering the technology behind blockchain and digital assets as well their uses, implications and risks. Investment considerations for both tokens and fund structures, along with a variety of other topics in the space will be addressed.

Description: With long duration targeted improvements in the U.S., and IFRS 17 in other countries, the insurance industry is currently undergoing the adoption of two of the most significant accounting changes in recent history. While the scale of these specific events are infrequent, change is the norm in the world of insurance and life of an actuary. We live in a dynamic environment that will continue to bring challenges in how companies make decisions in order maximize their value and return on capital. Capital management requires an ability for insurance companies to take corporate actions and understand the impact this will have on both the current and future available capital. Being able to make optimal decisions when the goal posts are subject to frequent and material shifts in accounting regulation is a difficult process. It requires holistic consideration of all tools available to manage capital and how KPIs can shift in their measurement under new regimes. By attending the session, you will: Discuss the challenges that companies have in managing capital in an ever evolving environment, what steps they have taken in managing the current scope of accounting change, and how they can be prepared for adjustments in the future.

Description: As a consequence of increased merger and acquisition activity in the insurance market in recent months, understanding the methodology behind goodwill calculations is becoming more relevant. Actuaries play an integral role in the calculation and validation of goodwill values. By understanding the principals and concepts in more detail, we can ensure that an optimal approach can be achieved both in terms of accuracy and value to the business. Gaininsight into the various components of goodwill, including an overview of the actuarial appraisal method that establishes how to calculate those components. Drill down to core intangibles, including VOBA, VODA and VOCRA. Explore the best practices for calculation of these components and obtain an understanding of the assumptions, methodology, and challenges that are being presented while deriving values of goodwill. Identify the key choices which can be made and how they impact the value both initially and over time. By attending the session, you will: - Describe the components of goodwill. - Calculate the components of goodwill. - Understand the challenges of calculating goodwill. - Understand what decisions are available within the methodology and their impact.

Description: Reunite with members and non-members in the China actuarial community to discuss recent topics and related issues in areas such as macroeconomic sharing, IFRS 17, product strategy, cross-border communication and discussion, and more. Advance your career through learning and networking opportunities, and share your experiences in the finance and insurance industries, as well as other fields related to actuarial science.

Description: The Society of Actuaries’ Committee on Finance Research is pleased to make available a research report covering the extent to which investment sectors have been contagiously affected by major disasters.

Description: The Society of Actuaries’ Investment Section and Committee on Finance Research and Investment Section is pleased to make available a research report using a comprehensive attribution analysis to identify meaningful relationships between market volatility and potential causes. Also included for educational purposes are the open-source codes used to perform the analysis.

Description: Hear AM Best rating analysts discuss the rating process and the best capital adequacy ratio (BCAR), a quantitative foundation for AM Best’s assessment of carriers’ financial strength. The benchmarking of BCAR scores for various company types (national MCOs, BCBS plans, smaller regional plans) will be discussed. Look at how changes in investment and underwriting environment impacted the results over the past several years. Further, AM Best’s view of the quality of capital and various factors impacting the overall assessment of the balance sheet strength will be discussed.

Description: After more than a decade of a prolonged low interest rate environment, long-term Treasury rates have started to increase with higher volatility. While it is generally agreed that a modest increase in interest rates and inflation is beneficial to the life insurance industry, interest rate risk remains a significant challenge for life insurance industry to manage its long duration liabilities, especially under volatile interest rate environments. Learn how to proactively manage interest rate risk and improve capital efficiency through the cash flow based strategic asset allocation (SAA) framework. Discover practical examples of how to combine asset allocation with derivatives to manage tail risk and liability convexity.

Description: Discover investing trends across the life and health industry as insurers seek to navigate rapidly changing rate and market environments. BlackRock will present results from its Peer Risk Study, which models industry holdings based on statutory filings at the CUSIP level. Through the Aladdin risk modeling software, expect a production of deep insights into insurer portfolio risk and return characteristics, as well as exploring how they have evolved. Keep an eye out for a partner to present on the evolution from their perspective. Start learning about what is happening on the asset side of the balance sheet across the industry.

Description: State regulators continue to focus on the emergence of private equity firms purchasing life insurance companies, supporting reinsurance transactions, and the growing trend in life companies owning more complex assets. Modeling of complex assets is also growing in focus to balance risk and return parameters in forward financial models and asset adequacy testing. Hear from actuaries, regulators and rating agencies as they present the latest developments for the future of the intersection of private equity and life insurance companies and the potential for new regulatory guidance.