Description: Investment risk management has become a core competency of insurance companies, and much has been discussed on this topic. This session examines the current investment risk management practices such as product line specific hedging and macro hedging, with a focus on what still remains to be addressed—whether the tradeoff of addition risk management is worthwhile.

Description: This session will demonstrate the advantages of approaches to duration matching and cash flow matching. Plan examples and sponsor’s objectives will be presented. An overview of when to choose one approach versus a blend of the two approaches will also be covered.

Description: ETFs have seen explosive growth in the past decade. Due to its flexibility and embedded risk management features, insurance companies and pension funds, are showing increasing interest in this asset class. This session covers an introduction to ETFs and the risk/rewards for insurance companies and pension funds as an additional asset class.

Description: The Investment Symposium is a day-and-a-half long seminar that will focus on the issues and questions faced by investors and risk managers, especially related to insurance companies and retirement plans. Presenters will discuss the big picture issues and explore practical solutions to today’s challenges. Experts will share new approaches to portfolio management and cutting edge research in asset-liability management. Technology, regulation and the economic environment will

Description: This presentation considers a stochastic model for a target benefit pension fund in continuous time.

Description: Investment opportunities are driven by events in the economy and how participants in the financial markets react to those events. This keynote address will highlight current economic themes and their impact on investment opportunities.

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: What is the impact of aging populations on economic growth and interest rates?” “Are low interest rates and inflation a short-term phenomenon?” “How will returns from different asset classes be impacted by future demographic trends?” “What are the differences between different countries and regions around the world?”

Description: In this session, we will explore investment solutions that aim to maintain the long-term viability of a pension plan, with considerations on hedging interest rates, credit, inflation, longevity and other risks, while accounting for the many particularities associated with underlying liabilities and their corresponding ramifications.

Description: In this session, senior pension and insurance investment professionals will share their thoughts on current investment topics. Attendees will hear about leading edge investment ideas and practices from industry leaders.