Description: Provides summary of qualitative factors in the current fiscal, economic and political environment that could lead to higher inflation.

Description: The article summarizes a session on asset validation; the featured speakers were an investment manager, a company investment actuary, and a consultant.

Description: The article describes the 2017 Redington Prize-winning paper "Lapse-and-Reentry in Variable Annuities", by Thorsten Moenig and Nan Zhu, FSA.

Description: Feature article discussing the possibility of the LIBOR rate ceasing to exist in 2021 at what that would mean for insurance companies.

Description: Tidbits of Section relevant information.

Description: Summary of research project designed to document method to credit interest rates to account value based products. The investment year method (IYM) can theoretically align with investment strategy and be fair to policyholders. These products were designed in the 1980s with guaranteed nominal rates above what is currently accessible so most products credit the guaranteed rate. This paper documents how it could be resurrected during the next interest rate cycle.

Description: Summary of April 2020 Investment Section Town Hall and come additional commentary.

Description: The article introduces a cashflow matching strategic asset allocation (SAA) framework for life insurers. Given the recent shift to higher interest rates after two decades of persistent low interest rates, insurers have an opportunity to enhance their asset liability management by rebalancing asset portfolios to narrow duration gaps and attain higher risk-adjusted yields. The framework aims to align investment objectives with economic, regulatory, and rating agency requirements. It prioritizes cashflow matching as the primary optimization goal and incorporates security-level asset information to assist portfolio managers in executing SAA seamlessly. The article highlights the benefits of the cashflow matching SAA framework, including greater attention to cashflow matching, unbiased results, readily executable strategies, and stable economic reserves. A case study is included to demonstrate the effectiveness of the framework in improving risk-adjusted return and cashflow matching for a representative liability block.

Description: In this article we take a look at some of the requirements practitioners will need to consider as they implement a framework for managing the long‑term implications of C-ROSS as they pursue their capital efficiency agenda.