Description: The NAIC is attempting to transition to a new economic scenario generator. The process has been ongoing for several years and many interesting challenges have emerged along the way. Get an overview of where this transition is at and what comparatives have been established between the existing and proposed economic scenario generators through scenario releases and field testing. A significant amount of discussion and investigation has been done concerning acceptance testing for interest rates, equities and corporate bond returns.

Description: Decentralized finance, or DeFi, is an emerging financial system powered by blockchain technology. This research report aims to introduce actuaries to DeFi and help them develop a solid understanding of DeFi. It will begin with addressing “what is DeFi?” by providing an introduction on blockchains and DeFi. It will then discuss in further detail the key characteristics, applications, opportunities, and risks of DeFi. After providing the foundation, this report will discuss the potential adoption of DeFi and its interaction with the current financial system (sometime referred to as traditional finance for contrast with DeFi), and the implications for practicing and aspiring actuaries. In addition, a glossary of terms used in DeFi and a brief history of the development of DeFi have been included in the appendix.

Description: The document is a report on the impact of inflation in retirement based on survey findings conducted by the Society of Actuaries Research Institute in partnership with Optimity. It includes survey questions and results, along with observations on the impact of inflation on personal finances.

Description: The SOA Research Institute Aging and Retirement Strategic Research Program and Retirement Section are pleased to make available a research report that examines megatrends and potential paradigm shifts, and how they may impact the future of retirement and retirement plans, as well as the macro forces that will shape those trends.

Description: Bringing together industry experts spanning investment management and property/casualty insurance, this panel discussion will take the audience beyond spelling ESG correctly and will share their insights about what Environmental Social Governance is.

Description: Presenters will discuss difficulties within the new NAIC ESG, such as how the model deals with interest rate flooring and its treatment of the linkage between equity and treasury bond returns. They will also discuss the documentation and governance process surrounding the new NAIC ESG.

Description: June 2024, AG54 will begin for new RILA sales. This guidance requires companies to determine an interim value that is more aligned with the market value of the position on a daily basis. This discussion will talk through companies adoption of AG54, lessons learned, approaches and integration with the administration system. Additionally this session will discuss how AG54 impacts new product design, reserving and capital implications.

Description: In this webcast, two points of view are presented - Seven Life Defining Decisions, which presents an individual perspective on lifetime financial choices, and Life-Cycle Fund Design, which discusses the design of a comprehensive life-cycle fund model that includes human capital risk, longevity risk, bequest motive, parameter uncertainty, and different types of annuities and provides a model for financial risk.

Description: This publication presents an exploratory framework that applies volatility signals—specifically the VIX and MOVE indices—to asset allocation decisions. Rather than prescribing a definitive model, the work highlights a potential pathway for linking equity and bond market risk expectations to portfolio construction. The analysis demonstrates how relative volatility between asset classes can inform dynamic weighting, opening the door to more adaptive strategies in shifting market environments. Importantly, this is not intended as a finished methodology, but as a foundation on which more experienced professionals can build. Readers with advanced backgrounds in finance, risk management, or quantitative analysis are encouraged to refine, stress-test, and extend the framework to suit their own investment contexts. By positioning the concept as a starting point rather than a conclusion, the publication invites collaboration and deeper exploration into how volatility-based metrics may enhance long-term allocation models.

Description: Our previous article, “Introduction of Cashflow Matching Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) Framework,” introduced the concept and included a real-world case study that developed a liability-driven investment strategy for a single line of business (LOB) for a life insurer. This article expands the framework and the case study from a single LOB to simultaneously optimize asset allocation across multiple LOBs. It discusses how this multi-line SAA framework can enable an insurance company to efficiently tag its asset holdings to each LOB, identify opportunities in the public and private asset markets to enhance risk-adjusted returns, and develop a deeper understanding of the trade-off between the degree of cashflow matching and risk-adjusted returns across LOBs.