Description: One of the most fundamental concepts in actuarial practice is the time value of money. For any work in which future cash flows are allowed for, such as reserving or pricing, it is natural to discount to present values so that an appropriate amount of money can be set aside today, allowing for future investment returns. This article discusses yield curve extrapolation methods along with the benefits and drawbacks of these methods.

Description: In this article the author discusses the many hats an actuary wears and how risk management comes to play in each one. The roles discussed: 1. Pricing actuary. 2. Catastrophe modeling actuary. 3. Ceding reinsurance actuary. 4. Corporate actuary. 5. Loss reserving actuary. 6. Predictive modeling actuary. 7. Marketing actuary. 8. Underwriting actuary. 9. Investment actuary.

Description: This article is about the annual call for ERM-related research papers that present the very latest in ERM thinking and move forward principles-based approaches. The call discussed in this article was issued in October 2005 and attracted nearly 30 entrants, from which there was one winner and eight more that were selected for presentation at the 2006 ERM symposium. They were listed in the article and can be found, along with the 20 other entrants on the ERM Symposium Web site at: www.ermsymposium.org.

Description: One of the most fundamental concepts in actuarial practice is the time value of money. For any work in which future cash flows are allowed for, such as reserving or pricing, it is natural to discount to present values so that an appropriate amount of money can be set aside today, allowing for future investment returns. This article discusses yield curve extrapolation methods along with the benefits and drawbacks of these methods.

Description: This article highlights the significant steps being taken by the UK actuarial profession to establish a more focused role in risk management.