Description: Discusses the market, demographic, and macroeconomic factors that affect actuaries' choices for the assumptions they use in the pricing and valuation of many insurance products.

Description: The Federal funds rate increased by 4.25% in 2022 with further increases in 2023, which have already resulted in a liquidity crisis for a few banks. As the rapid increase of the interest rates pushed the new money rates above the yields of many life insurers’ investment portfolios, insurance companies are facing a dilemma between compressed margins from peer pressure and the concern with liquidity shortfalls and realized capital losses should mass surrenders happen. This paper discussed main emerging risks under rising interest rate environment, and several ways to mitigate these risks.

Description: In this session, the panelists discuss several common cognitive biases that can adversely impact the capital allocation decision process, introducing the notions of time, accounting convention, positivity, hierarchy, and social proof in describing them. Historical case examples of sub-optimal capital allocation are then explored, identifying the contributing behavioral factors including the simultaneous confluence of multiple factors. The panelists will close the session with several suggestions for attendees to consider for incorporation into their decision-making processes. At the conclusion of the session, attendees will be able to: - Learn common cognitive biases that impact capital allocation decisions - Differentiate which biases impact different aspects of the capital allocation process - Build awareness of biases affecting capital allocation decision models - Mitigate cognitive biases present in decision making processes

Description: Come experience an informative and invigorating webcast focused on an overview of the reinsurance market. Discover the opportunities and challenges that this market can create and how to best understand them. You can also expect investment within the reinsurance market to be a particular highlighted topic. Explore an overview of key components of asset strategies and develop a knowledge base on how to fully comprehend and shape the reinsurance business. If you're ready to elevate your understanding of reinsurance, then tune in to this webcast.

Description: As the industry has seen an increasing trend in asset allocations to private markets and structured credit investment over the past decade, this presentation aims to share the considerations and lessons learned from both asset manager and actuarial perspectives with regards to modeling and regulatory compliance. At the conclusion of this session, the attendees will gain an understanding of: 1. Overall industry trend in asset allocations and the underlying drivers of increasing allocation to complex assets2. The common types of complex assets, the unique characteristics and the associated challenges in pricing and performance monitoring 3. Actuarial modeling and regulatory reporting challenges and practical solutions under US and Bermuda regimes (e.g., PBR, AG53, CP2) 4. Ongoing monitoring of risks underlying complex assets

Description: You are the actuary in the room. As you select, recommend or evaluate a pension return assumption, the process should be rooted in sound principles of mathematics, finance and forecasting whether in multi-employer and public sectors or certain private sector situations. Both theory and practical application serve to guide you with useful tools when providing professional actuarial services concerning pension return assumptions. Explore new frontiers in well-accepted underlying models and analytical (closed form) formulas.

Description: In 2022, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) Research Institute Committee on Finance Research (CFR) of the Investment Section in collaboration with the SOA Research Institute Catastrophic and Climate Strategic Research Program, published a research report on the impact of disaster events on investments. The report, The Impact of Disaster Events on Investment-Contagion Channels Perspective, which explored this issue from the perspective of contagion channels, provided a framework for further investigation. As a next step, CFR is seeking essays on how the concepts in the report and related studies may be practically applied in specific situations and recent experiences.

Description: This research report summarizes methodologies used for yield curve extrapolation to value liability cash flows that extend beyond the maximum observavble portion of the yield curve.

Description: The U.S. life insurance industry has been increasing its exposure to complex assets, either directly as investors or via offshore reinsurance (e.g., Bermuda). In order to address regulatory concerns about such investments and reinsurance arrangements, the NAIC has begun multiple initiatives to improve disclosure and strengthen regulatory requirements, and the Bermuda Monetary Authority is also strengthening its requirements. Hear a summary of these initiatives, and get an update on the latest developments at the NAIC and at the Academy on these topics.

Description: How insurers can include a liquidity score and liquidity stress scenarios as part of their asset liability management (ALM) protocol.