Description: Actuarial Process Optimization is a framework for using technology to support the actuary of the future. In this article, we discuss the capabilities of new technologies and explore examples where they can be used to aid with providing strategic business direction, optimizing skillsets and use of technology, and maintaining governance, control, and risk frameworks.

Description: Inspired by the Wall Street Bets / GameStop stock episode in January 2021, this article outlines the market mechanics and risk considerations that lead to market failure. The consequences of unfilled buy orders, unfilled short sell orders, and more short shares than long shares are all explained. Also, some steps to protect a financial institution that has been caught shorting a popular company are explored.

Description: With the unprecedented proliferation in the size and complexity of data over the past decade, actuaries have invested considerable time and energy in the development of new skills and expertise in order to be able to understand and use “big data” to its fullest potential in the development of actuarial work product.

Description: The actuarial profession is changing rapidly and the skills needed to be successful are also changing. In this session, we will debate key topics and questions, such as: What is the predominant future career path for actuaries? Specialists or generalists? Does the actuarial profession have a meaningful value prop outside our core domains e.g. insurance? What skills are needed for the actuary of the future? What’s the best approach to improve actuarial storytelling to non-actuarial audiences? What’s the role of actuaries to managing and predicting emerging trends and assumptions? What is the role of actuaries in relation to development and ownership of advanced modeling? Is the future actuarial profession smaller/larger than it is today? In either case, how does it differ from today in terms of make-up, deployment, function, purpose, value add, etc.?

Description: One of the most effective ways to convey quantitative results is via data visualization. However, many times actuaries have been ineffective in doing this. In this session, you will see a demonstration of certain dataviz choices that make communicating results more effective in terms of graph type choice, graph element styles, colors and more. All examples will be in Excel-and doesn't require Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)! Nothing too fancy! I want to distribute working files to attendees before the session so they can follow along with how to build the graphs, make changes, etc. Graph choices will include line graph, tile grid map and jitter graph.

Description: This research assesses the evolution of life insurers’ Actuarial Transformation efforts and the future outlook, with a focus on emerging Advanced Analytics techniques.

Description: In this session, we will explore the opportunities and challenges of leveraging AI tools to support valuation actuaries in their work. We will begin by introducing the concept of large language models (LLMs), discussing their capabilities, limitations, and potential errors. We will then delve into case studies that demonstrate how LLMs can be effectively utilized to reference actuarial documents. The session will also address key considerations when developing AI tools to mitigate errors, enhance safety and security, and improve overall efficiency. The case studies will cover fine-tuning and information retrieval techniques such as retrieval augmented generation (RAG). Our goal is to provide attendees with a foundational understanding of the nature of LLMs and offer practical insights and ideas for actuaries to build their own processes and tools that ensure accountability, safety, and efficiency.