Description: This article gives a summary of the articles to be presented in the Spring 2013 issue of the the AoF newsletter. It also introduces some of the new initiatives and programs underway in 2013.

Description: Interview with 2016-2017 SOA President Mike Lombardi about improving the actuary’s soft skills as one of the ways to remain relevant, and expand opportunities.

Description: This article discusses the implications of the competition actuaries face from “financial engineers.”

Description: This article highlights the importance of communicating concisely and effectively through email and other written forums, and when/when not to use written vs. other forms of communication.

Description: Summary of market opportunity research, October, 2002. The report is a high level description of research conducted among employers to identify skill sets valued in today's marketplace and to identify perceptions of the actuarial profession.

Description: This presentation proposes a solution to the student actuarial paradox “I mastered the syllabus but failed the exam,” by utilizing the two-dimensional syllabus vehicle which pedagogically focuses on the two dimensions of content and problem difficulty. This presentation advocates the PMR characterization of three levels of problems difficulty: Plug-ins (easy), Monkey-wrench (intermediate), and Research-type(hard) questions. PMR was developed by examining difficulty levels in SOA exams, and problems of various software vendors. The author's students routinely score high on the SOA FM exam; it is hoped that these methods will assist other instructors in their quest for good pedagogy. Very briefly: “Plug-ins,” refer to multi-part problems, for example, calculating the price of an annuity that is first increasing and then level; “Monkey-wrench” problems specifically refer to plug-in multi-part problems where one component is a monkey-wrench, an issue the candidate has not previously encountered. It might be a non-typical modeling or it might be a non-typical algebraic simplification or it might be an unexpected integration of distinct modules in a manner that the candidate has not yet seen. “Research-type questions” refer to problems requiring some type of experimentation for example, looking at initial cases, seeing a pattern and then applying methods

Description: Describes Six Sigma and how actuaries can use it.

Description: Panelists [and members of the audience] debate whether earning a Master's in Business Administration [MBA] degree is more valuable than earning the Fellow of the Society of Actuaries [FSA] designation in terms of career-advancement opportunities in the financial-services industry. From the 1997 Record of Society of Actuaries, Vol. 23, No. 3.

Description: A roundtable discussion of changes in the nature of actuarial work and the skills actuaries will need to be successful in the future.