Workshops
| Date | Details |
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| Day two 10:45 - 11:45 | Workshop A |
| A1 Pensions: The Future of UK Pensions The UK pension industry is putting on a bright new shirt - one that is very different in nature to what many current actuaries are familiar with. Over the last few years we have witnessed a rapid reduction in the number of DB pension schemes which was once the ploughed land for traditional work of pension actuaries. But no need to fret! The end of one land opens to a new better land. What opportunities lie there? Mass data analysis is gathering momentum; we have started to see the adoption of technology in pensions. There is no better time for pensions actuaries to join in with others to develop solutions to pensions challenges. Speaker: Henry Tapper, First Actuarial A2 Life: Consequences of Picking the Wrong Model Insurance business decisions rely increasingly on stochastic models. Firms can mitigate the risk of choosing the wrong model, by comparing several plausible models. Inevitably, the same historic data underpins all the chosen models. Such benchmarking cannot detect if the calibration data is exceptionally well-behaved, nor whether some critical events are over- or under-represented in the limited available history. This session explores tools for quantifying and mitigating various errors in risk models. Speaker: Andrew Smith, Deloitte A3 GI: Telematics and the UK’s Most Competitive Market: is New Technology Always a Good Thing? Telematics based-insurance holds the promise of transforming the motor market. Everybody knows that the vast amounts of data generated should improve pricing, risk selection and claims handling, helping to make motor more profitable. But it brings with it a host of other changes to the business model and strategy – so is a future where every car has a little black box quietly recording everything a future insurers actually want? This talk offers an introduction to some of the broader issues around telematics for motor insurance, background on the current UK market and a little bit of speculation about the future. Speaker: Rob Jarvis, Lane Clark & Peacock A4 Investment: The Quest for Yield and Other Stories from a Life Insurer’s Asset Portfolio This talk takes a whistle stop tour around some of the “alternative” opportunities available to life insurers seeking to increase the returns on their assets. Some thoughts on the technical aspects and practical challenges of portfolio structuring and optimisation will also be presented. With record low interest rates and moderate credit spreads, life insurers with significant non-with- profits business have had to be more imaginative in their “quest for yield”. However, measuring the key model parameters (for example correlation) for these alternatives needs to be done with care. Carefully establishing risk appetites, then selecting from these alternative investments and finally optimising the portfolio as a whole is important. For many firms this is particularly the case if the firm is allowed to adopt its Solvency II model early for ICA purposes (ICA+). Speaker: Russell Bowdrey, Aviva A5 Multidiscipline/Risk Management: The Many Costs of Capital Much of the future of actuarial work will center on capital and its costs. This session will provide an overview of three interesting areas under this vast umbrella:
Speaker: Don Mango, Guy Carpenter
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| Date | Details |
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| Day two 11:50 - 12:50 | Workshop B |
| B1 Pensions Debate - Hot Topic Speakers: Keith Barton, Aon Hewitt and Mark Rowlinson, First Actuarial B2 Life Debate - Hot Topic Speakers: Matt Modisett, Financial Guard and Andrew Smith, Deloitte B3 GI Debate - Hot Topic Speakers: Lisa Renton, Travellers and Zulfiya Samieva, Amlin B4 Investment Debate - Hot Topic Speakers: Members of the Financial Repression Working Party |
| Date | Details |
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| Day two 13:45 - 14:45 | Masterclass 1 |
1A: My Brilliant Career What would you learn if you had the results of interviews with over 1600 successful people, about how they actually drove their career? How do people get the key jobs that shape their career? Sarah Setterfield will provide a shot of hard facts, activities, anecdotes, and practical actions that you can adopt to drive your own career. This session will demystify what you can do to get your talent recognised, and attract career opportunities that will really excite you. This is a leading edge workshop based on in-depth research into careers carried out across multiple sectors in the UK. As well as giving you food for thought, it will also provide very practical steps you can take to drive your own career. Key points being covered are:
Speaker: Sarah Setterfield, Impact for Success 1B: Gaining the Essential Buy-in from Clients Being able to present effectively will help you win and retain business, and influence in-house audiences. Gaining buy-in at the start will help set the tone for the rest of the presentation. In this interactive workshop you will learn some tips to help you capture the attention of your audience and engage them from the start, which will distinguish you from most other presenters. You will have the opportunity to practice at least one aspect during the session Speaker: Jeremy Lazarus, The Lazarus Consultancy Ltd 1C: Networking: They Say it’s Who You Know They say “it’s who you know”. There is no doubt that highly effective people tend to have a network of contacts. This session explores how to make the most of the people you know, how to nurture relationships so that they can bear fruit and how to benefit from the ‘Six Degrees of Separation’ between you and achieving the results you want. Speaker: Barbara Thorn, Maynard Leigh 1D: Influencing Without Authority Many myths surround the vital areas of assertiveness and influencing. In this session we aim to put the record straight about the nature of assertiveness and to help you learn a few strategies to make your own behaviour more assertive too. Speaker: Terry Holmes, Maynard Leigh |
| Date | Details |
|---|---|
| Day two 14:50 - 15:50 | Masterclass 2 |
2A: Increasing Your Oomph Factor Do you feel people sometimes don’t listen to you or take you seriously? Are there ways that you give away your power? We share 3 body language secrets to making an immediately credible impact. How can you be in control of your image - what can you do to be seen as more powerful, more authoritative - or more approachable, when this is needed? How can you dress down without losing credibility? Key points being covered are:
Speaker: Sarah Setterfield, Impact for Success 2B: ‘Values’ – An Invaluable Tool ‘Values’, what is/are important to us, is an invaluable tool to improve our results at work. In this highly-participative session, you will learn how to use ‘Values’ when selling, managing, motivating, recruiting, team-building, improving relationships and making choices. Leading HR specialists have said that if every manager used this, it would transform the workplace. All relationships depend on it. Great sales-people do it automatically. If you apply what you learn in this session, your results are bound to improve significantly. See you there! Speaker: Jeremy Lazarus, The Lazarus Consultancy Ltd 2C: Let Your Voice be Heard Everyone has a right to be heard. But often our voice prevents us from having the effect we want. People constantly make judgements about us, based on how we sound. So how can your voice be an instrument that accurately expresses who you are and makes the impact you want? Hear from a specialist voice expert offering practical ways to make your voice count. Speaker: Terry Holmes, Maynard Leigh 2D: Why Does Client Management Matter? However clever the analysis we carry out as Actuaries it is vital that we are also able to ensure that our clients (whoever they are) are able to understand and use the information correctly. This session will look at the importance of “Client Management” for actuaries, will consider some ideas for putting over complex issues to non-technical people and will provide some ideas to help you improve your communication to those who rely on your advice. Speaker: John Reeve, Premier |
| Date | Details |
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| Day three 10:30 - 11:30 | Workshop C |
| C1 Pensions: Pensions Risk Solutions - Buyins, Buyouts and How to Get There Most companies that sponsor defined benefit pension schemes are targeting reduced longterm costs and reduced variability of costs. Buyins and/or buyouts offer a mechanism for transferring some or all of a scheme's liabilities to an insurer. 2012 was a 4 year high for buyin transactions over £100M, many funded through investment gains on gilts. What has the market looked like in 2013 and how can schemes best position themselves for risk reduction solutions in the future? Speakers: Colette Christiansen, Towers Watson and Julian Hobday, Legal & General C2 Life: Zero Interest Rate Environment This session will focus on the zero-interest rate environment. Specific questions that will be addressed include:
Speaker: Elliot Varnell, Milliman C3 GI: Comparing Risk Over a One-Year and Ultimate Time Horizon Traditionally, when assessing what level of capital needs to be held, general insurance firms have assessed this against all risks to an ultimate time horizon. However, Solvency II will require that all insurance companies consider only one year of risk, which has brought in a range of capital modelling challenges. This talk will look at we expect capital to vary between these two bases, and will explore at a high level some of the modelling approaches which could be used. Speaker: Richard Chalk, Bank of England C4 Investment: Volatility and Equity Tail Risk Hedging for Pension Funds This session will introduce the idea of volatility in equity markets, historical trends, pricing and the role of options in building portfolio hedges against volatility. Speakers: Dan Mikulskis, Redington and Karim Traore, Societe Generale C5 Multidiscipline/Risk Management: Resource Constraints: Sharing a Finite World This session is a presentation of research findings commissioned by the IFoA. Economic growth has received significantly more attention globally over the last few years. While traditional growth has been very visible through the consumption of resources, the resources required to sustain the current level of economic growth may not be available over the next decades. Constraints on available resource, and any associated political interventions, may limit global economic growth over the upcoming decades. Speaker: Tracey Zalik, Resource and Environment Member Interest Group
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| Date | Details |
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| Day three 11:35 - 12:35 | Workshop D |
| D1 Pensions: The Takeover Panel and Implications for Pension Scheme Trustees and Employers With many pension schemes now bigger than the sponsoring employer – it’s probably about time that Trustees have a say in an M&A transaction. Recent changes in the UK M&A rules have brought a significant new player into the M&A process and one that can have a material impact on the deal moving forward. Companies launching a takeover bid will be required to detail the impact of their offer on their target’s pension scheme and will be committed to their intentions for a period of at least 12 months. This session will look at what this means for pension scheme trustees and employers – is it really a changing landscape? Speaker: Steve Allan, Towers Watson D2 Life: Solving Solvency Whether lowering capital requirements or increasing earnings on capital, risk management is the way to reach your goal. Solvency II and the current ICA both equated risk and capital requirements. So, what are some methods for managing capital? This presentation will discuss some basic and some innovative ways to reduce capital requirements and to raise capital earnings. It will also present how different capital projects can be managed and prioritized for optimum effect. Speaker: Matt Modisett, Financial Guard D3 GI: PPOs: Challenges for 2013 and Beyond Periodical Payment Orders (PPOs) are a form of compensation paid to claimants at regular intervals over the remainder of the claimant’s lifetime. PPOs are increasingly being used to settle bodily injury claims in the UK. This session will highlight topical PPO developments in the insurance sector. The session will include a discussion of:
Speakers: Clare Barley and Charlotte Edwards, Lane Clark & Peacock D4 Investment: The Global Economic Outlook This session will give an update on economic developments, and look ahead at the main macro-economic forces likely to drive financial markets in 2014. It will be of interest to all actuaries within the investment industry and in roles which need to consider the financial markets. Speaker: Neil Williams, Hermes Fund Managers D5 Multidiscipline/Risk Management: Actuaries as Financial Engineers It is important for any profession to continually review and define the scope of its role and the work that it does, to ensure its continued relevance. This is particularly important for the IFoA, as its traditional roles change and disappears, and as it seeks to move into 'wider fields'. This workshop therefore examines the nature of actuarial work by considering shifts between different 'segments' of the actuarial, accounting and engineering professions over the past century. It will argue that these shifts across and within these different professions are related and that they were the consequence of changes in the setting of standards with respect to governance of organizations and capital markets. Drawing on this analysis, the workshop will argue that that the best description of the work conducted by actuaries is as 'financial engineers'. It will then explore the strategic implications for determining and marketing the role of actuaries. Speaker: Yally Avrahampour, LSE
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