Workshops
| Date | Details |
|---|---|
| Day two 10:50 - 11:50 | Workshop session A |
| A1: The changing world of DC pension provision This session will cover the latest developments in the DC world. It will cover (amongst other things) new ideas in relation to analysing the membership’s needs, investment choices and default funds, the increasing options at retirement and the impact of the Investment Governance Group’s DC principles.
Anne Jones, Towers Watson Pensions No prior knowledge required
A2: The UK life insurance market in 2011 and beyond – a rating agency perspective This session will cover:
Clara Hughes, Fitch Ratings Life No prior knowledge required
A3: The geometry of finance
The missing piece from our actuarial learning is financial geometry. Putting the record straight and taking inspiration from Pythagorean cultism the speaker asks ‘Who is this man Pythagoras? What did he believe? How can he have penetrated investment?’. The speaker experiments and becomes seduced by the cult’s ideals to better understand and visualise the geometry of finance. As a result of this talk delegates will be better equipped to bring order to the chaotic world of finance. In this session the speaker discusses:
Martyn Dorey, CAMRADATA Investment No prior knowledge required
A4: What’s the story with PPOs?
The session will provide a brief introduction to Periodic Payment Orders (PPOs) in UK non-life insurance. The focus will be on practical issues - such as the Solvency II requirements and the complexities of reinsurance for PPOs. Some results from the most recent market survey on PPOs will also be presented.
Mark Cockroft, Novae General insurance No prior knowledge required
A5: Practical issues with SPVs
An increasing number of companies are using special purpose vehicles (SPVs) to provide their pension scheme with a secured income stream. These structures can offer significant benefits for both company and trustees. The speaker looks at the practical considerations when implementing these solutions.
Ed Brogden, KPMG LLP Pensions Prior knowledge helpful |
| Date | Details |
|---|---|
| Day two 12:00 - 13:00 | Workshop session B |
| B1: Legal issues - pensions issues on a corporate transaction Corporate deals can be complex beasts, but help is at hand. Michael and Nick will set the scene by explaining the various types of corporate deals that are common, from pre-pack administrations to PPF drop-ins, how the deals are structured and how they differ from one another, and why one route might be preferable to another.
Nick Graves and Michael Hayles, Burges Salmon Pensions Prior knowledge helpful
B2: Latest CI product – are we happy as an industry following the ABI reviews in recent years? This session explores how satisfied the industry is with the recent ABI review of Critical Illness (CI) Cover, including results from our recent canvassing of CEOs, actuaries, underwriters, claims assessors and marketing professionals. In particular the speakers present findings on the perceived advantages and disadvantages of the Statement of Best Practice and whether the recent review has overcome known issues with total permanent disability. The speakers further consider how CI Cover may develop in the future and ask whether the review process is stifling innovation.
Stanislas Boyer; Donal O’Leary and Chris Reynolds, PartnerRe Health and care No prior knowledge required
B3: Sovereign debt crisis: what it all means for fixed income markets Steven Major, Global Head of Fixed Income Strategy at HSBC, delves into the latest developments in the Sovereign debt crisis. It has been another turbulent year for the bond markets and, as we reach the end of 2011, it is a good opportunity to take stock of where we are and assess the implications for the future.
Steven Major, HSBC Investment No prior knowledge required
B4: Changes in bodily injury claims handling In this session Grant will examine recent and potential future in the claims environment for motor injury claims, including Ogden discount rate, Periodical Payment Orders, Ministry of Justice Reforms and the Jackson Review, and how they affect the data that actuaries rely on to price and reserve motor accounts.
Grant Mitchell, Co-operative General insurance No prior knowledge required
B5: EU gender ruling – nine months on The speakers will give the background to the European Union gender equality directive and discuss the verdict of the European Court on the case brought by Test-Achats, the Belgian consumer body. Nine months on from the ruling, they will explore how the landscape has changed and the potential implications for the UK insurance market and pension schemes.
Vivienne Maclure and Kate Strevens, Barnett Waddingham General insurance and life No prior knowledge required |
| Date | Details |
|---|---|
| Day two 14:00 - 15:30 | Soft skills workshop session |
| Soft skills 1: Dynamic presentations This session forms part of our campaign to stamp out boring presentations!Increasingly, all of us spend time watching and listening to presentations that turn out to be ‘death by PowerPoint’, or dull, dreary affairs, failing to inspire.Here you’ll have a chance to learn some of the secrets of dynamic presentation from a professional performer, so that your communications are exciting and memorable.
Speaker from Maynard Leigh
Soft skills 2: Story telling There is a plot and storyline in every situation. In order to create the drama you want in the workplace, you will need to develop the ability to inspire people with stories.This session uncovers the mysteries of compelling story telling, and explores how company legends are created and communicated. Having a good story isn’t enough. It needs to be told – and told well.
Speaker from Maynard Leigh
*FULLY BOOKED* Soft skills 3: Body language Research leads us to believe non-verbal communication is 55% of the package. If a picture can paint a thousand words, it’s clear our physicality can communicate immeasurably. This session will look at how to effectively speak and understand non-verbal communication. Whether the story we are telling with posture, gesture, appearance and expressions, is the one we want to present or a misaligned communication?
Speaker from Maynard Leigh
Soft skills 4: Image Enhance your professional image:
You already know how important first impressions are, but do you know how to maximise your chances of making that first impression a good one? Image and impact is critical as people subconsciously associate your visual impact with your abilities and values. This session allows you to work with an image expert who has advised people across all disciplines and all industries. You will be provided with advice that ensures your immediate physical impact supports your brand.Strong and successful brands stick in our minds. A strong personal brand means that you are the person people think of when discussing the ‘right person’. The impression you make on others can have a powerful influence on the success of your career.
Sarah Setterfield, Impact for Success |
| Date | Details |
|---|---|
| Day two 16:00 - 17:00 | Workshop session C |
| C1: Experience of the pensions regulator This session will give delegates an insight into the workings of the Pensions Regulator, there may even be some fun! Clive Pugh’s experience working both at and with the Regulator means that he can speak from firsthand experience on what the Regulator expects and what happens in practice. Amongst other things Clive has recently acted for trustees on a major Financial Support Direction case. Through the use of case studies, delegates can see how the Regulator’s style and focus has changed since its inception, how constrained the Regulator is by regulation and the extent of its powers and ability to act.
Clive Pugh, Burges Salmon Pensions Prior knowledge helpful
C2: Risk management’s important, ORSA they say... This session will cover: what does an ORSA actually look like? what purpose does it serve? why bother? and what does a firm’s internal model have to do with all this? Naren Persad reveals all in this talk focussed on the ORSA but giving a brief overview of the rest of Pillar 5.
Naren Persad, Towers Watson Life No prior knowledge required
*FULLY BOOKED* C3: Driving growth in different economic scenarios In this talk Crispin will explore how differences across the global economies create both uncertainty and investment opportunities. Investors will need to build investment portfolios which are robust enough to cope with a broad range of possible economic scenarios. The first half of the session focuses on considering a number of the economic scenarios that may emerge and assessing how the various drivers that influence portfolio returns might behave under these scenarios.The second half of the session examines how we can design robust investment strategies that are well-placed to perform under these different scenarios.
Crispin Lace, MercerInvestment No prior knowledge required
*FULLY BOOKED* C4: Catastrophe models: inputs, outputs, uncertainty and Solvency II Alexandros will give a basic introduction to catastrophe models, uncertainty in output and how cat models are used by the industry.It will expand on the challenges faced by the industry on adhering with the tests and standards for external models and data and will provide examples of best practices.
Alexandros Ntelekos, Financial Services Authority General insurance No prior knowledge required
C5: Solvency II: moving towards implementation
As the implementation date for Solvency II approaches, more guidance is becoming available and the final touches are being made to the standard formula and model approval process. In their talk the speakers will cover the latest position, including:the latest news from EIOPA on standard formula calibrationupdate on the FSA’s pre-application for model approvalsteps that fi rms should be taking ahead of implementation and approvalsthe FSA’s wider work around preparing for Solvency II delivery.
Ruth Hendon and Chris Jones, Financial Services Authority Multidiscipline Prior knowledge helpful |
| Date | Details |
|---|---|
| Day three 11:00 - 12:00 | Workshop session D |
| D1: Why you will live to 100 (or not) Daniel Ryan is Head of Research and Development in Swiss Re’s Life and Health division, and leads a multi-disciplinary team bringing together research from the worlds of medicine, demography and pharmaceutical innovation. He was previously a senior consultant at Towers Watson, specialising in longevity analysis and prediction. In this session he will use his unique perspective to examine the reasons for the recent unprecedented improvements in life expectancy, give his views on the direction of travel and outline some of the latest techniques for managing this risk.
Daniel Ryan, Towers Watson Pensions No prior knowledge needed
D2: Do enhanced annuities damage the market? An investigation into residual standard mortality This session will include:
– introduction of the open market option and growth of the non-standard market
– socio-economic / size / channel
– lifestyles / impaired health / postcodes
– the effect of the non-standard market on residual standard mortality.
Niel Daniels, Daniels Actuarial Consulting; Ignatius Kotzé and Edd Moyle, PartnerRe Life No prior knowledge required
D3: The problems with funding This session will discuss the problems arising from pension scheme funding including:
– risk as the product of likelihood and consequence – likelihood sponsor insolvency – hedging and mitigation – buffers
– indemnity versus parametric – asset and derivative allocation strategies.
Con Keating, BrightonRock Group Investment No prior knowledge required
D4: ERM for emerging risks in general insurance ERM for emerging risks in our world of “unknown unknowns” deals with the emergence of unexpected risks over time.ERM as “risk and opportunity management” balancing risks against opportunities, whilst being resilient against “unknown unknowns” and their emergence as “known unknowns” and “known knowns”. Real case studies are used to review the “lessons learned” and the “early warning indicators” that perhaps should have been used in order to detect the emerging risks in a timely manner and influenced the CRO function to have taken appropriate remedial action.
George Orros ERM and general insurance No prior knowledge required
*FULLY BOOKED* D5: Calibration of risk distributions (a how to) You’ve fitted your risk distributions to skewness and kurtosis, but can it pass a Monte Carlo Calibration Test? Andrew shows the latest quantitative developments in model construction and prepares for the most devious tests those independent model validators can throw at him!
Andrew Smith, Deloitte LLP Life Prior knowledge helpful |
| Date | Details |
|---|---|
| Day three 12:10 - 13:10 | Workshop session E |
| E1: The company’s view of its covenant and how it approaches corporate activity This session focuses on sponsor covenant from the company’s point of view. In particular, the session will consider how companies might view their own strength and what companies consider to be “reasonably affordable” when it comes to pension scheme funding. In addition, Adrian will consider the impact on a company’s covenant of share buybacks and dividend policy, raising debt and equity, and the impact of mergers and acquisitions.
Adrian Bourne, Towers Watson Pensions No prior knowledge required
*FULLY BOOKED* E2: Impact of IFRS4 Phase II – what does it mean for business? This session will cover:
This session considers the potential impact on insurers, from an insurance analyst’s perspective.
Harish Gohil and Andrew Murray, Fitch Ratings Life No prior knowledge required
E3: Managing currency risk in pension funds UK pension funds’ increasing allocation to non-UK assets is increasing their currency exposure. In this talk, Neil Record discusses a framework for considering currency risks and alternative types of hedging solutions. He also reviews whether or not there is a ‘currency risk premium’, and the implications on asset allocation and hedging decisions.
Neil Record, Record Currency Management Investment Prior knowledge needed
E4: Quinn – where did it all go wrong? The administration of Quinn Insurance has been one of the major insurance stories of the last year. This presentation will discuss the history of Quinn Insurance, what went wrong, and the administration. It will also focus on the lessons that can be learnt from the experience. The presenters will be two members of the actuarial team who have been heavily involved in the administration.
Jinit Shah, Grant Thornton and Kate Strevens, Barnett Waddingham General insurance No prior knowledge is required
E5: Is ERM the future for actuaries? Solvency II has increased the focus on ERM within insurers. Over the last few years more actuaries have been moving into this field from traditional actuarial roles. This talk will cover what opportunities exist for actuaries to move into this area and what skills are required. How does the CERA qualification help build these skills and what other opportunities are there to develop the required skills?
Keith Bevan, Deloitte LLP Multidiscipline No prior knowledge is required |