Articles | Books | Journals | Newspapers | Economist Intelligence Unit: Country reports

The following will give you a different viewpoint on topics presented in SA5

You are not expected to have read all the items but you should ensure you familiarise yourself with current finance issues and general background.

Economist Intelligence Unit: Country reports

The Economist Intelligence Unit provides leading country analysis and forecasts. IFoA members get access to detailed economic and political forecasts compiled by a wide network of on the ground contributors and highly skilled analysts on behalf of the EIU. Reports are available for the following countries:

• China         
• France
• Germany
• Japan
• United Kingdom
• United States

The reports are for the latest month only. Reports are for non-commercial educational use by members of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.  The terms and conditions of supply are at http://www.eiu.com/public/terms.aspx This arrangement is managed by the library service, please email libraries@actuaries.org.uk with any enquiries.

The Economist: The World in 2016

The Economist's annual survey for the year ahead offers points of interest and background to support study of investment issues, its outlook from last year can be considered in retrospect too. The Economist now makes this annual print magazine available as an ‘App’ for purchasers, but selected articles of the latest edition are available at http://www.theworldin.com/

Articles

• Being actuarial with the truth. A story of economic confusion over defined benefit pension schemes. Carne, Simon A. SIAS, 2004. 48 pages.
• The cost of capital for financial firms. Exley, J.; Smith, A. D. BAJ (2006) 12(1): 229-301. (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1357321700004761)
• Credit derivatives. M.J. Muir et al.; Derivatives Working Party. BAJ (2007) 13(2): 185-236. (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S135732170000146X)
• The economics of insurance - how insurers create value for shareholders. Hancock, John; Huber, Paul P.; Koch, Pablo. Swiss Re, 2001. 45 pages. See also: Value creation in the insurance industry. Hancock, J.; Huber, P. P.; Koch, P. Risk Management and Insurance Review (2001) 4 (2): 1-9. (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1098-1616.00001)
• The financial theory of defined benefit pension schemes. Exley, J.; Mehta, S. J. B.; Smith, A. D. BAJ (1997) 3(4): 835-966. (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S135732170000516X)
• Frictional costs. Ng, H. M.; Varnell, E. M. SIAS, 2003. 63 pages.
• Gentlemen prefer bonds. Alexander, B. London Business School, 2002.
• Getting to grips with fair value. Abbink, M.; Saker, M. C. SIAS, 2002. 74 pages.
• Lease terms, option pricing and the financial characteristics of property. Adams, Andrew T.; Booth, Philip M.; MacGregor, B. D. BAJ (2003) 9(3): 619-635. (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1357321700004293)
• Measuring and managing the economic risks and costs of with-profits business. Hibbert, A. J.; Turnbull, C. J. BAJ (2003) 9(4): 725-786. (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1357321700004347)
• Modelling and managing risk. Sweeting, Paul J. BAJ (2007) 13(3): 579-636. (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1357321700001562)
• Modelling extreme market events. Report of the Benchmarking Stochastic Models Working Party. Frankland, R. et al. BAJ (2009) 15(1): 99-217. (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1357321700005468)
• Modern valuation techniques. Jarvis, S. J.; Southall, F. E.; Varnell, E. M. SIAS, 2001. 55 pages.
• Pensions and capital structure. Why hold equities in the pension fund? Ralfe, John; Speed, Cliff A.; Palin, Jon. North American Actuarial Journal (2004) 8 (3): 103-132. (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10920277.2004.10596154)
• Pensions and economics: the way ahead. Wise, A. J.; McCarthy, D.; Neate, J. A. et al. SIAS, 2004. 53 pages.
• Pensions, funding and risk. Chapman, R. J.; Gordon, T. J.; Speed, C. A. BAJ (2001) 7(4): 605-686. (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1357321700002488)
• The tax consequences of long-run pension policy. Black, F. Financial Analysts Journal (1980) July-August: 21-28. (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2469/faj.v36.n4.21) (Request from libraries)
• Theory of risk capital in financial firms. Merton, R. C.; Perold, A. F. Journal of Applied Corporate Finance (1993) 6(3): 16-32. (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6622.1993.tb00231.x) (Request from libraries)
• Theory of the firm: managerial behaviour, agency costs and ownership structure. Jensen, M. C.; Meckling, W. H. Journal of Financial Economics (1976) 3(4): 305-360. (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.94043)
• Why can financial firms charge for diversifiable risk? Casualty Actuaries Society Bowles Symposium. Smith, A. D.; Moran, I.; Walczak, D. 2003.

Books

The books below may be ordered on loan from: libraries@actuaries.org.uk. Some books may be purchased from the eShop. Where an eBook option is available this is delivered through the MyiLibrary service, you will need an Athens log in and password from the library service.

• Asset pricing. Cochrane, J. H. Revised ed. Princeton University Press, 2005. 533 pages. ISBN: 9780691121376 (Buy from eShop £30.00 plus postage | (Borrow from libraries)
• The Black Swan: the impact of the highly improbable. Taleb, Nassim Penguin books, 2008. 366 pages. ISBN: 9780141034591 (Borrow from libraries)
• Corporate finance and investment. Decisions and strategies. Pike, R.; Neale, B. 5th ed. Financial Times Prentice Hall, 2005. ISBN: 9780273695615 (Borrow from libraries)
• Derivatives. The theory and practice of financial engineering. Wilmott, P. John Wiley, 1998. 740 pages. ISBN: 9780471983668 (Borrow from libraries)
• Financial calculus. An introduction to derivative pricing. Baxter, M.; Rennie, A. CUP, 1996. 233 pages. ISBN: 9780521552899 (Buy from eShop £35.00 plus postage | (Borrow from libraries)
• Financial economics: with applications to investments, insurance and pensions. Panjer, H. H. (ed) The Actuarial Foundation, 2001. 669 pages. ISBN: 9780938959489 (Borrow from libraries)
• Fixed-income derivatives made simple. What a trustee needs to know. National Association of Pension Funds. NAPF, 2005. 16 pages.
• Fundamentals of financial management. Brigham, E. F.; Houston, J. 12th ed. South-Western, 2009. 680 pages. ISBN 9780324597707 (Borrow from libraries)
• The handbook of international financial terms. Moles, P.; Terry, N. G. OUP, 1997. 605 pages. ISBN: 9780198288855 (Borrow from libraries) (eBook available via the Athens portal, contact the library service for details)
• Hedge funds and funds of hedge funds made simple. What a trustee needs to know. National Association of Pension Funds. NAPF, 2005. 20 pages.
• Inefficient markets. An introduction to behavioral finance. Shleifer, A. OUP, 2000. 216 pages. ISBN: 9780198292289 (Borrow from libraries) (eBook available via the Athens portal, contact the library service for details)
• Investment mathematics. Adams, A. T.; Booth, P. M.; Bowie, D. C.; Freeth, D. S. John Wiley, 2003. 419 pages. ISBN: 9780471998822 (Borrow from libraries) (eBook available via the Athens portal, contact the library service for details)
• Management of company finance. Samuels, J. M.; Wilkes, F. M.; Brayshaw, R. E. 6th ed. International Thomson, 1995. 1040 pages. ISBN: 9781861522290 (Buy from eShop £35.00 plus postage  | (Borrow from libraries)
• Management of company finance. Solutions manual. Samuels, J. M.; Wilkes, F. M.; Brayshaw, R. E. 6th ed. International Thomson, 1996. 243 pages. ISBN: 9780412718601 (Borrow from libraries)
• Options, futures and other derivatives. Hull, J. C. 8th ed. Pearson, 2011. xxi, 847 pages. ISBN:  9780273759072 (Buy from eShop £57.00 plus postage  | (Borrow from libraries)
• Principles of corporate finance (Global edition). Brealey, R. A.; Myers, S. C.; Allen, F. 10th ed. 944 pages. McGraw-Hill, 2010. ISBN: 978-0071314176 (Borrow from libraries)
• Principles of corporate finance (Global edition). Brealey, R. A.; Myers, S. C.; Allen, F. 11th ed. 967 pages. McGraw-Hill, 2014. ISBN: 978-0077151560 (Borrow from libraries)
• Swaps made simple. What a trustee needs to know. National Association of Pension Funds. NAPF, 2005. 16 pages.

Journals

• Annals of Actuarial Science 
• Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin. (Bank of England: http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/quarterlybulletin/index.htm)
• Derivatives Quarterly. (Institutional Investor Journals: http://www.iijournals.com)
• Financial Analysts Journal. (Chartered Financial Analysts Institute: http://www.cfapubs.org/loi/faj). Actuarial Profession libraries hold vol. 46(2) (1990) onwards.
• Journal of Asset Management. (Palgrave Macmillan: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/jam/index.html)
• Journal of Finance. (American Finance Association: http://www.afajof.org/journal/browse.asp). Issues up to 2008 available via Athens. Contact libraries@actuaries.org.uk for login.
• Journal of Finance and Quantitative Analysis. (University of Washington: http://depts.washington.edu/jfqa/)
• Journal of Financial Economics. (Elsevier: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jfec). Actuarial Profession libraries hold vols. 35-46 (1994-1997).
• Journal of Portfolio Management. (Institutional Investor Journals: http://www.iijournals.com/page/jpm/info)
• Professional Investor. (CFA Society of the UK: http://www.cfauk.org/shop/index.html). Actuarial Profession libraries hold last 5 years' issues.
• Risk Magazine. (Incisive Media: http://www.risk.net/). Actuarial Profession libraries hold 1999 onwards.

Newspapers

• The Economist. (The Economist Newspaper Ltd: http://www.economist.com/)
• Financial News. (http://www.efinancialnews.com/)
• Financial Times. (http://www.ft.com/).