Year-end Review

Events in Asia + International Research + Latin America December 2017/January 2018

Whether you travel the world or never leave your home country, you are affected by global organizations, international requirements and the increasingly international nature of the actuarial profession itself. Here is some news from around the world.

The Society of Actuaries (SOA) participated in many global events during 2017. On Feb. 22, 2016–2017 SOA President-Elect Mike Lombardi, FSA, CERA, FCIA, MAAA, and other SOA members attended the 24^th Annual Chinese New Year Meeting celebrated during the dinner hosted by the Pacific Rim Actuaries Club of Toronto.

Events in Asia

In the spring, the SOA and the China Association of Actuaries (CAA) held the second Executive Education Exchange program in China. The program, designed to facilitate information exchange and strengthen the profession in both countries, included meetings with insurance regulators, university representatives and insurance companies.

During the summer months, the SOA participated in and hosted four major events in Asia.

The 2017 SOA China Annual Symposium took place June 29–30 in Shanghai, China. The symposium provided a platform for attendees to meet with industry leaders and share their experiences in the fields of actuarial science, finance and insurance in the region.

2016–2017 SOA President-Elect Mike Lombardi offered welcome remarks and was followed by two keynote speakers: Songchen Sheng, former head of statistics and survey department at the People’s Bank of China, and Yulong Zhao, general director of the finance and accounting solvency department for the China Insurance Regulatory Committee.

On July 3, representatives from the SOA, including Lombardi and SOA Executive Director Greg Heidrich, attended the celebration to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the SOA-Nankai University program. The SOA and Nankai University in Tianjin, China, established an actuarial science program that has continued to grow and evolve over the years, and it now offers undergraduate and master’s degrees in actuarial science.

The SOA was honored to receive support from the Actuarial Society of Malaysia (ASM) and Persatuan Insurans Am Malaysia (PIAM) for the 2017 SOA Asia-Pacific Annual Symposium, July 6–7 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Jeremy J. Brown, 2016–2017 SOA president, attended this event. The event, under the theme “Beyond Traditions—A World of Opportunities,” included welcome remarks from Gary Hoo, FSA, FCAS, president of ASM and delegate of PIAM, followed by keynote speaker Yew Khuen Yoon, FIA, FASM, director of insurance and development of the Bank Negara Malaysia.

The 8^th China Risk Management and Actuarial Forum took place on July 8 at the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) in Beijing, China. The event included more than 200 faculty members and industry experts and 100 UIBE students. SOA Lead China Representative, Jessie Li, FSA, acted as the moderator during one of the afternoon sessions.

International Research

In the area of research, LIMRA and the SOA published the final results of their research on the current state and future opportunities of the retirement market in China. This research project focused on a series of six reports that examine consumer attitudes, beliefs and behaviors on various retirement issues. These issues include retirement goals and objectives, retirement risks, retirement savings, available retirement options, use of financial advisers and strategies for managing retirement risks.

Latin America Focus

Representatives from the SOA’s Latin America Committee (LAC) attended the 6^th International Actuarial Symposium in Bogotá, Colombia, Oct. 26–27, held by the Colombian Association of Actuaries (Asociación Colombiana de Actuarios). This is the main actuarial event in the country, and it focused on predictive analytics, risk management and regulation.

The LAC was formed in 2016 to promote the actuarial profession in Latin America and foster closer relationships in the area through joint projects.