Actuary - Best Job in the World

'Actuary' ranks as the best job for 2010, based on research into 200 different positions in this year's exclusive CareerCast.com Jobs Rated report and published by The Wall Street Journal.

Using five key measurement criteria – stress, working environment, physical demands, income and hiring outlook – the Jobs Rated report seeks to compare and contrast careers across a multitude of industries, skill levels and salary ranges, sorting them into a definitive ranked list of jobs.

So why is Actuary rated number one?
For starters, the position ranks especially well for its low physical demands and stress levels, finishing 2nd and 3rd, respectively, out of all 200 jobs. But more importantly, it is actuary's consistently strong performance overall that helped the job rise to the top of the 2010 Jobs Rated list.

Who says being an actuary is boring?
Interested in a zero unemployment profession?

Risk Management Humor

Happy new year! At the start of 2010 let's have some 'serious fun' with the next

Actuarial Risk Management Puzzle Joke

Three actuaries and three accountants are traveling by train to visit a 'Risk Management Conference'. At the station, the three accountants each buy tickets and watch as the three actuaries buy only a single ticket.

"This looks very risky. How are three people going to travel on only one ticket?", one of the accountants asks.

"Watch and you'll see! Take notice of our brand new risk management approach", one of the actuaries answers.

They all board the train. The accountants take their respective first class seats, but all three actuaries cram into a restroom and close the door behind them.

Shortly after the train has departed, the conductor comes around collecting tickets. He knocks on the restroom door and says, "Ticket, please." The door opens just a crack and a single arm emerges with a ticket in hand. The conductor takes it and moves on.

The accountants were deeply impressed by the actuarial approach and agreed it was - after all - quite a clever idea without any substantial risk.

So, completely confident and with even more Risk Management skills gained at the inspiring Conference, the accountants decide to copy the actuaries new risk approach on the return trip and save some money (accountants have always been clever with money!). When they get to the station they buy a single ticket for the return trip.

To their astonishment, this time the actuaries don't buy a ticket at all. "This is reckless, how are you going to travel without a single ticket?", one of the perplexed accountants asked. "Watch and you'll see! Take full notice of our latest risk management approach" answered an actuary.

When they board the train the three accountants cram into a restroom and the three actuaries cram into another one nearby. The train departs.

Stop
Here the story stops for a moment. Let's find out if you qualify as a Actuary Risk Manager (ARM) or - otherwise - could better have become an accountant.

Can you finish the story? What was the alternative Risk management Plan of the actuaries?

Just check the next box (or go to the original Actuary-Info Blog site) to find the right answer.......

Solution

Shortly afterward, one of the actuaries leaves his restroom and walks over to the restroom where the accountants are hiding. He knocks on the door and says, "Ticket, please."

Conclusions
What conclusions can we draw from this simple story?

• Risk Management is a game without end
  
  
• The effect of Risk Management Conferences is threefold:
  
  1. Some attendants get smarter
  2. Others get overconfident
  3. Final result: Increasing Risk, instead of decreasing Risk
  
  
• There's an old Dutch saying that expresses the danger of increased Risk Management :
  
  
  "A warned man counts for two"
  
  
  
• If we want to reap the fruits of Risk Management, accountants and actuaries have to start working together, instead of struggling and competing each other.
  
  
• Risk Manager Profile and qualifications
  Insight, creativity and integrity are important requirements to become a professional Risk Manager. Unfortunately, this is not enough.
  
  To tackle Risk Management in a company, you need the best potential crook around. One who's willing to settle his salary and earnings for a little less than he would have earned as a real crook, in return for having a respectable job and not risking to end up in jail. You could call it the Personal Risk management of the Risk manager. Employers that settle for an inferior Risk Manager, know one thing for sure: someday somebody more 'crooky' than 'your risk manager' will tear your company down!

With some humor, we've gained new insights in the challenging world of Risk Management. Anyway, a Happy & Healthy 2010 !

Control Leverage

Key question is whether 'adding more control' will stabilize financial institutions like banks, insurance companies or pension funds.....

With all the - apparently failing - new legislation of the last decade already in place and new control measures like Solvency II and the strengthening of the Basel II Framework ahead, one might - at least - question whether we're on the right track with this intensified 'control approach'.

Will adding more control
empower or paralyze financial institutions?

In other words: Is the Control Leverage Effect positive or negative?

Insurance
In an FT-Adviser article called 'Solvency II costs are unsustainable', Joy Dunbar reports that the ABI (Association of British Insurers) has warned that the costs of implementing Solvency II regulations could destabilize the industry across Europe.

To gain more control (financial stability), European Insurers are obliged to implement Solvency II measures by the end of 2012, starting already in 2010.

Impact Solvency II
The increasing control costs and capital demands of Solvency II will have an enormous impact om the insurance market:

• Recapitalization: Insurers need to acquire fresh equity capital (billions of Euros) in the market
  
• Over-Capitalization: More 'dead' capital is created in financial institutions, resulting in declining investment returns in insurance.
• Market shake out: Companies will exit the market
• Pricing effects: prices (premiums) will rise, cover will be reduced

Banks
Whereas the European Insurers are on a more or less 'blind track' with regard to the implementation of Solvency II, the banks - according to chairman of the Basel Committee Mr Wellink - stressed that "decisions on the final proposals and their calibration will be made only after a thorough analysis of the impact assessment and the comments received on the consultative documents. The Committee will ensure that implementation of the new standards is consistent with financial market stability and sustainable economic growth".

The real problem
One doesn't have to be an actuary or financial expert to conclude that we're at the end of the road where adding more of the same type of control measures will substantially stabilize our system.

Without diving deep into real life quantitative analyses, let's get a helicopter-view and take a look at an average 'Control-Return Matrix' to do some 'rule of thumb' exercises...

Rule of thumb Control-Return analyses

Phase I
A few decades ago, starting in the good old sixties of the twentieth century, there where only limited control measures in place (control=0). The average Return on Equity (ROE) of a company was (e.g.) 6% and although Value at Risk (VaR) didn't yet exist as such, the 6% ROE could easily swap between (e.g.) +15% and -50%.

Financial markets where not that developed as today (no derivatives, , CDS, etc). Systemic risk was almost non-existent and accounting principles where based on the simple and relatively stable method of 'historical cost'.

The need for 'more control' was clear to everybody. More control implied lower costs, 'more opportunity insight' and 'more risk control'.
More control turned out to be a good investment and would lead to realizing a better return (ROE) in combination with a lower risk (Var) and a higher 'upward potential'. Every stakeholder was happy.

Phase II
Getting into the eighties and nineties of the twentieth century, 'control' had done its major job and still did, as it was able to manage the few relatively small recessions in those years.

With the help of the oncoming heavy computers, the first baby steps regarding new risk management techniques and ALM (Asset Liability management) were taken.

This way major risks (VaR) could further reduced, sometimes at the cost (expense) of a small reduction of the ROE. But this small effect was largely compensated by the 'fallacy high returns' in the high trust market.

Phase III
At the beginning of the Twenty First Century a new recession made clear the financial environment had substantially changed:

• New techniques, models and the use of modern computer software led to new markets and new products like derivatives
• Markets became global, (on face) transparent, in open competition
• A lack of insight with regard to systemic risks
  
• Differences in local supervision, legislation, administration and accounting rules, led to a complex, non-transparent global market.
• In order to be able to compare companies, they had to be valued at 'market value', implicating the birth of more volatile (stock) markets....
• Step by step, the public and media became more conscious. Investors and consumers understood that even if a 0.5% VaR level would be further reduced, it wouldn't make any sense because it would be always overshadowed by the non-trackable, nor manageable, risk of let's say 1 à 2%. And moreover, who would trust his money to a bank that would go bankrupt once every 50 or 100 years....
  
  

Investors, Boards, Managers, everyone lost their handrail....

In the recent decade (2000-2010) things got worse :

• Existing control and accounting systems would locally differ and failed to meet the complex demands of the new markets
  
• Supervisors en regulators, normally ahead of the market, were suddenly one step behind and unable to catch up given the actual system of supervision
  
• It had become clear that new financial products ( e.g. CDOs, CDSs, subprime mortgages, swaps, swaptions) had been introduced without a good understanding of their financial construction or risk
• Turbulence in the markets. Relatively stable stocks of big international firms, suddenly appeared remarkably unstable, due to new volatile markets/products and 'fair value accounting'.
• The once so well controlled VaR risk exploded, due to these new types of risk in the market, the fair value accounting principles and the spooky systemic risk.

Way out
Like everyone else - totally flabbergasted - supervisors and regulators immediately grabbed the traditional emergency brake of 'more control'.

Unfortunately, more 'traditional' control in phase III will not have the same effect as in phase I or II. The effects of more traditional control in phase III will be:

• Substantial but unsure decrease of ROE and 'upward potential'.
  The effects are not known upfront and can't be estimated well.
  Sure is that the costs of extra control and 'dead money' will have a negative impact on the ROE.
  
  
• Unknown and questionable reduction of VaR risks, as one thing is sure: the new type(s) of (VaR) risks can not be estimated by our retrospective based models. Probably, all efforts in vain, the remaining actu(ari)al risk level will not be substantially reduced.
  
  
• Trying to 'catch' more 'safe' risk levels (lower α , VaR) will lead to over-capitalization and 'dead' money in the balance sheet and an unbalanced growth of derivatives.
  
  

• The market of derivatives continuous to grow.
  
  The notional value of derivatives held by U.S. commercial banks increased $804 billion in the third quarter to $204.3 trillion.
  
  This, despite the statements of Fed Chairman Bernanke who says he wants to avoid the possible risk of a future speculative bubble.
  
  And despite of Treasury Secretary Geithner who says he wants to reform financial regulation to avoid a future debt disaster.
  
  
• Because the real issues of the financial crisis where not solved, but only covered up with government help (money), new uncontrollable 'bubbles' will keep showing up.
  

Solutions
probably the best solution is not 'more control', but

Other Control

Examples of 'other control' are:

• Obligatory report and central registration of all derivatives under one worldwide supervisory. This way systemic risk analyses won't be 'guess statistics' anymore and can be managed. System risk is one of the weirdest risks to tackle, as is illustrated by the next article:
  
  Why Your Friends Have More Friends Than You Do
  
  Although the Exchange Commission has taken some serious steps in 2009 to regulate and strengthen the over-the-counter ("OTC") derivatives, this process will probably not be rigorous and fast enough to prevent a possible new bubble or collapse.
  All OTC market products should be asap standardized on a centrally administered basis.
  
  
• Limit and control the derivatives market. Maximize the derivative market in respect to the 'normal' market. Limit each companies derivatives in line with his equity. New regulation should also be developed with regard to participating in non defensive (strange) derivatives (e.g. define max. exposure multipliers).
  If not the next bubble is a fact!
  
  
• New derivatives should be subject to approval ('no objection') by the regulator before market launch.
  
  

So it all comes down to the 'right control' leverage.
It's either positive leverage with 'new other control' or negative leverage with 'more of the same traditional control' and waiting for the next bubble. What do you prefer as an actuary?

Sources:
- Contagion in Financial Networks
- Testimony Concerning OTCs (Over-the-Counter Derivatives )
- OCC’s Q3 2009 Report on Bank Trading and Derivatives Activities
- The bigger and riskier monster....
- Tarp facts: The Troubled Asset Relief Program
- The Investment Fallacy