COURSE 8: Fall 2003 -1- GO ON TO NEXT PAGE Investment Morning Session Society of Actuaries Course 8V Fall 2003 **BEGINNING OF EXAMINATION** MORNING SESSION Questions 1-6 pertain to the Case Study. 1. (4 points) LifeCo is reviewing its Operational Guidelines for the Use of Derivatives for consistency with The Group of Thirty recommendations. (a) Identify and describe the various derivatives risks as outlined in the Group of Thirty recommendations. (b) Assess LifeCo’s management of these risks associated with the derivatives used to hedge its liabilities. COURSE 8: Fall 2003 -2- GO ON TO NEXT PAGE Investment Morning Session Questions 1-6 pertain to the Case Study. 2. (10 points) LifeCo’s ALM committee is concerned about the impact of the following capital market events on the company’s value: (1) Low equity market return (2) Higher than expected credit loss (3) Low interest rate environment (a) Describe the minimum guarantees offered in the Variable Annuity product and how the guarantees can be priced using the (i) actuarial approach, and (ii) capital market approach. (b) Assess the potential impact of the capital market events described above on the Variable Annuity product. (c) Recommend risk management strategies to mitigate the risks associated with the capital market events described above on the Variable Annuity product. (d) Describe the characteristics of the Payout Annuity product cash out flows. (e) Assess the potential impact of the capital market events described above on the Payout Annuity product. (f) Recommend investment strategies to mitigate the impact of the capital market events described above on the Payout Annuity product through (i) asset allocation, and (ii) use of derivative products. Justify your recommendations. COURSE 8: Fall 2003 -3- GO ON TO NEXT PAGE Investment Morning Session Questions 1-6 pertain to the Case Study. 3. (5 points) LifeCo’s ALM report for December 2000 indicates a significant mismatch in the Non-Traditional Life Products segment. (a) (1 Point) Compare the use of dollar duration to effective duration as a risk metric for this product line. (b) (4 Points) Describe various approaches to ALM as outlined by Glacy and Vilms and assess how each approach might be applied to the non-traditional life segment in order to mitigate the mismatch problem. COURSE 8: Fall 2003 -4- GO ON TO NEXT PAGE Investment Morning Session Questions 1-6 pertain to the Case Study. 4. (8 points) LifeCo is considering how to evaluate the performance of a new GIC product. You are given the following pricing assumptions for LifeCo’s new GIC product: Term: 3 years Maturity Value: 123% of the initial deposit Lapse: None Policyholder Options: None Premium Size: $1,000 Required Return on Capital: 8% per annum Required Capital Factor for GICs: 3.6% of liabilities Asset Return: 8.5% Tax Rate: 35% Risk-Free Zero-Coupon Rate Curve: 1-year: 5.70% 2-year: 6.08% 3-year: 6.21% GIC Competitors: Required Return on Capital: 12% Required Capital Factor for GICs: 5% of liabilities Asset Return: 8% (a) Compare the “entity-specific” and “fair value” systems. (b) Calculate the tax-adjusted liability value at issue for LifeCo’s new GIC product using the Cost of Capital method. (c) Calculate the liability value at issue and the required spread of LifeCo’s new GIC product using the Total Return method as presented by Ho, Scheitlin and Tam. (d) Describe the arguments for and against reflecting an entity’s credit standing in the fair value of its liabilities. (e) Assess how the Cost of Capital method reflects credit standing and how this might impact the valuation of LifeCo’s liabilities. COURSE 8: Fall 2003 -5- GO ON TO NEXT PAGE Investment Morning Session Questions 1-6 pertain to the Case Study.