Virtual Summit Snapshot – Week Three

The first official in-person networking session hosted by the Actuaries Institute since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic formed one of the many highlights from the Week Three program of the 2021 All-Actuaries Virtual Summit.

The Brisbane networking event, hosted by Institute President Jefferson Gibbs on Tuesday 11 May, kicked off a series of upcoming networking opportunities, both physical and virtual, available to participants of the Virtual Summit.

President Jefferson Gibbs addresses the audience at the Brisbane in-person networking event on Tuesday 11 May.

Virtual Summit delegates can register for upcoming in-person and virtual networking sessions through the ‘Networking’ section of the official Virtual Summit app.

There were 3 Plenary and 19 Concurrent sessions during Week Three.

Investment and Wealth Plenary: Markets Panel: Where Next?

Presented by Dom Giuliano, Colin Grenfell, David Lau, and Linda Cunningham. Chaired by Douglas Isles

To kick-off the Plenary action for the week, presenters of the Investment and Wealth Plenary ‘Markets Panel: Where Next?’ discussed their views on the current issues in markets, including historically low interest rates, asset bubbles, the economic recovery from COVID-19 and the shifting of power between the US and China.

A key resource to much of the dialogue discussed in this session revolved around the content of Colin Grenfell’s paper ‘Australian Investment Performance 1959 to 2021 (and Investment Assumptions for Stochastic Models)’. Colin’s paper and the full session recording are available in the official Virtual Summit app.

Leadership and Professionalism Plenary: Was the misconduct identified in the Banking Royal Commission enabled by directors who didn’t understand the complexity of the businesses they directed?

Presented by Peter Yates, Louise Davidson, Diana Eilert, Graham Willis, Trevor Matthews, and Clair Plater. Chaired by Barry Rafe and Ian Laughlin

With a focus on the outcomes of the Banking Royal Commission, the panel of this Plenary session contributed to a discussion around the key points highlighted in Ian Laughlin and Barry Rafe’s research paper ‘Was the misconduct identified in the Banking Royal Commission enabled by directors who didn’t understand the complexity of the businesses they directed?’

Specifically, the panel focused on whether the misconduct revealed by the banking Royal Commission was caused by directors who did not understand the businesses they directed, who should be on the boards of complex financial services businesses, and how do complex financial services businesses manage the need for diversity of skills on the board with the need for directors to understand the complexity of the businesses they direct.

In the lead-up to the Virtual Summit, Ian and Barry joined the Institute’s Podcast to unpack the content and key takeaways from this session. Listen to the podcast

The lowdown – living in a long-term, low-rate world

Presented by Hugh Miller, Nicki Hutley and Greg Bird. Chaired by John Trowbridge

Amid a seemingly permanent low-rate economic environment, what does the future look like for investors, business leaders and actuaries grappling with asset pricing and liability valuations? In this cross-practice session, the expert panel provided participants with the background they need to make the big decision a low-rate world is forcing on business and policymakers around the world.

A further 19 Concurrent sessions scheduled in Week Three. Click here to view to full program snapshot. Virtual Summit participants can catch up on all sessions from the first three weeks via the Virtual Summit app.

Additional Virtual Summit coverage on Actuaries Digital

Throughout the course of the Virtual Summit, delegates, presenters and the Institute HQ team have contributed to the comprehensive coverage of the event across Actuaries Digital. Visit the Event Reports page and keep an eye on Actuaries Digital for the latest summary articles and analysis of each Plenary session and various Concurrent sessions!

The week ahead

The final week of the Virtual Summit starts today with six Concurrent sessions, and a Virtual Networking session hosted by Councillors Steve Hui and Greg Bird. All up, 26 sessions will be delivered in Week Four, including four Plenary sessions. There will also be various in-person and virtual networking opportunities available to Virtual Summit registrants. President Jefferson Gibbs will officially close the Virtual Summit at 1:30pm on Friday 21 May.

Be sure to keep an eye on Actuaries Digital for further summary reports on each Plenary session and various Concurrent sessions throughout the course of the Virtual Summit.

Read further Actuaries Digital coverage of the 2021 All-Actuaries Virtual Summit.

CPD: Actuaries Institute Members can claim two CPD points for every hour of reading articles on Actuaries Digital.