Self-selection and risk sharing in a modern world of lifelong annuities - Abstract of the London Discussion

This abstract relates to the following paper: Gerrard, R., Hiabu, M., Kyriakou, I. and Nielsen, J. P. (2018) Self-selection and risk sharing in a modern world of lifelong annuities ‐ Abstract of the London Discussion. British Actuarial Journal. Cambridge University Press, 23. doi: 10.1017/S135732171800020X

Self-selection and risk sharing in a modern world of life-long annuities

Communicating a pension product well is as important as optimising the financial value. In a recent study, we showed that up to 80% of the value of a pension lump sum could be lost if customer communication failed. In this paper, we extend the simple customer interaction of the earlier contribution to the more challenging lifetime annuity case. Using a simple mobile phone device, the pension customer can select the life-long optimal investment strategy within minutes. The financial risk trade-off is presented as a trade-off between the pension paid and the number of years the life-long annuity is guaranteed. The pension payment decreases when investment security increases. The necessary underlying mathematical financial hedging theory is included in the stud

Hedging of Asian options under exponential Lévy models: computation and performance

In this paper we consider the problem of hedging an arithmetic Asian option with discrete monitoring in an exponential Lévy model by deriving backward recursive integrals for the price sensitivities of the option. The procedure is applied to the analysis of the performance of the delta and delta-gamma hedges in an incomplete market; particular attention is paid to the hedging error and the impact of model error on the quality of the chosen hedging strategy. The numerical analysis shows the impact of jump risk on the hedging error of the option position, and the importance of including traded options in the hedging portfolio for the reduction of this risk

Structural Changes to Supported Water Nanoislands Induced by Kosmotropic Ions

Copyright © 2019 American Chemical Society. We report the influence of lithium ions on binding and structure of water nanoislands on Au(111) by temperature-programmed desorption and variable-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. Water coverages between a fraction and full bilayer and two lithium coverages (<0.15% ML) are explored. Lithium enhances selectively the binding of some of the water molecules on precovered Au(111) as compared to water on pristine Au(111), which is revealed by an increase of the water desorption temperature by approx. 10 K. Surprisingly, the effect of lithium on the structure of water is much more extended than expected from these desorption experiments. A small amount of lithium changes the structure of water nanoislands drastically compared to those on pristine Au(111). On pristine Au(111), water ice grows in the form of crystalline islands that are two or three bilayers high. On Li precovered Au(111), the islands are more corrugated, at a 5 times broader apparent height distribution and much smaller, at a 4 times smaller area distribution. These changes reflect the influence of lithium as a structure maker, or kosmotrope, on water. Our study provides unprecedented real-space information of the influence of a kosmotrope on the water structure at the nanoscale. We utilize its kosmotropic behavior to provide real-space images of desorption.

Feasibility Study for an Information Management and Cartography Service for the Petroleum Exploration Industry in Denver, Colorado.

A telephone survey of exploration companies in the Denver, Colorado area was conducted to determine the degree of computer usage, how it varied between the majors and independents, and between on-site, remote and batch access to the computer using Chi-Square analysis. A few companies have developed the technology to effectively use the computer in exploration, but a majority of companies only use the computer for land lease data and economic analysis in conjunction with the accounting department. The most significant differences are displayed by access to the computer, ranking Denver, Remote and Other. Some differences were also seen between major and independent oil producers.Business Administratio

Crystal Structure of Human AKT1 with an Allosteric Inhibitor Reveals a New Mode of Kinase Inhibition

AKT1 (NP_005154.2) is a member of the serine/threonine AGC protein kinase family involved in cellular metabolism, growth, proliferation and survival. The three human AKT isozymes are highly homologous multi-domain proteins with both overlapping and distinct cellular functions. Dysregulation of the AKT pathway has been identified in multiple human cancers. Several clinical trials are in progress to test the efficacy of AKT pathway inhibitors in treating cancer. Recently, a series of AKT isozyme-selective allosteric inhibitors have been reported. They require the presence of both the pleckstrin-homology (PH) and kinase domains of AKT, but their binding mode has not yet been elucidated. We present here a 2.7 Å resolution co-crystal structure of human AKT1 containing both the PH and kinase domains with a selective allosteric inhibitor bound in the interface. The structure reveals the interactions between the PH and kinase domains, as well as the critical amino residues that mediate binding of the inhibitor to AKT1. Our work also reveals an intricate balance in the enzymatic regulation of AKT, where the PH domain appears to lock the kinase in an inactive conformation and the kinase domain disrupts the phospholipid binding site of the PH domain. This information advances our knowledge in AKT1 structure and regulation, thereby providing a structural foundation for interpreting the effects of different classes of AKT inhibitors and designing selective ones