Using C-Score, which is a firm-year measure of earnings conservatism developed by Khan and Watts (2009), this study examines the effect of directors' and officers' liability (D&O) insurance on earnings conservatism, and explores whether the increased litigation risk caused by firm's...

This paper investigates the impact of natural catastrophes and the 9-11 attacks on (1) the volatility of insurance stocks and (2) the correlation of insurance stocks with the market. We find that natural catastrophes increase the volatility of insurance stocks. They also have a tendency to...

In this paper we consider two particular Canadian defined benefit pension plans to illustrate the importance of adequate mortality forecasting on actuarial liabilities. An employer who sets up an employee defined benefit pension plan promises to periodically pay a certain sum to the participant...

National pension systems are an important part of financial intermediation and worker welfare in most countries, but how and why do they differ internationally? Controlling for important political, economic and social institutions, we document that international differences in pension...

National pension systems are an important part of financial intermediation and worker welfare in most countries, but how and why do they differ internationally? Controlling for important political, economic and social institutions, we document that international differences in pension...

Dealing with the reluctant investor examines the governance of defined contribution (DC) schemes with reference to investment choice and, in particular, the design of the default fund. We explain where and why the current system fails to support DC scheme members and what steps can be taken to...

"Greatest Good 2" follows-up and repeats the findings of our earlier December 2015 discussion paper ("The Greatest Good for the Greatest Number") that 1,000 occupational defined benefit pension schemes are stressed as a result of having a financially weak sponsors. The slide of many these...

We analyze the newly introduced German occupational pension scheme called target pension ("Zielrente"), which links the beneficiaries' benefits during the retirement phase to the mortality experienced among the pension beneficiaries and the performance of the financial market, from a pension...

Pension schemes all over the world are under increasing pressure to efficiently hedge the longevity risk posed by ageing populations. In this work, we study an optimal investment problem for a defined contribution pension scheme which decides to hedge the longevity risk using a mortality-linked...

This work studies a stochastic optimal control problem for a pension scheme which provides an income-drawdown policy to its members after their retirement. To manage the scheme efficiently, the manager and members agree to share the investment risk based on a pre-decided risk-sharing rule. The...