1. THEWATERLOO ACTUARY
GREETINGSFROM
YOUREDITORS
EDI TI ON 2Wi nt er 2015Mar ch 16, 2015
NEWSLETTER
Inside thisissue
Recap of recent events
Sun Life Dodge Ball, Mingling Event 1
Sun Life Industry Talk 2
Guest Lecture Event:
How to Network 7
Wordsof Wisdom
For the Continuous Round 8
For Your Work Placement 9
Examsaren't everything but
they're still important 10
Brandon Sabga - 2B Actuarial Science
Upcoming events 12
Hello fellow actuarial students!
Welcome to the 2nd edition of the
Waterloo Actuary for Winter 2015. We
hope that midterms are going well and that
you've been enjoying our events this term.
In this edition, we'll highlight some of our
recent events and their key take-aways, as
well as some words of advice from our
upper-years on how to make the most out
of your work placement and how to
manage in the continuous round.
If you have any suggestions please feel
free to contact asclub.uwaterloo.ca.
HAPPY READING!
Andrew &Karchie
Contact Info: asclub@uwaterloo.ca | Facebook: UW Actsci Club Open Group | Website: http://asclub.uwaterloo.ca

2. s
Thispast Thursday,March 12th,ActSci Club members
challenged representativesfrom Sun Life Financial to a
friendlygame of dodgeball. Unfortunately,team UWActSci
lost the game 2-1 against Sun Life representatives.
Following the game,membersand representativesindulged
in a deliciouspasta dinner while learning about the
actuarial industry. Sun Life representativesDonald
MacGillivrayand Hellen Hou enlightened uswith their
industrytalkson LongevityInsurance and Participating
Whole Life Insurance. Membersalso had the opportunityto
mix and mingle with Sun Life representatives.
For those interested in the topicsdiscussed,a brief recap is
to follow. See next few pages.
If you missed thisevent,don't fret! ActSci Club will be
having a few more exciting eventscoming before finals.
Hope to see you there!
DODGE BALL W/
1
Sun Life Financial

3. LONGEVITY INSURANCE
Why longevity insurance?
The risk that people will live longer than expected.
In turn, thiswill have an effect on companiesand pension
firmsasthey will pay benefitslonger than they predicted.
For a company
pension plan
Longevity Risk
& PENSION PLANS
Many companies and organizations previously
offered their employees defined benefit pension
plans (DBPP), these types of plans were especially
popular 20+ years ago. The core idea of DBPP
was that an employer promised their employees
a specific monthly benefit in their retirement,
usually based on age, years of service and past
salaries. However, few companies were able to
correctly predict how quickly medicine would
develop, and this has caused funding problems
for many pension plans.
Longevity risk is the chance that people live
longer than expected, and it can pose a huge
insolvency risk to pension plans. However,
pension plans can protect themselves by
purchasing longevity insurance and transfer their
longevity risk onto insurers. For a fixed monthly
premium the pension plan can purchase
longevity insurance from the insurer and
guarantee that all retirees will receive their
monthly pension.
On March 3 Bell Canada and Sun Life announced
a longevity insurance agreement that was
deemed the first of its kind in North America. For
$5 billion Bell purchased longevity insurance
from Sun Life for their employee pension plan.
Longevity insurance is more common in Britain,
and this was the first large longevity insurance
deal in North America. Longevity insurance is
expected to become more popular as more
pension plans realize that they are not properly
equipped to deal with longevity risk.
Pension plan with assetsequal
to liabilities, 50% bonds/50%
equitiesand liabilities'
duration of 14 years
2

4. LONGEVITY INSURANCE
Pension plans& hedging
Hedging isa risk management strategy used to limit or
offset the probability of lossfrom flucuations.Hedging
& PENSION PLANS
By purchasing longevity insurance,
pension plans partake in longevity
hedging - the act of managing the
probability of longevity risk.
CONTINUED
3
Special thanks for aids in this article:
Donald MacGillivray (Sun Life) for visuals & Vanessa Zhang (2B Actuarial Science)
- Plan pays fixed monthly premiums to insurer
- Insurer makes guaranteed payments to plan
- Insurer covers longevity risk
- Can be combined with asset strategy like LDI
Brief Summary of Longevity Insurance
Where the main goal is to gain sufficient assets
to meet all liabilities, both current and future. It
is prominent with defined-benefit pension
plans, whose liabilities can often reach into the
billions of dollars for the largest of plans.
Liability Driven Investment

5. PREMIUMSDETERMINED USING
CONSERVATIVEASSUMPTIONS,
MORTALITY, & EXPENSES.
THISLEADSTO HIGHERPREMIUMS
CONSERVATISM LEADSTO
INVESTMENT, MORTALITY &
EXPENSEGAINS
GAINSDISTRIBUTED AS
POLICYHOLDERDIVIDENDS
HOW PARTICIPATING INSURANCE WORKS
PARTICIPATING INSURANCE
LIFEINSURANCEWITH ATWIST
-Provides life coverage for the insured
-Transfers risk from an individual to a life
insurance company
-A portion of the risk is shared between the
policyholder and the company
-Along with the risk, par has the opportunity
for reward
The policyholder "participates" in the risk along with the profitsPar
4
MARKET
SHARE
Canadian Insurance Market,
December 2014
Total premium =$ 1.26 Billion
Participating insurance is quite popular in the market.
During December 2014, par insurance accounted for
50% of the Canadian insurance market
50 % Perm/Participating
27% Universal Life
23% Term

6. $GAINS
DISTRIBUTED AS
POLICYHOLDER
DIVIDENDS
1. CASH PAYM ENT
2. DIVIDENDS ON DEPOSIT
- Dividends credited to the policy are deposited to a
account similar to a savings account
- Dividends are credited with interest (taxable)
- May be appealing to clients who are looking for a level
permanent death benefit or the opportunity to
accumulate any policyholder dividends & earn interest at
competitive rates
3. ANNUAL PREM IUM REDUCTION
- Dividend is used to reduce annual premium.
- When the dividend is more than the premium, the excess
will be deposited to a withdrawable premium fund
that earns taxable interest.
4. PAID UP ADDITION INSURANCE
- Purchased and added to the base insurance amount
creating another layer of permanent protection.
- This ?layer?as well as the base insurance amount is the
basis for earning dividends resulting in a compounding
effect of dividend earning potential.
DIVIDEND OPTIONS
PARINSURANCE
5
$
$
$
PARTICIPATING INSURANCE
CONTINUED

7. HOW PREMIUMSAREINVESTED
Sun Life Account Composition
December 2014
- Par products are priced with
conservative assumptions so it is critical
whether money is managed effectively
- This chart shows you the invested asset
mix of the Sun Life Participating
Account as of December 31, 2014.
- Long term investment horizon and with
the stable cash flows in accounts allows
investment in longer-term holdings
such as real estate, equities, bonds
(long- and short-term) and mortgages.
6
INVESTMENT PERFORMANCEOFPAR
PARTICIPATING INSURANCECONTINUED
Special thanks for aids in this article: Hellen Hou (Sun Life) for visuals & content
- If you look at the average
return, the average dividend
interest is above that of bonds
and even equities
- If you use standard deviation
as a proxy for risk, you see
there is low volatility.
- Putting it all together you see
superior risk-adjusted return.
- Over the long term, the
averages are the same but
much of the annual volatility is
removed
HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE FOR SUN LIFE
6

8. NETWORKING101WITH TROY TRELEAVEN
ATTENDING NETWORKING EVENTS
Make sure you adequately prepare before
you attend any networking event. You
should have business cards and/or a
resume ready to hand out. If you know
what companies are going to be at the
event do some research beforehand.
Prepare a memorable ?elevator pitch? like
introduction and be able to recite it
confidently and articulately. An elevator
pitch should be a short summary that you
can use to define yourself to new business
contacts. Additionally, you should set goals
for how many new people you are going to
meet in a given networking event.
When you are at the networking event remember that you only get one chance to make a first
impression, dress appropriately and act friendly and approachable. Greet employers with a firm
handshake and a smile. When you are done talking to someone exchange contact information and
thank them for their time.
After the networking event your work is not
done! Although you?ve made some great
first impressions with important people
these connections won?t mean much unless
you follow-up afterwards. If you have any
more questions about a certain industry,
company or job now is the time to ask
them. Take a genuine interest in your
connections and they?ll notice and be more
eager to keep in contact. Lastly, make sure
you enjoy meeting a group of interesting
people in your desired career path, one day
you might be the important person some
student is trying to make a connection with.
People love telling stories
of their firsts. Ask about
their first experiences
Easy waysto engage
someone in
conversation
Engage them and set the
mood with a story before
asking for anything. 7

9. Make sure your
cover letter is targeted to
specific jobs and doesn?t sound too
generic. If you do submit a generic
resume be sure to quadruple check
that you've addressed the correct
company.
Check JobMine
daily for new interviews
and job postings. Don't be afraid to
apply for jobs that you think you're
under-qualified for. There's no
reason you can't be enough if
you're willing to put in the effort
Don?t fall behind in your courses
while you?re searching for a job,
school should still be your priority
Reach out to upper-years to edit
your resumes. They enjoy sharing
their advice and experiences. Find
a way to give value back for
optimal reward.
Know your resume off by heart.
Know it backwards, forwards and
sideways with examples to back up
each point. This helps you come off
more confident and competent.
You should spend as much time on
resumes and cover letters as you
would for your midterms
WORDSOFWISDOM
Don't think that
following the system in place will
get you a job. Search for jobs
outside of JobMine, through your
professional network, and job
boards. Don't be afraid to call
companies either;
it can't hurt to try.
When you get an interview make
sure to prepare properly! Know
some information about the
company and why you would be a
good fit for the job
Sign up for a CECA mock
interview to get some more
experience, especially if you?ve
never had an interview before.
Know yourself as well as your
resume off by heart.
CECA
offers great
services in resume critiques
and interviewing skills that many
students neglect to seek out for
help. Take initiative in seeking
help from your free resources.
They're there to prepare you if
you're willing to put in the
effort.
FORTHECONTINUOUSROUND
8

10. Keep
a learning
journal. Write down a
phrase, a formula, or a
terminology even if they don't
make much sense to you now. In
the end, you'll realize you've
learned so much during your term.
Ask for more
work (especially if you're
lacking work); it displays initiative
and exposes you to more learning
opportunities. Also, sometimes
manager don't know that you are
capable of more.
Make it a habit to not ask the
same question again. Take notes
and do your homework so that you
don't have to.
Meet new people within the
company, expand your network
(coffee breaks!)
It's better to ask questions so that
you know exactly what your task is
rather than to misunderstand what
you have to do. Confirm the
objectives in your own words.
Take every opportunity as a
learning experience regardless of
what the task or project is. You
don't want to miss out on a golden
opportunity because you couldn't
get the little things right.
WORDSOFWISDOM
Get involved as much as you
can, both from a work perspective
and a social perspective. A great
worker could be overlooked if they
do not participate in social events
and make themselves visible
Set appropriate time benchmarks
to have a one-on-one unofficial &
official performance critiques with
your manager to ensure
expectations and goals are being
met from both parties
Look beyond what your
task is and figure out how your
work contributes to the
organization or who uses the work
you have produced to get a better
understanding of how the company
operates
Let your manager
know what your goals are for the
term, what you want to learn, &
projects you want to be placed on
so that they can try to
accommodate it to give you the
best learning experience
FORYOURWORKPLACEMENT
9

11. SOAEXAMSAREN'TEVERYTHINGBUT
THEY'RESTILLIMPORTANT
Many people may think that simply because
they?re in first year, having not the slightest
clue about actuarial courses, or having not
completed any SOA exams yet, they have no
chance of landing a job at one of the leading
firms in the industry. They feel down,
depressed and demotivated at just the
thought of settling for a position elsewhere
before even trying to apply to a large
insurance firm.
Contrary to popular belief, this isn?t
always the case. With just a few minutes of
your time, I?d like to share a little anecdote.
The end of Fall 2014 semester was
approaching and the sign-up deadline for
ASNA was soon to pass. I couldn?t wait to be
back home in Barbados for two weeks over
Christmas, scheduled to return to Canada on
the 4th of January ? but what did this mean for
ASNA? The convention was held on the 2nd to
4th of January, and quite frankly, I thought it?d
be a complete waste of both time and money
to attend, just because I was only in second
year with zero actuarial exams passed.
Nevertheless, upon my parents?insistence, my
flight ticket was changed and I was destined
for ASNA.
I couldn?t begin to describe the pressure
that I felt. Not only was I cutting my trip home
short, but I also just forked out a hefty amount
to change my flight ticket. In addition, I felt as
though my entire family was banking on
something to come out of the convention at this
point. I set out on a journey knowing that I
couldn?t disappoint, despite a dull forecast of
events for myself.
Leading up to the convention, my fellow
students spoke about the different insurance
companies and which would be their first choice.
Not being too knowledgeable about the topic at
the time, I would just listen to the opinions of
others and take mental notes. It seemed as though
Manulife was the talk of the town, and it was
where all the other second years wanted a job. It
was at this moment that it was instilled in my mind
? I wanted my next summer position to be at
Manulife.
Being not in Waterloo?s co-op program, I
knew it would always be a struggle to find
internship positions as applying to each would
take much longer and some companies give co-op
students first preference. Fortunately, I had been
able to land a job at Ernst & Young the previous
summer, but now sought a position at Manulife.
January 2nd, 8:30pm, the job fair was
scheduled to begin. I distinctly remember the
crowd of people waiting outside the room with the
company?s kiosks, eagerly waiting to enter. The
one thing on my mind ? Manulife. I had asked a
volunteer where Manulife?s desk was set up, and
as soon as the doors opened, I bolted for their
desk, oblivious of the other companies set up in
the surrounding area. (Continued on page 11)
10

12. The conversation with the representative was maybe five minutes, if so long. An hour and a half
later, the fair was over and I had not felt a strong connection with any of the companies. I felt
depressed. My flight was changed just for this convention. I cut my trip short in order to be here,
missing New Years with my family. I felt as though my whole family was expecting something to
come of the convention for me ? and I let them down. I head back up to my room and awaited 1 am
when the interviews would be posted. On the dot of one o?clock, I checked to see if I got an
interview, but nothing had been posted yet. I anxiously waited half an hour, but nothing was
posted. 2:00 am ? nothing. By three o?clock, I decided to call it a night and set an alarm for 7:00,
just in case I was selected for an interview, which was extremely unexpected.
Out of anxiety, I opened my eyes at twenty minutes passed six and checked the interview list
? coffee connections with Towers Watson at 8:00 and a Manulife interview at 11:30. I couldn?t
believe it. This was my big shot. My chance to make something of the convention. My chance to
not disappoint my family. I flew into the shower and made it downstairs for breakfast by eight.
In the interview, we spoke very casually and comfortably. Surely you?ve noticed by now that
I?m a fan of story-telling, and that?s the point I want to get across. I understand that some of you
may not have any SOA exams or passed actuarial experiences, but you have to start somewhere ?
and often times, that ?somewhere? can be a very big leap. Try telling a story to the interviewer or
engage them in interesting conversation of mutual interests ? sports, hobbies or even places for
vacation. Other people may have more attractive resumes, but a warm personality and a genuine
interest in the field can take you a long way. Your goal should be to get the interviewer to look
forward to having lunch with you if you get the job, just because the conversation was that great.
To wrap up, I thought that coffee and the interview went well and I awaited a response. Two
weeks later, I passed my first actuarial exam - Probability, and just two days after that, received an
offer from Manulife. Dreams do come true.
Brandon Sabga
2B Actuarial Science
Vice President -
Communications
UW ActSci Club
11

13. Thank you to everyone that took the time to read
through the 2nd Winter 2015 newsletter. We
genuinely hope that you've enjoyed this edition, and
have hopefully learned a thing or two as a result.
We would also like to remind everyone that the term
isn't quite over yet and that there are more exciting
events to come! Be sure to check out our tentative
schedule of upcoming events and our Facebook page
for a list of our exciting upcoming events, details, and
updates. You won't want to miss out!
If you have any comments, ideas or questions
regarding our newsletter, feel free to contact us at
asclub@uwaterloo.ca
-- Your newsletter editors, Andrew & Karchie
THANK YOU!
THIS WEEK
M arch 18th
Manulife Financial Information Session
M arch 19th
Introduction to Properties & Casualties
Exploring Careers: Opportunities in P&C
M arch 21st
Casino Royale Joint Semi-Formal
NEXT WEEK
M arch 27th
Oliver Wyman Guest Lecture
The Actuary, The CEO,
The Board and their Investors
M arch 28th
UW Actuarial Projects Case
Competition (UWAPC)
Co-operators and Oliver Wyman
UPCOM ING EVENTS
12
OFFICE HOURS