INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC APPLICATIONS, CASE STUDIES AND NEWS
WELCOME Thank you to those of you who completed the FMU Reader Survey circulated at the end of April. The feedback is very useful in gauging the effectiveness of FMU and to help us plan future issues. In particular we were interested to see that you gave top score to articles covering more advanced tutorial topics. Not wanting to disappoint you we include an in-depth look at the Microsoft C++ debugger in this issue. The rest of FMU provides a varied mixture of articles. We kick-off with two short articles covering variable annuity modelling, firstly a reminder of the VA hedge and hedge effectiveness applications available in MoSes, followed by a case study from AXA on their use of MoSes to support their overnight hedging calculations. We then move on to Japan and the growing use of MoSes in that marketplace over the past 8 years. With QIS4 (the latest Solvency II consultation round) drawing to an end during June and the new MCEV Principles published by the CFO Forum on 4 June, there is much work to do in both capital and value management. To help you find your way through some of these and other recent announcements, we have included an article summarising some of the most relevant articles available on the Towers Perrin website. A brief summary of the recent Nordic User Forum and the usual Q&A and Back Page finish off this issue of FMU. IN THIS ISSUE Variable annuity models in MoSes 1 AXA Life European Hedging Services (ALEHS) case study 2 MoSes in Japan: Eight years of growth 3 Tutorial: the C++ debugger in-depth 5 Recent articles from the Towers Perrin website 7 Highlights from the Nordic User Forum 7 User Q&As 8 The Back Page 9 Issue 9 July 2008 FINANCIAL MODELLING EUROPE/ASIA-PACIFIC EDITION VARIABLE ANNUITY MODELS IN MOSES Interest in variable annuities is continuing to grow rapidly across Europe and Asia- Pacific. In essence, they can be thought of as unit-linked products with built-in options and guarantees. However, options and guarantees are rarely mentioned these days without their consequence risk. Regulation is driving ever more sophis- ticated risk management and variable annuities are a classic case of where one major source of risk that due to investment returns can be mitigated. Over the last five years, increasing numbers of companies have put in place dynamic hedge solutions to control their exposure. Typically, a number of the Greeks are considered in the hedge delta, gamma, rho and vega being the most common depending on the complexity of the products being hedged and the risk appetite of the individual company. Building on our experience in the mature US variable annuity market, we have developed a MoSes-based model to assist companies in accurately and consistently hedging their liabilities. The Variable Annuity Hedging Application (VAHA) benefits from the usual MoSes features of flexibility and transparency; it is straightforward to add new products and all code is available for inspection and modification. It has also received a significant architecture redesign to optimise the run speed in order for it to be used as an operational tool capable of returning overnight results. Finally, when combined with the MoSes ESG (see Launch of MoSes ESG V3.0, FMU Europe/Asia-Pacific Edition, August 2007), an industrial strength end-to-end process can be implemented whereby overnight runs can lead to next-day trading. Towers Perrin has recently worked with AXA Life Europe Hedging Services (ALEHS) to help them set up just such a process in their global hedging centre. We are pleased to be able to include some details of this project in our case study this month on page 2. Issue 9 July 2008 I 2 Financial Modelling Update Europe/Asia Pacific Edition 2008 Towers Perrin The VAHA model is not restricted to daily hedging operations it can quickly be adapted to use the built-in MoSes goal- seeking functionality to help price variable annuity products. Towers Perrin has also developed an asset-liability extension of the model called the VA Hedge Effectiveness application (VAHE) to allow the exploration of the effectiveness of a given hedge, taking into account the performance of the assets held as well as the liabilities. This application enables clients to perform what-if analysis, allowing them to subject their block of business to a wide variety of hedging strategies. This capability provides insight into the impact various hedging strategies have on the product risk profile. A number of clients across Europe and Asia-Pacific are actively using the VAHA and VAHE models and Towers Perrin are acting as advisors to many other clients regarding various aspects of the VA offering, from product design and regulatory issues to practical implementation of hedging solutions. The VA Hedge Effectiveness Application provides insight into the impact various hedging strategies have on the product risk profile ALEHS high level diagram of the overnight run process For more information about the VAHA, VAHE, or Towers Perrins offerings in the variable annuity area, please contact: Stephen Hainsworth (London) stephen.hainsworth@towersperrin.com +44 20 7170 2660 Gillian Foroughi (London) gillian.foroughi@towersperrin.com +44 20 7170 2430 Tigran Kalberer (Zurich) tigran.kalberer@towersperrin.com +41 44 218 1234 Tivon Jacobson (Tokyo) tivon.jacobson@towersperrin.com +81 3 3581 6439 James Creedon (Hong Kong) james.creedon@towersperrin.com +852 2593 4519 AXA LIFE EUROPEAN HEDGING SERVICES (ALEHS) CASE STUDY Faced with an increasing portfolio of variable annuity products in Europe and Asia/Pacic, AXA made the decision to build an internal service company, AXA Life European Hedging Services (ALEHS), to provide top-class hedging services to all of their divisions. These services range from product development/modelling to hedging operations. They chose MoSes as their implementation platformand specied an end-to-end process that they wished to be able to run every night. At the centre of this sits a customised MoSes model with two elements the MoSes ESG and the VAHA model. The ESG is the economic scenario generator which interfaces to a Bloomberg terminal to pull in the required live market data. This produces a number of risk-neutral scenario les for use in the hedge projection runs. Liability data, in the form of model points, is drawn from the various subsidiaries, whilst the product assumptions are input within the User- Dened Interface provided with the VAHA model. To calculate the up-to-date Greeks for the liability portfolio, a number of sensitivities around the base value are required. The AXA VAHA model includes batch capabilities to enable several hundred projections to be run, allowing accurate calculation of the Greeks on a nightly basis. These are then summarised in a back-end spreadsheet ready to be handed over to the traders. The system is fully automated and designed to allow the calculations to be distributed over a blade-enabled worker farm; built-in scheduling tasks ensure that each element starts at the right time and an e-mailer application noties the user that milestones in the calculation have been reached. MOSES IN JAPAN: EIGHT YEARS OF GROWTH Mt. Fuji is a fitting backdrop to the modern skyline of Tokyo evincing a need for vigilance by Japanese insurance companies. Japan today is experiencing rumblings in its life markets in response to the demand for new retirement products, new bank and other distribution systems, and a growing presence of foreign competitors. This article describes some of these trends and explains how our increasing client base in Japan is using MoSes to answer some of the questions this change brings. One-sixth of the total world life insurance premium income flows into the Japanese insurance market. The second-largest insurance market in the world, it is home to Japan Post Insurance, the worlds largest life insurer (measured by assets under management), along with 40 private-sector domestic life insurers (16 of which are wholly foreign-owned), and a significant presence of cooperative life insurers (kyosai). The property-casualty market consists of 51 insurers, but is highly concentrated: according to Japanese industry statistics, more than 85% of premium is underwritten by six insurers. Japan non-life premium 2008 Towers Perrin Issue 9 July 2008 I 3 Financial Modelling Update Europe/Asia Pacific Edition income for 2006 was 6.5% of the worlds total, making it the fourth-largest national market (source for life and property- casualty statistics: Swiss Re). In this environment, the number of MoSes users in Japan has grown steadily since the first license in Japan in 2000, reaching over 30 insurers with nearly 100 licenses by mid-2008 (see Figure 1). Of these companies, approximately 60% are life insurers and 40% property-casualty insurers. MoSes is used by three of the six largest life insurers and five of the six largest property- casualty insurers in Japan. 80 60 100 120 40 20 0 2000 2002 2001 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Growth of Japan MoSes clients and licenses to mid-2008 FIGURE 1 Clients Licenses MoSes Implementations in a Changing Industry The growing number of MoSes users and licenses reflects a trend toward increasingly sophisticated and comprehensive actuarial and financial modelling in Japan. Some of this trend may be attributed to the opportunities that come with faster computers and developments in software including MoSes itself but these are not the only factors at work. MoSes is used by three of the six largest life insurers and five of the six largest property-casualty insurers in Japan Life insurance markets in China and India are developing quickly in parallel. Its tough for new entrants, but market conditions favour continued rapid expansion. Read more about these fast-moving economies in the latest issue of Emphasis, available from the Towers Perrin website www.towersperrin.com CHINA AND INDIA: BECOMING GIANTS IN LIFE 2008 Towers Perrin Issue 9 July 2008 I 4 Financial Modelling Update Europe/Asia Pacific Edition The Japanese market, despite its long history and maturity, continues to evolve. 1 A selection of notable trends includes (see Emphasis 2008/01, Changing Life Insurance in Japan): Shifting demographics . Japan is becoming one of the most aged societies in the world, with the overall size of the population currently in decline as a result of low birth rates. Variable annuity (VA) business . In the last 10 years, VA funds under management have grown from zero to more than $150 billion. Roughly twenty life insurers currently offer VA products, including a number of new entrants to the market over the last 12 months. Medical expense coverage . The third-sector market 2 has become a major segment of the insurance industry as consumers seek benets for hospitalization or medical events that fall outside of or in excess of the coverage of the national health insurance system. Distribution channels . The traditional method of distribution has been through tied sales agents, making visits to the home or workplace. The number of these agents is now in decline, while bank distribution has grown in signicance through the gradual deregulation of the bank channel since 2002. Since December 2007, banks have been permitted to sell all life insurance products. There is also growing interest in direct distribution, including internet distribution. Growing use of market-consistent reporting measures, including MCEV and EEV. Listed insurer T&D Holdings restated its traditional embedded value to a market-consistent basis in 2007. Privatization . Japan Post Insurance, the worlds largest life insurer, is currently government-owned. It will be progressively sold to the private sector beginning with an initial public offering in 2010. Cash-ow testing for property- casualty insurers. The Japanese property- casualty industry is nearly unique for its products with long-term savings and medical benet features, including third- sector insurance. New regulation in 2008 requires property-casualty insurers to carry out cash-ow testing for their business. Many of these factors have created a need for new and more sophisticated financial modelling. As you might expect, the use of MoSes in Japan is a reflection of these industry trends: VA design, pricing and valuation . MoSes is used by a number of companies in the development and management of variable annuity products. For this purpose, MoSes projections are often run using stochastic risk-neutral scenarios. Stochastic calculations for the guarantee reserves for these products have also been implemented in MoSes. Third sector modelling . MoSes is in use by both life and non-life insurers to model medical products. The exibility MoSes affords in adjusting to new product structures is one reason for its adoption. Market-consistent reporting . MoSes is regularly used as a nancial modelling tool in market-consistent valuations. Reasons include its strengths in stochastic calculation and its ability to model a wide array of products and benet structures. ALM/DFA projects . MoSes ALM and DFA models are in use or development by an increasing number of life insurers and property-casualty insurers in Japan in support of their risk management activities. Support for MoSes Users in Japan Towers Perrin actively supports MoSes users in Japan, through its office in Tokyo and our software group office in Sydney. Consultants are available to help with all aspects of MoSes software use: design and planning of models, analysis of outputs, code development and product implementation. MoSes user groups have been run in Japan on a regular basis over recent years. We will provide a write-up of some of the highlights from the recent user group in Tokyo in the next issue of FMU. For further information on any aspects of this article, please contact Tivon Jacobson in our Tokyo office (tivon.jacobson@towersperrin.com). 1 Forms of risk-sharing have been practiced in Japan since ancient times: an example is gisou, collective storage of grain against localized catastrophe. Modern insurance companies have operated since the second half of the 19th century. 2 The term third-sector is used in Japan to distinguish this insurance from the pure life and pure property- casualty sectors. In Japan, both life and PC insurers are permitted to underwrite third-sector products. Towers Perrin actively supports MoSes users in Japan through its office in Tokyo and our software group office in Sydney TUTORIAL: THE C++ DEBUGGER IN-DEPTH In this article we provide a guide to using the Microsoft C++debugger, in conjunction with MoSes. We provided a basic introduction to the debugger in FMU issue 6 (see Improved Debugging Features in MoSes Version 6, FMU Europe/Asia-Pacific Edition, November 2007), along with other features of MoSes that support model testing and debugging. In this article we aimto go deeper into the use of the debugger to help you get up and running with this useful utility. Running the debugger The Microsoft C++debugger is a stand-alone application that works with the Microsoft C++compiler. Before using the debugger you must have run a MoSes projection task. The debugger will then run the model using these task settings, so make sure any unwanted task settings such as master/worker mode are switched off. To start using the debugger, click on the C++ Code menu in MoSes and select Application Debugger. If you wish to return to the MoSes interface, for example to view the properties of a column or variable, you must close the command line window which opened when 2008 Towers Perrin Issue 9 July 2008 I 5 Financial Modelling Update Europe/Asia Pacific Edition Viewing values The debugger allows you to stop the run at certain points and inspect values, as we will discuss later in the article. This can be helpful to find errors and also when tracing the calculation flow and checking that calculations are being performed correctly. But before debugging the model you need to be able to view the values of the main MoSes objects. MoSes keeps track of columns, variable and other objects in special structures and classes.
However, this means that these standard MoSes objects are not all easily interpreted by the basic debugger settings. We have therefore provided instructions and examples below to show you how to view the most common MoSes objects in debugger. Viewing MoSes and local variable values To view variable values, hover the mouse over the variable to see its value(s). For local variables their value will be shown directly. For MoSes variables expand the tree to locator_...attribute_. See Figure 3. FIGURE 3 Viewing a variable Viewing MoSes scalar values As per variables, hover the mouse over and expand the tree to locator_...attribute_...value_. See Figure 4. You can also check if the scalar has been calculated (locator_...attribute_... calculated_) FIGURE 4 Viewing a scalar Viewing MoSes column and temporary table values Columns and temporary table values can only be seen in the Watch or Quick Watch windows. Dou- ble-click the name of a column in the code panel to select a column. Then right click Add Watch / Quick Watch. The item being watched must then be edited to add the product and purpose sepa- rated by underscores, eg, ul_cashflow_surplus(t) (or ul_cashflow_my_table_tt(row_param,col_ param). See Figure 5. FIGURE 5 Viewing a column
the debugger opened. Note that changes made in the debugger will not be reflected in the MoSes model, and any changes made in MoSes whilst the debugger is open will not be reflected in the debugger until the code has been re-generated and compiled. To run the model in debugger, press F5 or the green triangle play button, circled in Figure 2. The image in Figure 2 shows the Debugger window and highlights the various panels available to view (note this is not the default view as the panels have been arranged for clarity, but all these panels are visible within tabs). The individual panels are explained in more detail later on. FIGURE 2 Main debugger windows The debugger is particularly useful for identifying the exact location of an error in your model Code panel Breakpoints Local variables Watches Call stack Run button Debugging your model The debugger is particularly useful for iden- tifying the exact location of an error in your model. If you cannot find the problematic piece of code fromwithin MoSes, open the debugger and run without any breakpoints. The debugger will automatically stop at the problematic line of code, showing a box which displays the type of error (see Figure 6). Clicking on Break moves the cursor to the line of code with the problem, with the yellow arrow in the margin of the code panel identifying the line (see Figure 7). FIGURE 6 Error message FIGURE 7 Code where error occurs Breakpoints and conditional breakpoints Once an error has been identified or if a known block of code is of interest, breakpoints can be used. The debugger will pause in calculation whenever it hits a breakpoint allowing you to inspect the code and the value of variables and formulas. To add a breakpoint, find the code you are interested in and click in the margin next to the code. This will add a breakpoint (marked as a red dot). Breakpoints can be conditional, for example only stopping at time t==23. This technique is essential in practice providing a much faster way to get to the actual breakpoint you wish to stop at instead of stopping at value for t=0 to 22 in this example. Conditions can be added by right-clicking the red dot and selecting Add Condition, and using simple code, for example: t ==23. Breakpoints can be managed fromthe Breakpoints panel to save you searching back through the code to find a specific breakpoint. If the cursor is currently at a breakpoint in the code the Breakpoint panel will highlight that breakpoint so you know which one you are on. Fromthe panel you can Add/alter breakpoint conditions, enable or disable breakpoints and delete breakpoints. Stepping through code It is extremely useful to be able to step through a calculation line-by-line to understand why code is not performing as expected or to locate the source of an error. Using debugger saves waiting for the application to Generate & Compile, which is required when using log_strmor log_screen commands to output intermediate results to the run log. The main limitation of the debugger is that you can only step through your own code. You do not have access to the underlying MoSes core functionality that helps piece together the MoSes formulas. The following shortcuts can be used to step through your code (they are also found on the Debug menu): F5 Run/Continue Starts a run and continues until the end, or an error or breakpoint are hit F10 Step Over Steps through code in the current formula line-by-line F11 Step Into Steps into the formulas called fromthe current line of code Call Stack and tracing the order of calculation The Call Stack panel (See Figure 8) displays the function calls made by MoSes. This is useful to trace through the order of calculation or to find which column or time period called the current piece of code. You can double-click on any function call in the Call Stack to take you directly to the piece of code in the code panel. Figure 8 shows the Call Stack currently in the external function validate_data, and shows that it was called by the startup column in ul/ cashflow at time period t=0. 2008 Towers Perrin Issue 9 July 2008 I 6 Financial Modelling Update Europe/Asia Pacific Edition FIGURE 8 Call stack Watch panels and watching attributes Hovering over variables to see their value can be time-consuming if you want to see the value of several variables. To keep the value of a variable visible you can use the Watch panel (see Figure 9). To add a watch on a variable or scalar double- click the itemname to select it, then right-click and select Add Watch. FIGURE 9 Watch panel This adds the variable (unexpanded) to the Watch List. In the Watch panel you can expand the tree to the Attribute property, then right-click the Attribute property and select Add Watch. This adds a watch to the Attribute. In Figure 9, age_issue has a Watch, and below that is a Watch on the attribute, so the actual value will always remain visible to the user. You can watch columns and temporary tables in a similar manner, remembering to add product_ purpose in front of the column name and a time period (eg, fund_alm_solvency_ratio(t)). This should be done with caution as the debugger will attempt to re-evaluate the column to update the Watch panel whenever the run is paused which can lead to an altered order of calculation and incorrect responses fromMoSes. For further information Further information on acquiring and installing the debugger can be found on your MoSes V6 install CD under Microsoft Debugger Installation Instructions.pdf. This document can also be requested fromyour Regional Support Centre. We have also provided answers to some common questions on using the debugger in this months Q&A section. It is extremely useful to be able to step through a calculation line-by-line to understand why code is not performing as expected or to locate the source of an error RECENT ARTICLES FROM THE TOWERS PERRIN WEBSITE It has been a busy first half of 2008 in Towers Perrin, with many new Updates, articles and other publications now available on the Towers Perrin website (www.towersperrin.com). Below, we have provided a brief summary 2008 Towers Perrin Issue 9 July 2008 I 7 Financial Modelling Update Europe/Asia Pacific Edition Economic Capital and Solvency II Market-Consistent Embedded Value (MCEV) Reporting of just some recent articles closely related to Financial Modelling. To locate any of the articles listed below, navigate to the Towers Perrin website and select Risk & Financial Services / Tillinghast Insurance Consulting. Fromthe Tillinghast page you can then go to the area Our Latest Thinking See More for the archive of past articles. HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE NORDIC USER FORUM We were very pleased to host a user forum for Nordic clients on 27 May at the Clarion Sign Hotel in Stockholm. The forum attracted around 25 attendees, representing 11 different insurance companies from the region. A variety of sessions were presented covering the following topics: ALM A roadmap from deterministic to stochastic models: The session highlighted some of the steps and challenges in moving from liability modelling to an integrated stochastic ALM model. Automation and integration: The session presented a case study for automating a MoSes reserving model. Hedging nancial risk: The increasingly popular use of replicating portfolios for the purpose of hedging and communication of nancial risk was presented. Financial modelling The human dimension: This presentation used a real example where a control mechanism, based on fuzzy logic, was applied to model the management of buffer funds for a traditional life insurance company. MoSes High Performance Computing (HPC): The new HPC functionality in MoSes for increased speed and performance, was discussed. The forum gave clients a valuable opportunity to discuss their needs and to help us better understand their thoughts and priorities for MoSes in the future. If you would like further information on the event, please contact Per Lindberg at per.lindberg@towersperrin.com. Operational Risk May 2008: Examining Economic Capital to Quantify Insurers Risk within an ERM Framework Commissioned by the Society of Actuaries, Towers Perrin researched EC methods and implementation issues. The report describes common methods for calculating EC, as well as the issues regarding practical application and implementation of EC. May 2008: Solvency II: Final QIS 4 Specification Towers Perrin describes the significance of the latest changes to the December 2007 draft specifications of QIS4 on Solvency II. June 2008: 2007 European Embedded Values (EEV) Stable Accounting in Volatile Markets Our in-depth analysis reveals a trend towards a market- consistent methodology and advantages of the direct market approach plus EV trends in and outside Europe. June 2008: CFO Forum Adopts MCEV With MCEV Principles replacing EEV mandated for CFO Forum members, Towers Perrin summarizes the 17 principles and addresses issues of convergence and inconsistency for embedded value reporting. April 2008: Untangling Operational Risk: Creating Order Out of Chaos The complexity of operational risk can be intimidating. Operational risk management involves preventing, controlling and managing risk, none of which is possible without support from the top down. June 2008: Modern Operational Risk Management The recent wave of extraordinary losses in financial services suggests that its time for a new approach to managing risk, particularly operational risk. The Nordic User Forum gave clients a valuable opportunity to discuss their needs and to help us better understand their thoughts and priorities for MoSes in the future Issue 9 July 2008 I 8 Financial Modelling Update Europe/Asia Pacific Edition Common questions on the debugger Q) I have multiple clones and arrayed submodels. How can I tell which model instance the debugger is currently showing? A) Add modelName, a MoSes system variable, to the watch window to show which model instance is currently being viewed. Q) My model has failed on the hundredth model point. How can I avoid stepping through every single time period and every single model point to make it easier to use debugger? A) When debugging you want to avoid having to skip through many calculations. Reduce the number of policies and time periods being run to those you are interested in. You can also use conditional breakpoints, as discussed in the debugger article in this issue of FMU. Q) I get an error in MoSes when running my model, but when I run it through the debugger it does not stop at any errors. What is going wrong? A) In debugger, on the Debug menu there is an Exceptions option which opens a dialogue box to allow the user to decide which errors are handled by debugger (if not handled by debugger Windows will handle them as it sees t, which may not include showing error messages). With the trees collapsed (so only the 5 bold items are shown) the best default option is to ensure the last item in the list is checked (Win32 Exceptions) so errors in 32-bit Windows applications (ie, MoSes32.exe) will be handled by the debugger (see screenshot below). Q) How can I quickly nd the formula for a column in the Code Panel? A) The formula for a column is prefaced by some help text. By searching for the column name prexed with a :, you will be taken to the appropriate help text just before the column formula. Recent Q&A from the Helpdesk Q) My MoSes task completes with a green runlog but at the end of the run I receive an error: The instruction at 0x7c838bdb references memory at 0x00000000. A) One very common cause of this type of error occurs when an externs variable is declared more than once. Check that the variables declared in the start_externs/end_externs sections of your submodels are declared in only one submodel and that they are declared in all other submodels that need them with the extern keyword preceding them. So, for example, you might declare an integer in the top model startup column as follows: START_EXTERNS int rst_loop; END_EXTERNS In other models that need to access the variable rst_loop, the declaration in startup should be as follows: START_EXTERNS extern int rst_loop; END_EXTERNS Some of you may use the External DLL Settings utility. If so, the same rules apply here as though the code was being entered directly into the startup column. Q) How do I ensure my HASP key is up to date? A) Your HASP key contains a maintenance expiry date, which it is important to update after your licence renewal anniversary. This permits you to use your MoSes licence with new releases of MoSes (for example V6.1 or V6.2). To update your HASP key on-line, make sure the key is connected to your PC or laptop and follow the on-screen prompts at http://www.cs.com.au/ haspupdate. If you have any problems with this update process, please contact your Regional Helpdesk. Q) I have created a User Dened Worksheet for my output, how do I view my results by Group and Iteration? A) To do this you need to switch to Edit Workbook Layout Mode, add a Group Selector to your Worksheet and then link this Selector to the Column Object that you wish to view by Group and/or Iteration. Further informa- tion and full steps on how to do this can be found in the MoSes Help les under User Dened Views, Worksheet Objects and Selectors. Chapter 10 of the MoSes Interface Guide also gives a detailed example of how to use this functionality. Q&A 2008 Towers Perrin MoSes Version 6.2 and MoSes HPC are now available As mentioned in the last issue of FMU, MoSes Version 6.2 is now available on request from your Regional Support Centre. MoSes HPC, which is a new product that incorporates support for Microsofts HPC compute cluster platform and 64-bit computing, is also available for purchase. We are already discussing the features and benefits of HPC with several clients. To find out more about MoSes HPC please contact David Tonner (david.tonner@ towersperrin.com) in Europe or Lynda McCarthy (lynda.mccarthy@towersperrin. com) in Asia-Pacific. Asia-Pacific MoSes User Group Conferences (8th and 10th July) Thank you to all of those who attended the recent APAC user group meetings in Seoul and Tokyo. It was good to see some familiar faces and many new clients too. If you would like more information about any of our sessions, please contact support_apac@ towersperrin.com. We will be providing an article about the user groups in the next issue of FMU. 2008 Towers Perrin 2008 European User Group We are delighted to announce that the 2008 MoSes European User Group will take place on 24 and 25 November 2008 in our London office. There will also be a special themed event on the first evening at an outstanding London venue. We very much look forward to welcoming you to the conference where you can expect a series of interesting and thought-provoking sessions. The full details of the programme and registration details will be sent out shortly. Please contact Joanna Wheatley at joanna.wheatley@towersperrin. com (+44 207 170 2375). Training course dates Below is a list of training courses scheduled in our London office in September and December. These include the new Foundation and Intermediate Developer courses. Please contact Merryl John at merryl.john@ towersperrin.com (+44 20 7170 2537) to register your interest or request further details. FINANCIAL MODELLING UPDATE EUROPE/ASIA-PACIFIC EDITION CONTACT LIST Regional Support Centres Europe, Middle East and Africa Tel: +44 207 170 3000 Email: support_eu@towersperrin.com Asia Pacific Tel: +61 2 8198 9008 Email: support_apac@towersperrin.com FMU Europe/Asia-Pacific Editor Tim Thornham Email: tim.thornham@towersperrin.com Asia-Pacific contacts Australia/New Zealand Lynda McCarthy Email: lynda.mccarthy@towersperrin.com Japan Tivon Jacobson Email: tivon.jacobson@towersperrin.com Other Asian countries Marco Warmelink Email: marco.warmelink@towersperrin.com European/EMEA contacts France Nicolas Thevenet Email: nicolas.thevenet@towersperrin.com Germany/Austria/Switzerland Christian Naecker Email: christian.naecker@towersperrin.com Italy Simona Parise Email: simona.parise@towersperrin.com Netherlands/Belgium Frank den Bieman Email: frank.den.bieman@towersperrin.com Nordic region Per Lindberg Email: per.lindberg@towersperrin.com Spain/Portugal Juan Ipina Email: juan.ipina@towersperrin.com UK, Middle East and South Africa Joel Fox Email: joel.fox@towersperrin.com The Back Page News from the world of financial modelling New FMU Editor This issue will be my last as editor of FMU as I move on to a new challenge outside Towers Perrin. I am pleased to be handing over to Joel Fox, who will be well known to many of you. I have enjoyed 10 years with both Classic Solutions and Towers Perrin combined and made many friends along the way. I hope to keep in touch with those of you that Ive worked with these past years. Tim Thornham, FMU Editor Course Q3 dates Q4 dates Users 28/29 August 1/2 December Developer Foundation 1-2 September 4-5 December Developer Intermediate 4-5 September 11-12 December ABOUT TOWERS PERRIN Towers Perrin is a global professional services rm that helps organisations improve performance through effective people, risk and nancial management. The rm provides innovative solutions in the areas of human capital strategy, programme design and management, and in the areas of risk and capital management, insurance and reinsurance intermediary services and actuarial consulting. Towers Perrin has ofces and alliance partners in the worlds major markets. More information about Towers Perrin is available at www.towersperrin.com