Director, Actuary ~ Stable Value Actuarial, Prudential Retirement~ Woodbridge, NJ Job Listing at Prudential in Iselin, NJ

Insurance, Finance

 
Background
 
Prudential Retirement's Stable Value Actuarial area is a unit of Prudential Retirement that helps to manufacture and manage tax-qualified annuity and investment products offering protection of principal and stable returns.  Products supported include guaranteed interest contracts (GICs) and fixed rate options for defined contribution (DC) plans, as well as innovative products that guarantee values based on external portfolios.  Prudential is a market leader in stable value products, with over $90 billion in total book value guaranteed.  The stable value wrap component of Prudential's stable value block has been growing rapidly in recent years, and exceeded $46 billion on December 31, 2011. 
 
Stable Value Actuarial is responsible for the pricing and valuation of Prudential's stable value wrap business.  The area is also often called upon to contribute to the development of other products for Prudential Retirement, due its proven ability to analyze complex product features and negotiate with leaders in the Corporate center of the company as well as with outside parties such as auditors and regulators.  We expect to continue to be a leader in product innovation and solutions allowing Prudential to achieve the right outcomes for its clients and shareholders.
 
Stable Value Actuarial's operations are based in Woodbridge, New Jersey near the Metropark train station.
 
Job Responsibilities
 
Assist in the development of new and enhanced stable value products for DB and DC plans and for the institutional and  retail  capital markets.  Product development activities may include:

• proposing and evaluating alternative product structures
  


• writing product specifications
  


• modeling risks, and recommending required capital and prices
  


• reviewing draft contracts
  


• preparing regulatory filings and corresponding with state insurance regulators
  


• planning and execution of ongoing risk management
  


• performing experience studies
  


• making presentations to upper management
  

Maintain and enhance stochastic models that calculate required capital and fees for stable value wrap transactions: 

• suggest and implement improvements in the models to keep pace with best financial practices
  


• build new functionality to support the continued enhancement of our ability to measure and understand risks embedded in  stable value products
  

Lead periodic review of assumptions for use in pricing and the setting of required capital.  Present recommendations and results of sensitivity tests to upper management, and communicate results with various stakeholders.

Review and sign off on the required capital and indicative pricing for new transactions and for contracts that allow fees to be reset periodically.  

 

Assist in the local implementation of projects related to the convergence of financial standards, including economic capital, RAROC, and principle-based reserving. 

 

Opine on the adequacy of fees and reserves for selected products, such as stable value BOLI and registered separate account annuities. 

 

Assist in the financial management of stable value products.  Review income statement assumptions and forecasts; suggest changes in processes to improve both bottom line results and adherence to Corporate standards.  

 

Assist in the development of documentation of operational rules, guidelines, and controls for the pricing and risk management of stable value products.

May include supervision of one or more employees.

 

• Fellow, Society of Actuaries.  Finance/ERM or Investment specialty preferred. 
• Member, American Academy of Actuaries.  Willing to obtain (if necessary) and maintain qualification under Academy standards to issue statements of actuarial opinion in the United States.
• Bachelors Degree required. 
• Strong verbal and written communication skills required. able to explain technical issues in a manner appropriate to the audience
• At least 3 years of quantitative experience with insurance, annuity or investment products.
• Prior experience with stable value products desirable.
• Knowledge of insurance company U.S. GAAP and statutory reporting, especially for group annuity products. 
• Experience with modern tools of quantitative finance desirable (e.g. Monte Carlo methods, hedging techniques, use of replicating portfolios).
• Strong knowledge & experience with Microsoft Excel, VBA, Access
• Prior experience with MATLAB is desirable.  Experience with third party actuarial modeling software such as MG-ALFA, PolySystems, or TAS is also desirable but not required.
• Prior supervisory experience is desirable.
• Able to take a broad management view of projects.
• Eager to take responsibility.
• Driven to achieve tangible results for the business unit.
• Effective at influencing others.