Skip to Content

Anthony Asher

Formal Name: Anthony Asher

Personal Title: Dr

Position: Visiting Fellow

Organisational Unit: Department of Actuarial Studies

Qualification: BBusSc Cape Town, PhD Witwatersrand, FIA, AIAA

Telephone: (+61-2) 9850-8574

Fax: (61-2) 9850-9481

Location: E4A Level 6

Profile

Anthony Asher is a Principal in the financial services practice of Deloitte Actuaries and Consultants, with particular research interests in the social aspects of actuarial work: superannuation, investments and life insurance and its implications for benefit design and product development. He also has interests in accounting, capital management, investment modeling and measurement and has developed a unit price auditing tool. He was previously with the Policy and Research of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. Prior to coming to Australia in 2003, he was Professor of Actuarial Science at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg and before that Chief Actuary of the Prudential Assurance Company of South Africa.

Publications

Investment

Socially responsible investment

  • (2005) “The Relative Investment Performance of the Community Growth Fund” South African Actuarial Journal 5:1-26
  • Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE (1998) “Effective and Ethical Institutional Investment”, British Actuarial Journal 4.V: 969-1027
  • (1993) “The Community Growth Fund - Socially Responsible Investment”, Praxis - Journal for Christian Business Management 1.2:7-14
  • (1991) “Should Prescribed Assets be Reintroduced?” Trustee Digest (With Adler T), October

Governance

  • (2008) “Conflicted super structures: Are Australian Investors being Short-changed” in Pension Fund Governance Ed Evans, J, Orszag M and Piggott J Edward Elgar. Read the earlier version.
  • (1998) St Augustine’s College winter school: “A traditional theory of justice and the South African Constitution.” Ethics in the Workplace, ed E H Raidt, St Augustine Publications, Johannesburg, 109-120
  • (1998) “Wider Fields and Misselling” The Actuary, Staple Inn Actuarial Society, June
  • (1998) “Life Offices as Commodities” The Actuary, Staple Inn Actuarial Society, March
  • (1997) “Shareholder democracy by enfranchising holders of N shares”, Praxis - Journal for Christian Business Management 5.3:9-10
  • (1997) “Of Mutuals and Monopolies” The Actuary, Staple Inn Actuarial Society, November
  • (1996) “Attitudes must change on top”, Praxis - Journal for Christian Business Management 4.1: 23-24
  • (1995) “Disclosure and Transparency” Institute of Retirement Funds of South Africa meeting
  • (1995) “Addressing Corruption: Grand and not so Grand”, Praxis - Journal for Christian Business Management 3.3:15-20
  • (1992) “Pension Fund Democracy”, Transactions of the Actuarial Society of South Africa IX.II:61-91
  • (1992) “Pension and Provident Funds: Taking Control,” Trends in SA Labour Law: Selected Papers from the 4th Annual Labour Law Conference 1991 (edited P Benjamin, `J Campanella, I de Villiers), Centre for Applied Legal Studies, Johannesburg: 121-128
  • (1991) “Structural Options for Matching Rights and Obligations in the Workplace” Newick Park Initiative workshop - Nationalization: Implications and Alternatives, in Hastings, UK

Housing Finance

  • (2009) “Salary Linked Home Finance: Reducing interest rate, inflation and idiosyncratic salary risks” Presented to the Institute of Actuaries Biennial Convention
  • (1994) “Managing the Financial Costs of Housing”, Journal of Actuarial Practice, 2.1:125-144
  • (1993) “Salary Linked Home Finance - Applying Investment Principles and the Ban on Usury to Housing”, Praxis - Journal for Christian Business Management 1.1:10-15
  • (1992) “Salary Linked Home Finance - An Actuarial Approach” Transactions of the 24th International Congress of Actuaries, Montreal
  • (1991) “Salary Linked Home Finance - An Economic Approach to Social Investment”, Transactions of the Actuarial Society of South Africa IX.I:289-305

Other

Financial Products and Benefit Design

  • (2007) “Pension Benefit Design and the Integration of Insurance Benefits over the Life Cycle.” South African Actuarial Journal 7:73–115. Read an earlier version of this article
  • (2007) “Smoothing Investment Returns” Chapter 8 in Retirement Provision in Scary Markets, ed Hazel Bateman, Edward Elgar. Read an earlier version of this article.
  • (2003) “Meeting Consumers’ Needs” Chapter 5 in Understanding Actuarial Management: the actuarial control cycle, ed Clare Bellis, John Shepherd & Richard Lyon, Institute of Actuaries of Australia, Sydney 71-108
  • (2002) “Smoother ways of smoothing” The Actuary, Staple Inn Actuarial Society, September
  • (2000) “Designing benefits for the new century” Retirement Funding: A Source Book for Trustees (ed M Dagut), Business Day, Liberty Asset Management, University of the Witwatersrand
  • (1999) “Loading members with Investment Choice”, Journal of Pensions Management 5.1: 76-85
  • (1997) “The Coming Crash” The Actuary, Staple Inn Actuarial Society, December
  • (1992) “Guaranteed Funds: Some points to Ponder” Trustee Digest, January

Protection of Members and Policy Holders

  • (2009) “The Financial Management of Life Insurance” in Wickens “The Law of Life Insurance in Australia.” Thomson Lawbooks
  • (2007) “Weaving the Social Fabric”
  • (2006) with Andrew C Gale “Submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services" by Trowbridge Deloitte
  • (2000) “What to do with surpluses” The Actuary, Staple Inn Actuarial Society, March
  • (2000) “Fiduciary duties and Good Faith in the Management of Retirement Fund Surpluses.” - The South African Actuarial Journal, 1: 1-33. (Awarded prize for best paper at 2000 convention)
  • (1998) “Investment Performance Measurement” Transactions of the International Congress of Actuaries, Birmingham Vol 7:239-248
  • (1991) “Actuarial Implications of the Liberty/Prudential Merger”, Transactions of the Actuarial Society of South Africa IX.I:241-267
  • (1987) “Pension Fund Design”, Transactions of the Actuarial Society of South Africa VII.I:85-102

Social Security

  • (2006) “Means Tests: an evaluation of the justice of imposing high rates of claw-back on those of modest means” Presented to Institute of Actuaries Financial Services Forum
  • (2006) “Pensions in Africa” Chapter 41 in Oxford Handbook of Pensions and Retirement Income, ed: G L Clark A Munnell, M Orzsag
  • (2005) “Book Review: Developing an Annuity Market in Europe. Eds. Elsa Fornero and Elisa Luciano” Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, 4.3: 331-333
  • (2003) Chapters 8 “Retirement and Old Age” (with Marius Olivier) p 231-299, and 20: “Finance and Tax” p 595-618, in “Social Security – a Legal Analysis” ed MP Olivier, N Smit & E R Kalula, Butterworths, Durban
  • (2002) “Transforming the Present - Protecting the Future” (with other committee members) Report of the Committee of Inquiry into a Comprehensive Social Security System for South Africa, Department of Social Development, Pretoria
  • (2001) “The Fight against Poverty: Social Security, Job Creation... and Responsibility.” St Augustine's College/Konrad Adenhauer Foundation seminar, published in Praxis - Journal for Christian Business Management 9.4:2-8 and again to the Actuarial Society of South Africa annual convention
  • (2001) “Old Age and Insurance” Position Paper for the Committee of Inquiry into a Comprehensive Social Security System for South Africa. Edited version on: http://www.sarpn.org.za/CountryPovertyPapers/SouthAfrica/taylor/report7.pdf
  • (1999) “Call for fair pension tax”, Financial Services Board Bulletin, 4th Quarter 1999: 12,13 ftp://ftp.fsb.co.za/public/bulletins/bul499.pdf
  • (1997) “State pensions In South Africa” The Actuary, Staple Inn Actuarial Society, August
  • (1997) “Social Security in a Divided Society” The Actuary, Staple Inn Actuarial Society, July
  • (1997) “Perks of Apartheid” The Actuary, Staple Inn Actuarial Society, September
  • (1997) “The Actuarially Appropriate Management of Public Pensions: Funding or Pay-as-you-go” Discussion Paper PI-9701, Birkbeck College, University of London.
  • (1995) “Chile's Retirement Structure.” Trustee Digest, August
  • (1991) “Guide to Pension and Provident Funds”, Book review SA Labour Law Journal, August.
  • (1990) “Still not enough to ensure Equitable, Adequate Pensions!” Trustee Digest (With Adler T), November

Education of Actuaries

  • (2007) “A Christian in Financial Services’” Praxis - Journal for Christian Business Management 14.4: 2-9 A later version: Vocation and Wisdom at http://www.actuary.mq.edu.au/Acst_docs/research_papers/2008/Asher_2008-02.pdf
  • (2002) “What actuaries might learn about Life” The South African Actuarial Journal 2: 53-68.
  • (2001) “Research and the public interest”, “South African Panel Study in Income Dynamics” Two short papers and a presentation to the annual convention of the Actuarial Society of South Africa. www.actuarialsociety.org.za and www.actuarialsociety.org.za
  • (2001) “On the Virtue of Serving the Public Interest” Guest Editorial, British Actuarial Journal 7.III, 313-317
  • (2000) “Vocation or Seduction” The Actuary, Staple Inn Actuarial Society, January/February
  • (1999) “Love, Care or Stagnation?” The Actuary, Staple Inn Actuarial Society, March
  • (1998) “The Education and Continuing Professional Development of Actuaries”, Transactions of the Actuarial Society of South Africa XII.I:1-37 (also at www.actuarialsociety.org.za)
  • (1982) “Becoming a South African Actuary”, Transactions of the Actuarial Society of South Africa V.III:6-37

South African Questions

  • (1999) “Jobs in South Africa” The Actuary, Staple Inn Actuarial Society, July
  • (1999) “Exportable Skills” The Actuary, Staple Inn Actuarial Society, January/February
  • (1999) “Cementing a new role for actuaries” The Actuary, Staple Inn Actuarial Society, June
  • (1998) “Fleeing the Rand” The Actuary, Staple Inn Actuarial Society, November
  • (1997) “Crime and Punishment” The Actuary, Staple Inn Actuarial Society, May
  • (1989) “Costs of Emigration”, Transactions of the Actuarial Society of South Africa VII.III:277-309

The Determination and Use of Capital

  • (2008) with Simon Webb and Andrew Doughman “The management of liquidity risks” Presented to the Institute of Actuaries of Australia 4th Financial Services Forum and summarised in “Liquidity Risks” Monash Business Review 4.26-29
  • (2007) “Strategic Risk Management: Mapping the commanding heights and hazards” with Andrew C Gale – Presented to the Institute of Actuaries Biennial Convention
  • (2006) “Unfinished accounting issues in financial institutions: modelling fair value and prudence” Annals of Actuarial Science 1.2: 271-290
  • (2006)  “ICP23B: Assessing Solvency” in “A Core Curriculum for Insurance Supervisors” International Association of Insurance Supervisors and the World Bank.
  • (2004) “Determining capital: messy targets and smoother dividends” Macquarie University Department of Actuarial Studies Working Paper
  • (2003) “Pricing” Chapter 11 (a) in Understanding Actuarial Management: the actuarial control cycle, ed Clare Bellis, John Shepherd & Richard Lyon, Institute of Actuaries of Australia, Sydney, 223-245