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The research committee ensure a rigorous governance framework for all research activities and publications.
Research Radar
The research radar is a list of open topics collated through ASSA communities. It represents topics that our community are keen to see research carried out on. If anyone is interested in pursuing research in one of these areas, please reach out to us and we will connect you to the parties interested in these topics.
Research Opportunities
Currently the following ASSA research topics are considered with expression of interest. If you are interested in contributing or support these research efforts contact the research committee.
Research: Expression of Interest (Close 27 April 2026)
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Meet the Committees
The Research Committee advises Council on advancing actuarial research in South Africa. Its core objectives include supporting research through education, CPD, standard setting, public policy, and related activities; fostering opportunities and collaboration among members engaged in research; and guiding the Actuarial Society’s strategic direction through thought leadership initiatives.
Research Prize Winners
The Research Committee is pleased to acknowledge the past recipients of the Research Awards. Their valuable contributions continue to explore and enrich the wealth of knowledge within the profession.
History of Research Prize Winners
Best Paper (Convention)
- 2024 – The paper entitled: “Actuarial Adaptation: Exploring new roles for actuaries in climate change”. Authored by Atiyya Ally, Adel Drew, Ernst Louw, Kelvin Massingham, Neha Junglee, Savannah Reay, Ronica Chabalala and Ronald Richman
- 2023 – The paper entitled: “Application of Deep Reinforcement Learning in Asset Liability Management”. Authored by Takura Wekwete
- 2022 – The paper entitled: LASSO Regularisation within the LocalGLMnet Architecture. Authored by Ronald Richman and Mario Wuthrich
- 2021 – The paper entitled: “Where angels fear to tread’ – Reflections on the Role of an Actuary as Expert Witness in the Land Claims Court”. Authored by Mickey Lowther
- 2020 – The paper entitled: “Mortality Improvements in South Africa: Insights from Pensioner Mortality”. Authored by Ronald Richman and Gary Velcich
- 2019 – The paper entitled: “Believing the Bot – Model Risk in the Era of Deep Learning”. Authored by Ronald Richman, Nicolai von Rummell and Mario V. Wüthrich
- 2018 – The paper entitled: “AI in Actuarial Science”. Authored by Ronald Richman
- 2017 – Not awarded
- 2016 – The paper entitled: “The retirement income frontier and its application in constructing investment strategies for retirement”. Authored by John Anderson and Steven Empedocles
- 2015 – The paper entitled: “How a single-factor CAPM works in a multi-currency world: results from the latest research”. Authored by Rob Thomson, Sule Sahin, Taryn Reddy
- 2014 – The paper entitled: “Neither here nor there: the South African medical scheme industry in limbo”. Authored by Shivani Ramjee and Tim Vieyra
- 2013 – The paper entitled: “Retirement Adequacy Goals Revisited: The South African experience of goal estimation for one– and two–adult households”. Authored by M Butler
- 2012 – The paper entitled: “Life expectancies of HIV-positive adults receiving antiretroviral treatment in South Africa”. Authored by Leigh Johnson & others
- 2011 – The paper entitled: “Retirement Adequacy Targets for South African Households”. Authored by Megan Butler
- 2010 – Not awarded due to ICA 2010
- 2009 – The paper entitled: “The arbitrage-free equilibrium pricing of liabilities in an incomplete market: Application to a South African retirement fund”. Authored by Rob Thomson
- 2008 – The paper entitled: “Modeling the Market in a Risk-averse World”. Authored by Rob Thomson
- 2007 – The paper entitled: “Long term forecasting and hedging of the South African yield curve”. Authored by Michael Thomas and Eben Maré
- 2006 – The paper entitled: “The impact of HIV/AIDS on medical schemes in South Africa”. Authored by Roseanne da Silva and Lara Wayburne
- 2005 – The paper entitled: “With Profits Without Misery”. Authored by Lance Katz and Steven Rosenberg
Best First-Time Author (Convention)
- 2024 – The paper entitled: “A quantitative framework for testing macro-economic and financial indicators”. Authored by Mahdi Marcus and Mayuresh Kulkarni
- 2023 – The paper entitled: “Application of Deep Reinforcement Learning in Asset Liability Management”. Authored by Takura Wekwete
- 2022 – Not awarded
- 2021 – The paper entitled: “Predictive Machine Learning for Underwriting Life and Health Insurance”. Authored by Patricia Wang
- 2020 – The paper entitled: “Exploration of the dynamics of the IFRS 17 CSM and its application in a South African context”. Authored by Brendon Thorpe and Keren Nieuwoudt
- 2019 – The paper entitled: “Sustaining the life insurance industry in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Building a foundation for change”. Authored by Lynne Molloy and Linda Ronnie
- 2018 – The paper entitled: “An Investigation of the Hierarchy of Simplifications for Risk Margins in the Solvency Assessment and Management Framework”. Authored by Peter Carswell, Ross Farnaby, and Nikhara Nirghin
- 2017 – Not awarded
- 2016 – The paper entitled: “The retirement income frontier and its application in constructing investment strategies for retirement”. Authored by John Anderson and Steven Empedocles
- 2015 – The paper entitled: “Solvency Assessment Regime for South African Medical Schemes”. Authored by Adam Lowe & Gary Scott
- 2014 – The paper entitled: “Modelling catastrophe risk for SA life assurers”. Authored by Adam Plantinga, Davy Corubolo and Rob Clover
- 2013 – The paper entitled: “Operational risk management: practical implication for the South African insurance industry”. Authored by M Martin and M Hayes
- 2012 – Two papers awarded
- The paper entitled: “Defined Contribution Investment Decisions: Using Smoothing to Meet Conflicting Objectives”. Authored by Guy Chennells
- The paper entitled: “Valuing the Unexpired Risk of Motor Service Plans”. Authored by Fidelis T Musakwa
- 2011 – The paper entitled: “Retirement Adequacy Targets for South African Households”. Authored by Megan Butler
- 2010 – Not awarded due to ICA 2010
- 2009 – The paper entitled: “Defined Contribution and Age-Related Risk Benefits – The Equitable Myth”. Authored by Neil Parkin and Vivek Moodley
- 2008 – The paper entitled: “Generating Interest Rate Scenarios for Fixed Income Portfolio Optimisation”. Authored by Helgard Raubenheimer and Machiel Kruger
- 2007 – The paper entitled: “Long term forecasting and hedging of the South African yield curve”. Authored by Michael Thomas and Eben Maré
- 2006 – The paper entitled: “Poverty and Inequality in South Africa and the world”. Authored by Poobalan Govender, Nilen Kambaran, Nicolette Patchett, Andrew Ruddle, Greg Torr and Natalie van Zyl
- 2005 – Not awarded
- 2004 – The paper entitled: “Costs of savings for retirement: options for South Africa”. Authored by
- 2003 – Not awarded
- 2002 – The paper entitled: “Investment Guarantees in the South African Life Assurance Industry”. Authored by Kamran Foroughi, Ian Jones & Tony Dardis
- 2001 – The paper entitled: “The ASSA Multi-state Select Population Model”. Authored by Leigh Johnson, David Schneider and Steven Rosenberg
- 2000 – The paper entitled: “The Low-income Sector: The Life Industry’s Perspective”. Authored by Gary Hartwig
Best Risk / Reinsurance Paper (Convention)
- 2024 – The paper entitled: “The Credibility Transformer”. Authored by Salvatore Scognamiglio, Ronald Richman and Mario Wüthrich
- 2023 – The paper entitled: “Smoothness and Monotonicity Constraints for Neural Networks using ICEnet”. Authored by Ronald Richman and Mario Wuthrich
- 2022 – The paper entitled: “LASSO Regularisation within the LocalGLMnet Architecture”. Authored by Ronald Richman and Mario Wuthrich
- 2021 – The paper entitled: “Predictive Machine Learning for Underwriting Life and Health Insurance”. Authored by Patricia Wang
- 2020 – The paper entitled: “Mortality Improvements in South Africa: Insights from Pensioner Mortality”. Authored by Ronald Richman and Gary Velcich
- 2019 – The paper entitled: “Believing the Bot – Model Risk in the Era of Deep Learning”. Authored by Ronald Richman, Nicolai von Rummell and Mario Wuthrich
- 2018 – The paper entitled: “AI in Actuarial Science”. Authored by Ronald Richman
- 2017 – Not awarded
- 2016 – Not awarded
- 2015 – The paper entitled: “Solvency Assessment Regime for South African Medical Schemes”. Authored by Adam Lowe & Gary Scott
- 2014 – The paper entitled: “Modelling catastrophe risk for SA life assurers”. Authored by Adam Plantinga, Davy Corubolo and Rob Clover
- 2013 – The paper entitled: “Pricing a Motor Extended Warranty with Usage Cover Limits”. Authored by F Musakwa
- 2012 – The paper entitled: “Life expectancies of HIV-positive adults receiving antiretroviral treatment in South Africa”. Authored by Leigh Johnson & others
- 2011 – Not awarded
- 2010 – Not awarded due to ICA 2010
- 2009 – Not awarded
- 2008 – The paper entitled: “Modeling the Market in a Risk-averse World”. Authored by Rob Thomson
- 2007 – The paper entitled: “The application of expected-utility theory to the choice of investment channels in a defined-contribution retirement fund”. Authored by Rob Thomson and Shaun Levitan
- 2006 – The paper entitled: “Stochastic models for actuarial use: the equilibrium modelling of local markets”. Authored by Rob Thomson and Dmitri Gott
- 2005 – Not awarded
- 2004 – Not awarded
- 2003 – The paper entitled: “Capital Adequacy for long-term insurers revisited”. Authored by Anthony Dardis, Deon Booysen, Theresa Burger, Willie de Jager, Craig Falconer, Nikki Franklin, Francois Millard, Chris Nel, Peter Tripe and Hantie van Heerden
- 2002 – The paper entitled: “Modern valuation techniques”. Authored by Elliot Varnell, Stuart Jarvis and Frances Southall
- 2001 – The paper entitled: “ASSA 2000 Urban-Rural AIDS and Demographic Model”. Authored by Rob Dorrington
- 2000 – Not awarded
- 1999 – Not awarded
- 1998 – The paper entitled: “Risk-adjusted capital in a general insurance environment”. Authored by Rolf van den Heever
Best Published Paper
- 2023 – The paper entitled: “Towards the development of a three-state Markov Chain model of working life expectancy in South Africa”. Authored by GA Whittaker, K Naidoo and M Lawrence
- 2022 – The paper entitled: “Interpreting deep learning models with marginal attribution by conditioning on quantiles”. Authored by M. Merz, R. Richman, A. Tsanakas and M.V. Wuthrich
- 2021 – The paper entitled: “Discrimination Free Insurance pricing”. Authored by M. Lindholm, R. Richman, A. Tsanakas and M.V. Wuthrich
- 2020 – The paper entitled: “The Contribution of South Africa’s Insurers to Systemic Risk: Thoughts for Policymakers”. Authored by Rob Rusconi
- 2019 – The paper entitled: “Regime-Based Tactical Allocation for Equity Factors and Balanced Portfolios”. Authored by E Flint and E Mare
- 2018 – The paper entitled: “The Life Esidimeni Arbitration and the Actuarial Quantification of Constitutional Damages”. Authored by GA Whittaker
- 2017 – The paper entitled: “Estimating the impact of antiretroviral treatment on adult mortality trends in South Africa: A mathematical modelling study”. Authored by Leigh Johnson, Rob Dorrington, Margaret May, Morna Cornell, Andrew Boulle, Matthias Egger, Mary-Ann Davies
- 2016 – The paper entitled: “Systemic banking crisis early warning systems using dynamic Bayesian networks”. Authored by Conrad Beyers, Joel Dabrowski and Pieter de Villiers
- 2015 – The paper entitled: “Combining scenario and historical data in the loss distribution approach: A new procedure that incorporates measures of agreement between scenarios and historical data”. Authored by Riaan de Jongh & Co-authors
- 2014 – The paper entitled: “Estimating long-term volatility parameters for market consistent models”. Authored by Emlyn Flint & Co-authors
- 2013 – The paper entitled: “Life expectancies of South African adults starting antiretroviral treatment: Collaborative analysis of cohort studies”. Authored by Leigh Johnson and co-authors
- 2012 – The paper entitled: “Retirement Adequacy Goals for South African households”. Authored by MBJ Butler and CJ van Zyl
- 2011 – The paper entitled: “Some nonstandard stochastic volatility models and their estimation using structured hidden Markov models”. Authored by Roland Langrock, Lain MacDonald and Walter Zucchini
- 2010 – The paper entitled: “Sexual behaviour patterns in South Africa and their association with the spread of HIV: Insights from a mathematical model”. Authored by Leigh Johnson, Rob Dorrington, Debbie Bradshaw, Victoria Pillay-Van Wyk and Thomas Rehle
- 2009 – The paper entitled: “The role of risk equalization in moving from voluntary private health insurance to mandatory coverage: the experience in South Africa”. Authored by Heather McLeod and Pieter Grobler
- 2008 – Two papers awarded
- The paper entitled: “Sources of Error and Bias in Methods of Fertility Estimation Contingent on the P/F Ratio in a Time of Declining Fertility and Rising Mortality. Authored by Tom Moultrie and Rob Dorrington
- The paper entitled: “Mean Reversion in Investment Markets: The Implications for Investors and Regulators”. Authored by Anthony Asher
- 2007 – The paper entitled: “The potential effect of an HIV/AIDS vaccine in South Africa”. Authored by Leigh Johnson and Rob Dorrington
- 2006 – The paper entitled: “Modelling the demographic impact of HIV/AIDS in South Africa and the likely impact of interventions”. Authored by Leigh Johnson and Rob Dorrington
- 2005 – The paper entitled: “An investigation of the mortality of South African assured lives, 1995–98”. Authored by Bruce O’Malley, Rob Dorrington, Stephen Jurisich, Julie-Anne Valentini, Taryn Cohen and Bernard Ross
- 2004 – The paper entitled: “The use of utility functions for investment channel choice in defined-contribution retirement funds, BAJ 9, 2003”. Authored by Rob Thomson
- 2003 – The paper entitled: “Seismic risk assessment: with an application to the South African insurance industry”. Authored by Nicholas Davies and Andres Kijko
- 2002 – The paper entitled: “Risk-position reporting in the South African life-insurance industry”. Authored by Anthony Dardis
Best Honours Paper at a South African University
- 2024 – The paper entitled: “Integrating telematics and explainable AI to improve fairness in motor insurance”. Authored by Matthew Ho and William Van Straten (Wits)
- 2023 – The paper entitled: “Mortality forecasting using transformers”. Authored by Bhekamandaba Makhonza and Nape Setepu Mogodi (Wits)
- 2022 – The paper entitled: “Performing a Macro Stress Test on South Africa’s Banking System”. Authored by Ashley Jane Kellar and David Mark Dodkins (UP)
- 2021 – The paper entitled: “Artificial neural networks in solvency capital requirement modelling in the South African insurance market”. Authored by Panayiotis Hadjipaschalis and Nicholas Levendis (Wits)
- 2020 – The paper entitled: “missMIRF: A Hybrid Multiple-Imputation Random-Forest Missing Data Model”. Authored by Yunus Syed and Andrew Laidley (Wits)
- 2019 – The paper entitled: “Measuring the performance of Global and South African Hedge Fund strategies in different macroeconomic regimes”. Authored by Andre Theron and Michiel Nel (SUN)
- 2018 – The paper entitled: “Relative merits of including cryptocurrencies as an additional asset class in investment portfolios”. Authored by Zain Bekker and Lisa Langeveldt (Roux) (UP)
- 2017 – The paper entitled: “Calibrating the Merton Jump Diffusion Stochastic Process using Artificial Neural Networks”. Authored by Rayno Willem Mostert (SUN)
- 2016 – The paper entitled: “A strategy-based investigation into South African interest-bearing variable-term unit trust performances for the period 30 November 2001 to 31 March 2016”. Authored by Ashton Millar and Mr Jaryd Nesbitt (Wits)
- 2015 – The paper entitled: “Modelling the effect of IPV and IPV prevention on HIV incidence”. Authored by Simon Rigby (UCT)
- 2014 – The paper entitled: “Improving portfolio allocation through covariance matrix filtering: An empirical study of the South African equity market”. Authored by D Golden (UCT)
- 2013 – The paper entitled: “On reducing the number of parameters in a hidden Markov model”. Authored by Thomas Rooney (UCT)
- 2012 – The paper entitled: “Site-specific Spring wheat yield modelling in the Overberg area”. Authored by Muller, TM (SUN)
- 2011 – The paper entitled: “Dealing in Junk: Money Makers or Money Takers?”. Authored by W Lewis and Fuxun Xia (UP)
- 2010 – The paper entitled: “Quantifying and Managing the Operational Risk Component of Solvency II using Bayesian Networks”. Authored by J du Plessis (UCT)
- 2009 – The paper entitled: “An application of extreme value theory to the South African stock market”. Authored by M Henderson (UCT)
- 2008 – The paper entitled: “Investigating the use of genetically optimised neural networks to price European call options”. Authored by D Hendricks (UCT)
- 2007 – The paper entitled: “A comparison between the LIBOR market model and the LIBOR Markov functional model”. Authored by Y-H Ou (UCT)
- 2006 – Two papers awarded
- The paper entitled: “The pricing of Asian options”. Authored by A Addae (UCT)
- The paper entitled: “Current issues in the South African retirement-fund industry”. Authored by S Diskin (Wits)
- 2005 – Two papers awarded
- The paper entitled: “An interrelationship between the funding level and the investment strategy of a defined-benefit pension fund”. Authored by Kerry-Ann Sinton (Wits)
- The paper entitled: “The pricing of liabilities in an incomplete market: a practical application”. Authored by S Kransdorff (Wits)
- 2004 – The paper entitled: “An analysis of some of the factors affecting African migration out of the former Transkei”. Authored by Nalen Naidoo (UCT)
- 2003 – The paper entitled: “Modelling the future burden of asbestos-related disease in South Africa: A learning tool for the actuarial researcher”. Authored by Junaid Seria (UCT)
- 2002 – The paper entitled: “Modelling the impact of HIV on tuberculosis”. Authored by Nimisha Bhagwan (UCT)
- 2001 – The paper entitled: “The impact of HIV/AIDS on South African equities: A qualitative sectoral analysis”. Authored by Bradley Shearer (UCT)
- 2000 – Two papers awarded
- The paper entitled: “AIDS: modelling the impact of the epidemic in sub-populations”. Authored by Leigh Johnson (UCT)
- The paper entitled: “Keeping promises: A contingent claims approach to meeting equity-linked product guarantees”. Authored by Brendan Horwitz (Wits)
Oral Presentation
- 2023 – The paper entitled: “Technical experts as managers and servant leaders”. Authored by Twane Wessels
- 2022 – The paper entitled: “New Risk on the Block – Climate Risk and Sustainability: A Crash Course for Actuaries”. Authored by Pamela Hellig
- 2021 – The paper entitled: “Considering a Basic Income Grant for SA: It all depends on perspective”. Authored by Natalie van Zyl
Research Essay Competition
ASSA is launching an inaugural essay competition to encourage thought leadership, professional dialogue, and knowledge sharing within the actuarial community. The ASSA essay competitions provide members with an opportunity to contribute ideas, insights, and perspectives on emerging issues affecting the actuarial profession, financial services, and the broader public interest.
Who May Participate
The competition is open to all ASSA members, including Fellows, Associates, and student members. Selected essays will be recognised and published by ASSA, helping to stimulate discussion and showcase the diverse perspectives within the South African actuarial community.
Topics, Guidelines and Rules for Essays
ASSA will publish the selected topics for the competition well in time together with the rules and guidelines for the relevant cycle of the competition.
Judging and Prizes
Submissions will be reviewed by a judging panel appointed by the ASSA Research Committee.
Essays will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Relevance and insight: The extent to which the essay addresses the theme and provides meaningful perspectives.
- Originality and creativity: The degree to which the essay presents novel ideas or innovative thinking.
- Analytical rigour: The quality and strength of reasoning (qualitatively or quantitatively) supporting the argument.
- Clarity and communication: How clearly and effectively the ideas are presented.
- Impact: The potential of the ideas to stimulate discussion or influence actuarial thinking or practice.
Monitory prizes will be announced with each cycle of the competition.
Winning essays will also be:
- Recognised by the Actuarial Society of South Africa
- Published in an ASSA platforms
- Shared with the ASSA membership and broader professional community
Participate in Research
To show your interest in participating in Actuarial research or provide a research topic for the committee to consider, complete the form below:
Call for research
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