Leadership

Jay Vadiveloo Portrait

Jay Vadiveloo, PhD, FSA, MAAA, CFA, is a Professor at the University of Connecticut and Director of the recently endowed Janet & Mark L Goldenson Center for Actuarial Research at the University of Connecticut.  Jay has a doctorate in statistics from the University of California, Berkeley, is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and a Chartered Financial Analyst. Jay has over 25 years of experience with the life insurance industry which includes senior level appointments at Connecticut Mutual, Mass Mutual, Aetna Financial Services, ING,  Deloitte Consulting and Towers Watson.

As Professor and Director of the UConn Goldenson Center, Jay works on applied actuarial research projects using teams of academicians, students and industry professionals. Jay’s research work has also enabled him to supervise several PhD students in a variety of topics including integrated retirement financial planning, measuring and analyzing the volatility risk for individual disability income (DI), and analysis of efficient financial modelling techniques. The Enterprise Risk Management for Small Businesses (ERMSB) initiative is one example of the research projects undertaken by the Goldenson Center.

Jay has published several articles in the actuarial literature and is a frequent speaker at actuarial conferences and seminars. One of Jay’s important contributions to the financial services industry is the invention of a patented new algorithm (Replicated Stratified Sampling or RSS) for risk modelling which exponentially reduces processing time at a pre-determined accuracy level for any complex actuarial modelling. More recently, Dr. Vadiveloo has obtained a provisional patent on a claims tracking and monitoring process which allows a company to easily detect significant deviations in claims experience and recognize whether it is only a one-time occurrence or shows a historical trend as well. Dr. Vadiveloo is also editor and co-author of a new text by the Society of Actuaries on Enterprise Risk Management for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises.

ERM Initiative

Selected Publications

  • “Some results on Optimum Premium Payment Plans” – Scandinavian Actuarial Journal, 1982
  • “On the Theory of Modified Randomization Tests for Nonparametric Hypotheses” – Communications in Statistics, 1983
  • “Multivariate Analysis of Pension Plan Mortality Data” – Contingencies 2001
  • “Stochastic DAC unlocking for Variable Annuity Products” – Financial Reporter, 2001
  • “Pricing for the volatility risk of traditional actuarial liabilities” – Financial Reporter, 2003
  • “Actuarial Analysis of Different Interpretations of SOP 03-1” – Financial Reporter, 2005
  • “Micro Risk Management – Identifying Small Business Risk” – Contingencies, 2012

Education and Professional Development

  • Econ. Hon., University of Malaya
  • MS, Ph.D. (Statistics), University of California, Berkeley
  • Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA)
  • Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA)
  • Certified Financial Analyst (CFA)
  • Towers Watson  Professor & Director, Janet & Mark L. Goldenson Center for Actuarial Research, University of Connecticut, 2008 to present
  • Deloitte Professor & Director, UConn Actuarial Center, University of Connecticut, 2001 to 2008
  • Adjunct Professor of Actuarial Science, University of Connecticut, 1990 to 2001
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics and College of Business, University of Oklahoma, 1980-1983
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, Syracuse University, 1977-1980

Research Supervision

Major thesis advisor for  several Ph.D. students in Actuarial Science at the University of Connecticut. A sample of Ph.D. research topics include the following:

  • Model to develop a Provision for Adverse Deviation (PAD) for the mortality risk of impaired lives.
  • Stochastic modelling of post retirement financial planning.
  • Stochastic modelling of long term care insurance
  • Measuring and analyzing volatility risk in disability income
  • Efficient modelling algorithms for deferred annuity lines of business
  • Replicated Stratified Sampling – theoretical properties and applications
  • Claim Cost Management for Property & Casualty lines of business

 

 

Jiatian (Justin) Xu, PhD, ASA, CAA is the Assistant Director of the Janet & Mark L Goldenson Center for Actuarial Research at the University of Connecticut. Jiatian (Justin) has a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Connecticut, is an Associate of Society of Actuaries (SOA) and a member of China Association of Actuaries. Jiatian (Justin) has 3 years of industry experience as an actuary and 6 years of academic experience with actuarial teaching and research.

Education and Professional Development

  • BA (Economics), Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE), Chengdu, China
  • MS, Ph.D. (Mathematics), University of Connecticut
  • Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA)
  • Member of China Association of Actuaries (CAA)
  • Visiting Assistant Professor & Assistant Director, Goldenson Center for Actuarial Research, University of Connecticut, 2018 to present
  • Assistant Actuary & Financial Analyst, Sunshine Insurance Group Company Limited, Beijing, China, 2009 – 2012

Completed Research and Industry Projects:

  • Dynamic retirement financial planning model with an AI (Kalman Filter) application
  • Credibility adjusted predictive model for a major consulting company
  • AUW (accelerated underwriting) model with HLE (healthy life expectancy) application for a major insurance company
  • Standalone HLE calculator: https://apps.goldensoncenter.uconn.edu/HLEC/
  • EIA (Equity-Indexed Annuities) reserving model for a major insurance company
  • Tracking and monitoring model for experience analysis on mortality, morbidity, and lapse rate for major insurance companies
  • Mortality prediction model for a major insurance company
  • Connecticut special education cost budgeting model sponsored by a non-profit organization
  • Retirement asset management model for a major insurance company
  • Dynamic optimal staff allocation model for an insurance call center
  • National Retirement Sustainability Index (NRSI)

Current Research and Industry Projects:

  • Enhanced predictive modeling based on credibility theory and machine learning techniques
  • Pricing and reserving model for second-to-die claims with considering the impact of the first death on mortality
  • An application of AI to predict early duration claims
  • Nearest Certain Minimum Return rate (NCMR)

Papers

  • Ph.D. Thesis: “Quantile Optimization in Stochastic Financial Planning Model”
  • “Application and Improvement of No-Claim Discount System”, CNKI Online Thesis Database