Election Messages
Mark Shemtob, FSA 2016, MAAA 1982, EA 1984, MSPA 1987, FCA 2017
Retired F/T, actuarial consulting and financial planning P/T
MS Advisory LLC and Mark Shemtob Financial Planner LLC
Denville, NJ
Questionnaire | Candidate Page | Video Message
Message One
I am honored to have been endorsed as a candidate for the Society Board of Directors. This has been a goal of mine since my retirement from full time work. Our profession has been good to me; allowing a comfortable lifestyle, intellectual challenge, and the opportunity to engage in committee work with actuarial colleagues. Over the years the SOA Board has done an excellent job keeping our profession vibrant by adapting to change, however this is an ongoing challenge. The Board has the responsibility to ensure our profession continues to be the leader in risk management. As a business owner, an actuary and financial planner, I have consistently focused not only on present challenges but on potential future risks and opportunities. If elected to the Board I will continue to use these forward thinking skills for the benefit of our profession and its members.
The SOA election website includes information about me. and the other candidates. I have not campaigned for an elected position since 6th grade when I became the class treasurer; a position I am certain many of you also held. So, I am a little rusty with my campaigning skills. I hope you will take the time and look at the questionnaire and watch my video and decide to support my candidacy. And if so, I certainly would not object to you expressing support for me with your SOA colleagues.
Message Two
A responsibility of the SOA Board of Directors is to ensure that in the future, professional opportunities are available to our members. If elected I will be working to advance this goal for our membership in all areas of practice. Pension actuaries in particular have seen opportunities in our profession decrease, especially in the private sector. Over the last decade, I have focused on changes, if implemented, that would enhance opportunities for actuaries in the retirement space. My efforts have been thru both individual and committee work. I have been engaged in speaking, consulting, and writing about the changing retirement landscape. These efforts include potential DB plan design changes, a transitioning of DC plans to provide retirement income through both annuities and noninsured solutions, and services to individuals that could benefit from actuarial risk management expertise.
On a different note, our profession faces some more recent challenges. These include issues of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG). These complex issues are evolving and may not always be in the quantitative wheelhouse of our profession. Nevertheless, to maintain our leadership role in risk management, our profession must address these important issues. I have been engaged within our profession in both of these areas; using my expertise in the retirement space as well as collaborating in groups comprised of actuaries from alternate practice areas. Different areas of actuarial science may have alternative approaches to tackling these challenges; some requiring immediate actions and others requiring more long term analysis and action. DEI and ESG challenges are areas that the SOA Board must be engaged in, as we work on charting our future strategic plans.
I hope you will visit my campaign pages to learn more about me. In addition, I hope you will consider my commitment in seeking new ways to expand opportunities within our profession as well as my engagement in DEI and ESG issues. Should you decide to support my candidacy as a Board Director, I certainly would not object to you expressing support for me with your SOA colleagues. Feel free to contact me at mshemtob@abarllc.com