Congratulations to those of you who start the new year as a newly minted CAS Fellows and Associates and Certified Specialists in Predictive Analytics. What a great way to bring in a new year!
Speaking of new members, be sure to read past CAS President Bob Conger’s Random Sampler. His excepted “Address to New Members” is sage advice for both new and seasoned CAS members.
On another note, who would’ve ever thought a marijuana leaf would ever grace the cover of Actuarial Review? Now that elections are over, more states have either legalized or expanded the use of marijuana within their borders. Our cover story focuses on the challenges for actuaries and their employers. Emerging risks are not new for us actuaries, but we won’t have any elder statesmen and stateswomen to talk to about the last time something like this happened. (Prohibition came to an end in 1933 — and no, I wasn’t around then.)
In Explorations, Stephen Mildenhall advocates that actuaries learn programming, not only to enhance their careers but to hone their problem-solving skills. And while many CAS members have been branching out into nontraditional roles, we are still concerned about non-actuaries encroaching on our turf. Jim Christie’s President’s Message addresses this topic. Lucian McMahon, our newest AR contributor, also covers this subject and others from the CAS Annual Meeting in Professional Insight.
On behalf of Actuarial Review staff and volunteers, I wish you all the best for a wonderful new year! Please enjoy this issue!
