Fourth Year School of Finance and Applied Economics (SFAE) student Rancy Chepchirchir, was privileged to present her fourth year research project paper at a Risk Management Conference held at the University of Liverpool in UK. Her paper was titled “Effectiveness of futures in curbing of spot price volatility as Opposed to Index-based insurance contracts.

With the recent drop in fuel prices which has greatly impacted the oil-producing countries’ economies, Rancy showcased a study on three economies representing different states of development of the economies. They included; developed economies represented by the USA’s NYMEX, emerging economies represented by South Africa’s SAFEX and the less developed economies represented by the Ethiopian’s ECX.

 

Rancy identified spot price volatility as one of the major risks faced both in the energy and agricultural sectors motivating her research project topic, despite the fact that it is not considered one of the major actuarial risks. The study further sampled the agricultural sector as the main segment that reflects slight changes in prices. She identified that the sampled sector tends to be active across different states unlike energy where developed economies tend to react less to a rise in its prices. In the agricultural sector a sample of three commodities were made namely; corn, wheat and coffee.

 

The feedback from the conference was commendable and it was noted that this is a really complex subject.

 

“I want to thank my supervisors; Dr. Olukuru and Dr. Othieno for the great support and lots of corrections concerning the paper. I would also love to appreciate Strathmore University for making it possible for me to travel and get the opportunity to present my research paper at the 3^rd PARTY in Liverpool and making the research materials available for reference and review,” said Rancy.

 

Congratulations on your achievement.