This study examines the practical application of a system for the derivation of member utility functions for the purpose of recommending investment-channel choice to members of a defined-contribution retirement fund. The utility functions of post-retirement benefits from members of a defined-contribution fund are elicited. The risk aversion of each member is measured and the results are compared with a standard risk-tolerance assessment method.

The need for stochastic modelling is on the rise globally in the pension, life insurance and investment industries due to both an increase in regulation and a natural requirement for stochastic analysis in modelling exercises. Research in the area of stochastic models or recently called economic scenario generators for actuarial use in South Africa has largely been limited. The seminal papers in this regard have a number of practical limitations.In this paper, we propose a stochastic investment model for South Africa by modelling price inflation rates, share dividends, long term and short-term interest rates for the period 1960-2018 and inflationlinked bonds for the period 2000-2018. Possible by-directional relations between the economic series have been considered and the model is designed to provide long-term forecasts that should find application in long-term modelling for both pension funds and life insurance companies.

In this paper, we propose a stochastic investment model for actuarial use in South Africa by modelling price inflation rates, share dividends, long-term and short-term interest rates for the period 1960–2018 and inflation-linked bonds for the period 2000–2018. Possible bi-directional relations between the economic series have been considered, the parameters and their confidence intervals have been estimated recursively to examine their stability, and the model validation has been tested. The model is designed to provide long-term forecasts that should find application in long-term modelling for institutions such as pension funds and life insurance companies in South Africa Keywords: Stochastic investment models; price inflation; share dividend yields; share dividends; share prices; long-term interest rates; short-term interest rates; inflation-linked bonds; South Africa