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David Merkel

David Merkel

Life Actuary

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location of David MerkelEllicott City, Maryland, United States

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  • Timeline

  • About me

    President/Principal of Aleph Investments, LLC

  • Education

    • Brookfield Central High School

      1976 - 1979
      High School High School

    • University of California, Davis

      1982 - 1986
      None Applied Economics

      Dissertation Committee fell apart, and could not resurrect it. Passed my Ph.D. orals, but no Ph.D.

    • The Johns Hopkins University

      1979 - 1982
      BA, MA Political Economy

      Activities and Societies: Hopkins Christian Fellowship, Barnstormers

  • Experience

    • American International Group

      Jan 1989 - Jan 1992
      Life Actuary

      Life Actuary - AIG Domestic Life Companies 1989-1992Responsible for Pricing and Valuation of Annuity LOBs. Participated in acquisitions team on The Equitable. Quickly created a projection of future GAAP results for bid purposes. Provided analysis of competition to senior management. Performed miscellaneous investment tasks.

    • Provident Mutual

      Jan 1992 - Jan 1998
      Investment Actuary

      Investment Actuary for Annuity Lines - Provident Mutual Life Insurance Company 1996-1998Summary: Managed the annuity pricing and valuation, and much more

    • Provident Mutual Life Insurance Company

      Jan 1992 - Jan 1998
      Investment Actuary

      Investment Actuary for Pension Lines - Provident Mutual Life Insurance Company 1992-1996Summary: Responsible for pricing, marketing, and managing the GIC business. Aided management of entire pension line of business. Planned strategy, managed cash flow, underwrote new cases, analyzed investment needs, analyzed financial experience of line. Communicated with investment personnel, field, brokers, credit analysts, and traders. Led administration of GICs from sale until maturity. Met goal of selling profitable GICs and secondarily met sales targets. And much more... Show less

    • Dwight Asset Management

      Oct 2001 - Feb 2003
      Portfolio Manager

      Corporate Bond Manager -- also took care of risk control for main client

    • TheStreet.com

      Jan 2003 - Jan 2007
      Contributor

      I wrote a lot of wonderful articles to teach people how to think about investing, most of which are irretrievably lost now due to a computer error at TheStreet.com.

    • Hovde Financial

      Apr 2003 - Jul 2007
      Senior Analyst

      Senior Analyst covering insurance equities. Also managed profit sharing and endowment funds.

    • Aleph Blog

      Jan 2007 - now
      Founder

      I try to write something interesting on an economic, business, or financial topic every day. Some pieces are more advanced, some are geared to beginners. I write my best stuff when I am really passionate about my topic.

    • Seeking Alpha

      Jan 2007 - Jan 2011
      Contributor

    • Finacorp Securities

      Feb 2008 - Jun 2010
      Chief Economist and Director of Research

      Daily market research and updatesProtected the company against unscrupulous purveyors of investments.Tried unsuccessfully to start an asset management business. Had to start it on my own to get the proper motivation.

    • Aleph Investments, LLC

      Sept 2010 - now
      President/Principal

      I have started my own asset management firm, which will start up in January 2011, Lord willing.

    • CFA Institute at Baltimore

      Jan 2011 - Jan 2016
      Secretary

  • Licenses & Certifications

    • Chartered Financial Analyst

      CFA Institute
      Jun 1996