First Actuarial present to a group of students from Warwick University on why you might want a career as an actuary

1. A career as an actuary?
Henry Tapper and Nicole Dobson
23 November 2016

2. A bit about us
Nicole Dobson
Studied MORSE at Warwick
Joined First Actuarial as Graduate in 2012
Qualified as an Actuary in 2016
Henry Tapper
Then…
Read English at Cambridge
Worked on a trawler
Sold insurance
Head of Sales at Zurich
Now…
Director of First Actuarial
Founder of www.pensionplaypen.com
Blogs at www.henrytapper.com
@henryhtapper

3. Owned by
9 founders
5 offices
throughout the UK
Our clients:
• Trustees of Pension
Schemes
• UK Employers
Established in
2004
Currently recruiting
for graduates and
summer internships
Pensions
Consultancy

4. Should I think about
being an Actuary?

5. Actuaries analyse past and present data to solve real business
problems.
A lot of actuaries’ work is about risk management: assessing how
likely an event might be and the costs associated with it.
Actuaries predict and measure emerging risks and then help to
reduce them, putting financial safeguards in place.
What is an Actuary?

6. The Fellowship
Examination subjects:
• 9 Core Technical (CT)
• 3 Core Application (CA)
• 2 Specialist Technical
• 1 Specialist Application
Additionally:
• 3 years work-based skills
• Professionalism requirement –
courses/online test
• Practice modules
Includes practical subjects:
• Business awareness (CT9)
• Model documentation,
analysis and reporting (CA2)
• Communications (CA3)

7. What do our Actuaries do?
• Valuation of Defined Benefit (DB) Pension Schemes
Final Salary Pension Scheme:
Pension payable = Accrual rate x Final Salary x Service
1
60
40 years= £30,000 xx
= £20,000 pa
Value = present cost of all these future payments

8. What do our Actuaries do?
• Pension Cost Accounting
• Investment Consultancy
• Defined Contribution (DC) Schemes
• Financial Education
• Liability Reduction Exercises
• Valuation of Defined Benefit (DB) Pension Schemes

9. How do we value DB Pension Schemes?
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
£'s
Years
…
Deficit
Liabilities
Assets
(1+i1) (1+i2) (1+i3)
(1+r)-12
(1+r)-11
(1+r)-10

10. What assumptions did we make?
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
£'s
Years
…
Deficit
Liabilities
Assets
Future Pension
Increases
Salary
Increases
Investment
Returns
Retirement
Age
Mortality
Spouse’s
Pension

11. Why become an Actuary?
Reward
Variety
Influence
Intellectual
satisfaction
Network
Support
International
opportunities
High
standards

12. What do employers want?
• Academics
◦ Maths A Level (or equivalent) at grade B or higher
◦ A good degree (2:1 or above) in a numerate subject
• Work experience/internships
• Good communication skills
• IT skills
• An interest in business/relevant industry knowledge
• Commitment to the exams and your career
• Enthusiasm

13. Basingstoke
Tonbridge
Peterborough
Leeds
Manchester
Choosing an employer
: Relaxed and friendly atmosphere
• Location
: Offices in Basingstoke, Leeds, Manchester,
Peterborough and Tonbridge.
• Size of the company
• Ethos
: Young and growing
• Study support package

14. How can I apply to First Actuarial?
For more information, and to apply, go to:
http://www.firstactuarial.co.uk/Careers/GraduateVacancies
Deadline for applications:
• Graduates – 30 November 2016
• Summer Students – 16 December 2016

15. Any Questions?

16. Where can I find out more?
• Visit: www.actuaries.org.uk/becoming-actuary
• E-mail: careers@actuaries.org.uk
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/actuarial
• IFoA brochures
• Speak to a careers advisor

17. Do actuaries do any good?

18. What are actuaries good for?

19. Arguing with Data not from prejudice.

20. “populism” isn’t noisy – best
understood using data

21. Engaging through new media

22. Educating through models

23. Helping Tomorrow’s Investor
Estimates vary, but it is our belief that for no additional cost, pension outcomes could be
improved by 50% or more, compared to a typical DC pension which might be offered today”
“RSA- Tomorrow’s investor 2011

24. Pensions and healthcare – exploring the bigger picture
Healthy, 32%
Circulatory
diseases, 10%
Other circulatory
diseases&
diabetes, 21%
Co-morbid
diseases, 6%
Neurological
diseases;
MRSA; Arthritis,
15%
Cancer (incld.
Benign
neoplasm), 7%
Respiratory
diseases, 4% Other,
5%
For men aged 60-69, only 32% did not have one of the major conditions
examined (England, 2007)*
Care funding in later life (average £750pw nursing home)**
*Preliminary analysis performed by Legal & General using data from the General Practice Research Database. Data includes >1.5m patients
registered with a general practice surgery in England (2007). Diseases examined include stroke, IHD, lung, colo-rectal and/or prostate cancer,
Alzheimer’s disease etc. **Laing & Buisson care of elderly people market survey

25. Educating the new employers on what makes for good

26. Quotes from providers
• As well as viewing these quotes online
you can download them along with
factsheets on each provider as a PDF.

27. Quiz

28. Any final questions?