Post on 16-Dec-2015
Rutgers UniversityDo You Want to be an Actuary?February 13, 2008
Jim Blair – Prudential
John Glauber – PricewaterhouseCoopers
Steve Rosen – Stephen H Rosen & Associates
Amy Stern – PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
Andrew Weeks – Hewitt Associates
Joe McDonald – Hewitt Associates
Agenda/Contents
Today’s panelistsWhat actuaries doA typical day at workSalary and benefitsStandards for working as an actuarial professionalHow you can prepare while in schoolFinding your first job
Section one
Today’s panelistsWhat actuaries doA typical day at workSalary and benefitsStandards for working as an actuarial professionalHow you can prepare while in schoolFinding your first job
Slide 4Do You Want to be an Actuary? February 13, 2008
Jim Blair – Prudential
John Glauber – PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
John has about 2 years of actuarial experience, all at PwC. He works in P&C, doing consulting and audit work.
Steve Rosen – Stephen H Rosen & Associates
Amy Stern – PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)Amy has about 3 years of actuarial experience, all at PwC. She does Life Insurance consulting and audit work.
Joe McDonald – Hewitt AssociatesJoe is a business leader in the Retirement & Financial Management Practice. He consults on design and financing of corporate retirement programs.
Andrew Weeks – Hewitt AssociatesAndrew is a recent graduate of Rutgers University and has been working at Hewitt for about a year.
Today’s panelists
Section two
Today’s panelistsWhat actuaries doA typical day at workSalary and benefitsStandards for working as an actuarial professionalHow you can prepare while in schoolFinding your first job
February 13, 2008
Risk Assessment
Actuaries are business professionals who assess risk associated with:• Life Insurance and Annuities;• Property & Casualty (P&C)
Insurance;• Health Insurance;• Investments;• Retirement Benefits; and• Other Employee Benefit Plans.
What actuaries do
February 13, 2008
Business Problem-Solver
Actuaries apply specialized knowledge to real-life business problems using:• Mathematics;• Probability and Statistics;• Finance and Financial Modeling;• Economics; and• Accounting.
What actuaries do
Slide 8Do You Want to be an Actuary? February 13, 2008
Jim Blair – Prudential
What actuaries do
Slide 9Do You Want to be an Actuary? February 13, 2008
John Glauber (PwC) – Property & Casualty Insurance Auditing and Consulting
Day to day Audit work / Consulting work:• Insurance company policy/loss reserve reviews;• Self-insured company loss reserve reviews;• Statements of Actuarial Opinion;• Sarbanes-Oxley actuarial support;• Merger and acquisition due diligence;• International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) consultation.• Reviews of catastrophe, asbestos, medical malpractice, and terrorism claims;
Other tasks performed in the group:• Insurance operational and management reviews;• Expert testimony/litigation support;• Regulatory compliance services;• Alternative risk transfer mechanisms;• Federal insurance programs; and• Dynamic financial analysis.
Practice Development: • Reviews of catastrophe, asbestos, loss governance, marketing, benchmarks
What actuaries do
Slide 10Do You Want to be an Actuary? February 13, 2008
Steve Rosen – Stephen H Rosen & Associates
www.shrosen.com
Past President of the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)
Founder of the ASPPA Benefits Council of the Delaware Valley
Instructor & Author for Continuing Education for CPA’s, Lawyers, Investment Advisors & Financial Planners
President, Stephen H. Rosen & Associates, a subsidiary of National Investment Managers
Manage an office of 30 Employees
Consult to Businesses on the design & implementation of all forms of Retirement Plans
Administer & monitor IRS/DOL compliance for 1000 Retirement Plans
Expert Witness Testimony on Pension Related Matters
What actuaries do
Slide 11Do You Want to be an Actuary? February 13, 2008
Amy Stern (PwC) - Life Insurance Auditing and Consulting
• Audit work: Protect investors and customers by assuring that company is presenting an accurate report of their finances and solvency- Understand high-level picture of many clients’ businesses- Perform detailed analysis for high-risk or volatile areas
• Consulting work: Client hires us to help with a need, e.g.- valuing business during a merger or acquisition; - enterprise risk management; or - hedging insurance risk.
• Work includes understanding diverse products and methodologies for analyzing them, including modeling and high-level analysis, as well as interacting with clients and balancing work on multiple projects.
http://www.pwc.com/extweb/service.nsf/docid/d16b5a95e086dc7685256b58006d99af for information on our projects
www.pwc.com/lookhere for career information
What actuaries do
Slide 12Do You Want to be an Actuary? February 13, 2008
Joe McDonald & Andrew Weeks – Hewitt Associates
•Analyze the benefit costs and obligations associated with corporate retirement programs.
•Monitor trends in mortality, termination, and retirement to analyze their impact on retirement plans’ liabilities.
•Help employers manage financial risk in their retirement benefits programs.
•Develop investment strategies for managing retirement program assets.
•Help employers comply with the latest federal regulations regarding retirement and post-retirement benefit programs.
What actuaries do
Section three
Today’s panelistsWhat actuaries doA typical day at workSalary and benefitsStandards for working as an actuarial professionalHow you can prepare while in schoolFinding your first job
February 13, 2008
A typical actuarial job will involve most or all of the following:
• Continue to develop and apply- Actuarial concepts,- Industry knowledge,- Business expertise,- Computer proficiency, and- Communication skills;
• Work with talented people in underwriting, finance, reinsurance, marketing, etc.;
• Be an integral member of project teams;
• Develop strong long-term relationships within a company;
• Gain exposure to clients; and• Have opportunity to travel.
A typical day at work
Slide 15Do You Want to be an Actuary? February 13, 2008
Jim Blair – Prudential
John Glauber – PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
John has about 2 years of actuarial experience, all at PwC. He works in P&C, doing consulting and audit work.
Steve Rosen – Stephen H Rosen & Associates
Amy Stern – PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)Amy has about 3 years of actuarial experience, all at PwC. She does Life Insurance consulting and audit work.
Joe McDonald – Hewitt AssociatesJoe is a business leader in the Retirement & Financial Management Practice. He consults on design and financing of corporate retirement programs.
Andrew Weeks – Hewitt AssociatesAndrew is a recent graduate of Rutgers University and has been working at Hewitt for about a year.
A typical day at work – for each of us:
Section four
Today’s panelistsWhat actuaries doA typical day at workSalary and benefitsStandards for working as an actuarial professionalHow you can prepare while in schoolFinding your first job
Slide 17Do You Want to be an Actuary? February 13, 2008
•For an entry level actuarial student with no prior experience and 1-2 exams, typical beginning salary ranges from $44K to $63K.*
•How fast the salary moves up depends on job performance and the rate at which you pass exams. There is usually an additional raise/bonus when becoming an associate or a fellow.
For salary information compiled by D.W. Simpson, see http://www.actuaryjobs.com/salary.htm
* Salary estimate taken from D. W. Simpson link above
Salary and benefits
Section five
Today’s panelistsWhat actuaries doA typical day at workSalary and benefitsStandards for working as an actuarial professionalHow you can prepare while in schoolFinding your first job
Slide 19Do You Want to be an Actuary? February 13, 2008
Professional Actuarial Organizations in the United States
American Academy of Actuaries (AAA)
http://www.actuary.org/
Public policy for all Actuaries; enforcing standards
Society of Actuaries (SOA)
http://www.soa.org/
Credentialing process and education for Life, Health, Pension, Employee Benefits
Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS)
http://www.casact.org/
Credentialing process and education for Property Casualty (P&C), Medical Malpractice
American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)
http://www.asppa.org/
Advocacy, credentialing process and education for Pension Actuaries
Standards for working as an actuarial professional
Slide 20Do You Want to be an Actuary? February 13, 2008
Actuarial Exams
•Membership in the Society of Actuaries (SOA) or Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) is an important step towards career success.
•There are two levels of membership, Associateship and Fellowship.
•Both are achieved by passing rigorous exams, which test concepts including statistics, economics, insurance concepts and regulations, and financial modeling.
•For details:
http://www.soa.org/education/course-catalog/edu-catalog-detail.aspx
http://www.casact.org/admissions/
http://www.asppa.org/education/ed_online.htm
Standards for working as an actuarial professional
Slide 21Do You Want to be an Actuary? February 13, 2008
Actuarial Exams, continued
• Most employers pay all costs associated with exams, such as exam fees, books and study manuals, and review seminars.
• Study time is also generally provided – but expect to spend a lot of additional personal time as well.
• Programs vary between employers – make sure you know what is available when considering a job.
• Link to a very good study program
http://www.newyorklife.com/cda/0,3254,8828,00.html#one
Standards for working as an actuarial professional
Slide 22Do You Want to be an Actuary? February 13, 2008
Code of Conduct
The American Academy of Actuaries provides binding guidance as to the professional standards an Actuary must follow. The full code is available at http://www.actuary.org/code.asp. An excerpt:
Professional Integrity
PRECEPT 1. An Actuary shall act honestly, with integrity and competence, and in a manner to fulfill the profession’s responsibility to the public and to uphold the reputation of the actuarial profession.
…
Control of Work Product
PRECEPT 8. An Actuary who performs Actuarial Services shall take reasonable steps to ensure that such services are not used to mislead other parties.
…
Practicing Actuaries are responsible for upholding the Code of Conduct and can lose their credentials for violations.
Standards for working as an actuarial professional
Section six
Today’s panelistsWhat actuaries doA typical day at workSalary and benefitsStandards for working as an actuarial professionalHow you can prepare while in schoolFinding your first job
February 13, 2008
Degree Expectations
• Bachelors degree• Strong academic background in:
- Actuarial science;- Applied statistics;- Mathematics;- Finance; or- Related quantitative
disciplines.
(There are exceptions but it puts you at a disadvantage.)
How you can prepare while in school
Slide 25Do You Want to be an Actuary? February 13, 2008
Actuarial Exams – Progress you should make while in college
• Pass at least 1, preferably 2 or 3, actuarial exams.• Take courses which satisfy the Validation by Educational Experience
(VEE) requirements:- Economics
• Microeconomics• Macroeconomics
- Corporate Finance- Statistics
• Regression Analysis• Time Series
• See http://www.soa.org/education/education-redesign/edu-validation-by-educational-experience.aspx for a list of approved courses
How you can prepare while in school
February 13, 2008
Other Skills and Attributes to Develop
• Internship experience
• Strong verbal and written communication skills;
• Proficiency in standard business computer applications; and
• A commitment to achieving Fellowship with the CAS or SOA.
• Related work or volunteer experience is an asset.
How you can prepare while in school
Section seven
Today’s panelistsWhat actuaries doA typical day at workSalary and benefitsStandards for working as an actuarial professionalHow you can prepare while in schoolFinding your first job
Slide 28Do You Want to be an Actuary? February 13, 2008
Some tips for finding companies to apply to
• Attend actuarial career fairs- Rutgers: typically in October- ASNY: January, in NYC (see
http://www.goasny.org/members/homePage.aspx)• List of some actuarial employers
http://atp.soa.org/actuarial_training_program.php• Look in the SOA membership directory for names of actuaries
in your area (find it on the SOA homepage www.soa.org)
Finding your first job
Slide 29Do You Want to be an Actuary? February 13, 2008
Sources of information
• A discussion forum sponsored by D.W.Simpson, with a very wide range of contributors
http://www.actuarialoutpost.com/actuarial_discussion_forum/ - Careers and Employment subsection
• General information http://www.beanactuary.org
Finding your first job
Any Questions?
Slide 31Do You Want to be an Actuary? February 13, 2008
Summary of Useful Links
General information http://www.beanactuary.orghttp://www.actuarialoutpost.com/actuarial_discussion_forum/
Actuarial Professional Organizations: American Academy of Actuaries (AAA) http://www.actuary.org/
Society of Actuaries (SOA) http://www.soa.org/
Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) http://www.casact.org/
Pensions http://www.asppa.org/
List of some actuarial employers: http:/tp.soa.org/actuarial_training_program.php
Actuarial Exams: http://www.soa.org/education/course-catalog/edu-catalog-detail.aspx
http://www.casact.org/admissions/
http://www.asppa.org/
For salary information compiled by D.W. Simpson,
http:// www.actuaryjobs.com/salary.htm