Information Session on theActuarial Science Major (ACS)

HostsProfessor Tse Yiu Kuen, FSAEducation Professor Kwong Koon Shing, ASA, CERA

SOE, SR 2.411 January 2013, 3:30 – 4:30 pm

Agenda

• Where do actuaries work?• What do actuaries do?• The Society of Actuaries (SOA) professional qualifications• The ACS major and the Actuarial Analyst (AA) track• Where do risk analysts work?• What do risk analysts do?• The ACS major Risk Analyst (RA) track• Q&A• Refreshment

Where do actuaries work?

• In the insurance industry– Life (Great Eastern Life, Manulife, etc)– Nonlife (health, casualty, property and liability) – Reinsurance (Munich Re, Swiss Re, etc)

• In the finance and consulting industry– Consulting firms (Towers Watson, etc)– Accounting firms (PriceWaterhousecoopers, etc)– Hedge fund and pension fund management

• In government insurance department• In universities

What do actuaries do?

• In an insurance company– Product development– Pricing– Valuation and regulatory reporting

• In a consulting firm– Advise clients, design pension plans and compensation

• In a government insurance department– Review laws and regulations– Surveillance

• In a financial institution– Investment, portfolio management

• In general management

• Professional actuarial bodies– Society of Actuaries SOA (North America: US and

Canada)– Institute and Faculty of Actuaries IFA (UK)– Institute of Actuaries of Australia IAA (Australia)– Singapore Actuarial Society SAS (Singapore)

SOA professional qualifications

• Associate of Society of Actuaries (ASA)• Fellow of Society of Actuaries (FSA)• Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst (CERA)

SOA exam requirements

• Validation of Education Experience (VEE): Economics, Corporate Finance, Applied Statistics

• Preliminary Examinations: P (Probability), FM (Financial Mathematics), MFE (Models, Financial Economics), MLC (Models, Life Contingency), C (Construction of Models)

• eLearning courses, professionalism course• Other exams and modules

ACS at SMU

• Two tracks– Actuarial analyst (AA) track– Risk analyst (RA) track

• If you want to become a professional actuary (ASA, FSA), choose AA track

• If you want to be in risk management and be a professional risk manager/analyst (CERA), choose RA track

• If you just want to learn some statistics, economics and finance relevant for working in any financial institution, choose either.

Compulsory courses for AA track (applicable for students admitted before AY 2012-2013)

1. STAT 101 Introductory Statistics or STAT 151 Introduction to Statistical Theory2. STAT 201 Probability Theory and Applications3. STAT 203 Financial Mathematics4. STAT 310 Life Contingent Risks5. STAT 311 Risk Theory and Loss Models6. ECON 101 Intermediate Microeconomics B7. ECON 102 Intermediate Macroeconomics B8. ECON 107 Applied Econometrics9. ECON 205 Intermediate Mathematics for Economics*

10. ECON 207 Intermediate Econometrics11. ACT 101/103 Financial Accounting12. FNCE 101 Finance13. FNCE 102 Financial Instruments, Institutions and Markets or FNCE 201 Corporate

Finance 14. FNCE 305 Analysis of Derivative Securities or QF 301 Structured Finance* not required for students admitted AY2012 – 2013 or after, replaced by STAT 314 Statistical Methods for Actuarial Analysis