As future actuaries, have you ever wondered what it would be like to solve a real life actuarial problem for a firm?

Students are required to compete in teams of 2 to 4 and will be required to investigate the following contemporary actuarial issue:

Life annuities, in their simplest form, represent a guarantee to make a fixed payment to the annuitant until his/her point of death. Even though the idea of life annuities can be traced back to the Roman Empire, its current share in the Australian retirement market is less than 1%. Investigate into why guarantee based products are not preferred by the market as opposed to investment based products and suggest up to 2 new policies, services and/or products that would help increase its market share.

Case Study Structure

Heats: Teams are required to submit their response as a report accompanied by their PowerPoint slides for a 10 minute presentation as well as a one-page executive summary.
Semi-Final: The top teams are to present their cases on campus.
Grand Final: The finalists are to present their cases to Deloitte judges at the Deloitte Head Office

Our annual Problem Solving Challenge, sponsored by Quantium, involves teams of two to four people working together to solve a practical problem that you may often face in the workplace. Teams will be given a set of data, which they will need to analyse in order to answer a set of questions. Five teams will be chosen from the initial submissions as finalists, who will then present their answers in person to our guest judges from Quantium in a professional environment.

Everyone is encouraged to enter this competition, and the question can be answered by students of all year and skill level, including first years. The judges will take into account the year level of the team and evaluate their answers accordingly, so no one is at a disadvantageif they haven’t done a certain course! The Challenge will open in late Semester 1 and the Finals will be held in early Semester 2.

The Quantium Problem Solving Challenge is an excellent opportunity to learn about the consulting industry and what it is like to solve real world problems. You will get the chance to meet and network with practicing actuaries from Quantium and learn more about their role. It is also a chance to challenge yourself, put what you have learnt into application and at the same time develop your communication and presentation skills, both of which will be extremely useful further down your career path. Lastly, there are great cash prizes for the Winner and Runner-up!!!

Good luck!

As anyone who has tried would know, generic careers fairs rarely have actuarial presence and it can be hard to find someone who can answer your questions. This is because except for a few actuarial specific firms, actuaries tend to form a small part of many companies.

The annual ASOC Actuarial Careers Fair, a new addition in 2013, seeks to address this problem by gathering all the major employers of actuarial graduate students in Sydney under one roof, with a specific focus on their actuarial roles. Last year it was attended by actuaries and HR representatives from nine firms that together make up the majority of the employers in the actuarial industry.

This is an excellent opportunity for members of all year levels to meet face to face and network with professionals in the industry, as well as to find tips and tricks regarding applications from HR specialists. If you are thinking of applying to the internship or graduate program of a particular company, then this is your chance to make an impression on their representatives that will go a long way in your application. Even if you are not, you can still find out some valuable information regarding career prospects for actuarial students.

The firms that have attended the Actuarial Careers Fair in 2013 are:

• EY
• Finity
• Deloitte
• PricewaterhouseCoopers
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia
• Allianz
• Zurich
• Optiver

What are Part I, II and IIIs?
What are exemptions?
How do I become a fully qualified actuary?
Where can actuaries work once they graduate?

Confused about the answer or maybe even completely clueless? You’re not alone. Many first year actuarial students enter the course knowing little about their future academic and career path. The actuarial profession is represented in Australia by the Actuaries Institute who will be conducting a seminar aimed at first year students.

Representatives from the Institute will go through in detail everything a first year would need to know, including the questions above. These are essential knowledge that every hopeful actuary will need to know. Get ahead of the game and find out the answers to your questions as you step into your degree.

First years are highly recommended to attend, along with any other students who have missed out before or would like to ask further questions.