...actuarial stream but courses specific to life insurance and pension schemes are replaced by additional finance and risk management courses. At the most simplistic level, quantitative finance is concerned with shorter time horizons than actuarial science. The nature of the risks being considered is different with a focus on volatility of investment markets. * Actuarial Science The BCom and BBusSc (Actuarial Science) degrees focus on producing qualified actuaries. Most actuaries in South Africa are employed either by insurance companies or as consultants managing company pension schemes, although increasing numbers are now working in investments, short-term and health insurance. Actuaries have an important role in these institutions and are widely respected. Students who graduate within this stream will be particularly well prepared for further study to obtain the prestigious FASSA (Fellow of the Actuarial Society of South Africa), FIA (Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries, UK) or FFA (Fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries, UK) designations. Students who meet the demanding standard can obtain exemptions from some two-thirds of the professional...
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...Being an actuary is interesting. It is not exciting. There's a lot of periodic reporting and long-term projects. You need to have thick skin. For the most part the numbers that you are working with will have to do with one or more of the following: people dying (including children), getting sick, experiencing a disabling injury/illness, being the victims of theft, losing their homes due to fire/hurricane/flood, etc. Many (but certainly not all) actuaries work in the insurance industry. As soon as you enter that industry you will be working for 'the big bad insurance company' no matter how ethical your employer is. Your friends and family will complain to you about any and every insurance situation they encounter. You will have the pleasure of dealing with people who appear to sincerely believe that members of the insurance industry have the ability to grow money on trees and get a sick and twisted pleasure out of keeping that secret from the rest of society, and denying claims for no good reason. People hate insurance companies more than they hate lawyers!!! Do not underestimate the difficulty of exams. People who majored in math routinely fail the first exam multiple times. If you are not a good test taker you are going to struggle mightily with the actuarial exams. The earlier exams are multiple choice (do not make the mistake of thinking that 'multiple choice' = 'easy') and more mathematical/financial in nature. The later exams are very different: written answer exams dealing...
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...when to use the Combined Materials Pack is set out in the Study Guide for the 2009 exams. Important: Copyright Agreement This study material is copyright and is sold for the exclusive use of the purchaser. You may not hire out, lend, give out, sell, store or transmit electronically or photocopy any part of it. You must take care of your material to ensure that it is not used or copied by anybody else. By opening this pack you agree to these conditions. The Actuarial Education Company © IFE: 2009 Examinations All study material produced by ActEd is copyright and is sold for the exclusive use of the purchaser. The copyright is owned by Institute and Faculty Education Limited, a subsidiary of the Faculty and Institute of Actuaries. You may not hire out, lend, give out, sell, store or transmit electronically or photocopy any part of the study material. You must take care of your study material to ensure that it is not used or copied by anybody else. Legal action will be taken if these terms are infringed. In addition, we may seek to take disciplinary action through the profession or through your employer. These conditions remain in force after you have finished using the course. © IFE: 2009 Examinations The Actuarial Education Company CT1: Study Guide Page 1 2009 Study...
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...applicant’s who have at least two or more years of related experience in the insurance field. The applicant should hold either a CPCU, CLU, or ARM certifications. Another asset to the applicant is a four-year degree in either business, insurance, or related fields. Working with computers and technology is a vital part of underwriting. Computer software systems are used to analyze and rate insurance applications, make recommendations based on risk and adjust premium rates according to this risk. -Actuaries are statisticians who use their skills to develop pricing models for various insurance risks. While this position only represents a small percentage of insurance careers, the number of actuaries is expected to grow 24% in the next several years. The qualifications for becoming an actuary should include at least a four year in a math-related subject, two to four years of experience, and it may also be necessary to obtain a license issued by either the Society of Actuaries (SOA) or the...
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...Actuarial Accounting: A Cautionary Report Dan R. Young, Esq. Attorney at Law Law Offices of Dan R. Young Seattle, Washington danryoung@netzero.net Presented the Spring Meeting of the CAS New Orleans, Louisiana May 6, 2009 The Story of the AIG Accounting Scandal The Companies The Participants Regulatory Scrutiny Intensifies The Prosecution Case The Defense Case Relevant Laws and Regulations The Fate of the Participants The Companies AIG Overview (2007) World’s largest insurance and financial services company 93,000 employees Business in 130 countries Led by Maurice (“Hank”) Greenburg Shareholder’s equity 2007: $95.8 billion Net Income 2007: $6.2 billion Premium written 2007: $59.8 billion GenRe Overview One of World’s largest reinsurers Established 1921 Headquartered in Connecticut Owned by Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Led by Ronald Ferguson, FCAS, until he retired in 2002 Premium written 2007: $6.0 billion The Participants Hank Greenburg, CEO of AIG Born 1925 Admitted to NY Bar in 1953 Joined AIG in 1962 Named CEO in 1968 Led AIG for 38 years Stepped down March 21, 2005 Ron Ferguson, CEO of Gen Re Born 1942 Fellow of CAS Co-developer of B-F method Joined Gen Re in 1966 Named CEO in 1987 1998 Berkshire Hathaway acquired Gen Re Retired 2002 Others Christopher Garand, FCAS Senior VP and Chief Underwriter of GenRe’s Finite Reinsurance in US from...
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...Other than staying in the actuarial field, I would like to start up a new business. In Hong Kong, current policies do not encourage teenagers engage in startup business as little resources are given, yet I believe startups will bring new ideas and eventually change the world. As there is a quote, ‘After five years, you can only see one in a hundred startups still surviving’. The reason of why often startups fail is that they lack a sustainable fund where expenses are always greater than income received. With prior actuarial experience, it tells me that solvency is the basic requirement for a company to survive. As it is of utmost importance for a startup to maintain its financial stability, with an accounting and actuarial background, I can calculate the EPVs of expenses and incomes after projection with appropriate conservative assumptions. As all companies have to buy insurance for their employees, I can choose the best insurance plans in the market with the least cost. Another important issue for a startup is about risk management. As there is a track in fellowship called Enterprise Risk Management, we can learn a lot of methods that can be used in managing a firm’s risk. By reducing the risk exposures in the firm, I can enhance my startup’s survivability. With actuarial background, we are familiar with statistics and computer programming. Whenever I want to design a new product, a thorough market research will be done so as to see whether majority of the public would...
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...The Roles and Functions of Law in Business No Name LAW/421 September 16, 2013 Richard Simon, J.D. The Roles and Functions of Law in Business In order for a business to run successfully, there needs to be a balance of good employees, a good moral code, and a sound foundation in rules and regulations. Some of the rules and regulations within a company will be attributable to the current laws. These laws help companies function in a way that is ethical and fair to its business partners, customers, and employees. No company can run and make a profit without following guidelines set in place. Some may not realize that laws are also in place to protect the company as well. Wrong doings can happen on both sides. Developing laws protects everyone. In society, the same rules apply. Laws are set in place to keep things orderly and to keep individuals safe. There are hundreds of laws. Some are not well-known to the public, but some are so well-known that they have just become a form of common sense. Individuals know that it is wrong to steal and most will refrain from doing so because they know that if they do not, there is a chance of being fined or incarcerated. Business Law Business law primarily deals with businesses that are already in place and the creation of new businesses. Some issues that business law addresses are tax laws, intellectual property, employment law, bankruptcy, and real estate (Melvin, 2011). These laws provide solid ethical expectations. Those...
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...Equitable Life Ever since the celebrated House of Lords’ ruling against the company in July 2000, life appeared awfully inequitable to policyholders of Equitable Life Assurance Company. Equitable Life, the staple of Britain’s pension industry, with over a million policyholders, including a plethora of the biggest British companies, the parliamentary pension fund, the Personal Investment Authority, had no choice left but to announce that it was up for sale. To be able to cover the liability worth about £1.5 billion, it froze the value of all current with-profit policies and imposed an exit penalty of 5% on withdrawals. Fifteen prospective purchasers looked at the books of the company, but all but one – Prudential – walked away from a deal. The final straw came in December 2000, when Prudential reached the decision not to buy Equitable Life. Following the decision, Equitable doubled the exit penalty for withdrawals to 10% and closed the fund for new investors. Numerous legal actions, investigations, and reports followed. Yet the debacle is still far from over, and new inquiries into this perhaps the most shocking collapse in the insurance industry keep pouring. Equitable Life’s growing problems and policyholders’ growing despair grab headlines in British press almost daily. On December 12, 2003, BBC News ran an article on Ann Berry, 65, a former physiotherapist from West Sussex, who should have been enjoying her retirement. Ann saw her £6,000 pension slashed by nearly a quarter...
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...Yinglu Fan yf421@nyu.edu ∙ 612-868-3108 ∙ 140 East 14th Street, New York, NY 10003 EDUCATION New York University Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics University of Minnesota – Twin Cities Major in Mathematics (specialization in Actuarial Science) Cumulative GPA: 3.70/4.0 Expected Graduation Date: 12/2011 08/2008 – 12/2009 EXPERIENCE Member, Actuarial Club in New York University 01/2010 – Present Director Assistant, Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai 06/2009 – 08/2009 • Designed 2010 Expo Guide for Canadians in Shanghai. • Coordinated events on Canada’s Day and assisted Administrative Director with related projects • Located and entered data into several databases; made phone calls, and ensured timely mail processing. • Assisted administrative team members with clerical function. Dining Service Associate, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities 09/2009 – 12/2009 • Maintained inventory of standard dining service supplies and assists manager coordinate attendants. Member, Actuarial Club in University of Minnesota – Twin Cities 01/2009 – 12/2009 • Arranged the preparation of Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) exam Volunteer, Students Today Leaders Forever 03/2009 – 12/2009 • Assisted the donation of food to Minnesotans at risk of hunger. Volunteer, in school for the Mute and the Deaf in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province 2006 – 2009 • Taught disabled students Mandarin. Policy-analyst, Model United Nation in Shanghai K.J. Senior High School 2006 – 2008 • Analyzed UN policies for Model...
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...The Case: Merging Benefits at Huge Computer Company Two major high-tech companies, Huge Co. (HC and Computer Co. (CC), have recently merged to form Huge Computer Company (HCC) and are now starting to combine the operations of both. A key issue of the integration has been how to treat the benefit and retirement plans from the two-companies—in particular, how to blend the plans for the software engineers, who are key to the continued success of the new company. Read the following case and write an executive summary of your key findings for the partner of the Human Resources Consulting firm. Executive Summary: The Merging of Success Huge Computer Company is a result from a merger of Huge Company and Computer Company. Both well-renowned companies that specialize in the latest computer software and hardware. The merge is believed to be in the best interest of each company and will create an even more successful organization. The Mission: Combining business models and benefit plans Both companies have unique strengths to create an even more successful organization. Huge Computer Company combines older employees that have years of computer expertise and knowledge as well as younger employees that with a new outlook and edge when it comes to skillset. Background of Huge Company and Computer Company Huge Company has been in business for 20 years and has 22,000 employees worldwide. Many of the employees have grown with the company and have been accustomed to a formal corporate culture...
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...many conflicts of interest and ethical dilemmas that actuaries can face during their everyday work and careers. In particular we look at how genetic factors and rating criterion create conflict. We look at ethical conflict with respect to testimony, pension and reserve actuaries, and also how external watchdogs play a role in auditing actuaries’ decisions. We found that actuaries must always be alert and prepared to deal with these ethical conflicts. They must be aware that their actions can have an impact on the financial future of a company, the insurance rates of an individual, or otherwise could result in a problem for themselves. They must also be aware that there are external watchdogs in place to make sure they are not forging numbers but are instead making informed and accurate decisions. We recommend that students who intend to pursue actuarial studies take a course called Introduction to Actuarial Practice (MTHEL 131). We also recommend that the faculty should modify this course to put more weight on professionalism and ethics to emphasise the importance of the subject. This will educate students so they can make informed and ethically sound decisions in their future careers. Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………....…....…1 2.0 Methods…………………………………………………………………......…………....……3 3.0 Background Information……………………………………………………....………...….…4 4.0 Pension and Reserve Actuaries……………………………………………..........………....…4 5.1 Conflict...
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...BLAW 2210 Term Paper Career Preparation My top two career choices are corporate financial analysis in investment banking and actuary. I will be discussing the legal environment of my career choices, taxing authorities, entity structure, graduate school in order to obtain certain license, self-assessment of my chosen careers. First, I will discuss how I can work as a corporate financial analysis in investment banking. After that, I will talk about what I need prepare to be an actuary. 1.corporate financial planning and analysis The responsibility of a corporate financial planing and analysis is to support management planning and decision making by identifying, maintaining, and evaluating information,as well as recommending actions. * Legal environment * Entity structure Investment banking is concerned with the primary function of assisting the capital market in its function of capital market intermediation, i.e. the movement of financial resources from those who have them means investors, to those who need to make use of them means issuer for generating profit. Therefore, it can be inferred that investment banks are those institutions that are the counterparts of banks in the capital market in the function of intermediation in resources allocation. Investment banks carried on carious activities it helps companies and governments and their agencies to raise money by issuing and selling securities in the primary market. They assist public and private corporations...
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...Actuarial Accounting: A Cautionary Report Dan R. Young, Esq. Attorney at Law Law Offices of Dan R. Young Seattle, Washington danryoung@netzero.net Presented the Spring Meeting of the CAS New Orleans, Louisiana May 6, 2009 The Story of the AIG Accounting Scandal The Companies The Participants Regulatory Scrutiny Intensifies The Prosecution Case The Defense Case Relevant Laws and Regulations The Fate of the Participants The Companies AIG Overview (2007) World’s largest insurance and financial services company 93,000 employees Business in 130 countries Led by Maurice (“Hank”) Greenburg Shareholder’s equity 2007: $95.8 billion Net Income 2007: $6.2 billion Premium written 2007: $59.8 billion GenRe Overview One of World’s largest reinsurers Established 1921 Headquartered in Connecticut Owned by Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Led by Ronald Ferguson, FCAS, until he retired in 2002 Premium written 2007: $6.0 billion The Participants Hank Greenburg, CEO of AIG Born 1925 Admitted to NY Bar in 1953 Joined AIG in 1962 Named CEO in 1968 Led AIG for 38 years Stepped down March 21, 2005 Ron Ferguson, CEO of Gen Re Born 1942 Fellow of CAS Co-developer of B-F method Joined Gen Re in 1966 Named CEO in 1987 1998 Berkshire Hathaway acquired Gen Re Retired 2002 Others Christopher Garand, FCAS Senior VP and Chief Underwriter of GenRe’s Finite Reinsurance in US from 1994 to 2005 Elizabeth Monrad, CPA CFO...
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...relationship between the alien colonial state and the overwhelmingly larger Chinese population. What made this so? -"laissez-faire and non-interventionism", reducing the potenital of conflict. -traditional political apathy of Chinese -Hong Kong does not fit classical patterns of colonialism -theorize the importance of "segmentation" by race or ethnicity He argues that it is dangerous to overlook the colonial aspects of the Chinese community, and article traces the historical roots between the Hong Kong bourgeosie and the colonial government was not a conquest state, but still retaining the characteristics of a colonized entity. It has a very moderate stance. -Some Chinese may have even credited Britain's of Hong Kong not to them, but to the local Chinese; Hanjian; local Chinese refused to cooperate -Tankas and Loo Aqui (provided the British with fuel and merchant supplies, also courted by other chinese officials and dominated the opium monopoly) -free port attracvted a "great influx of natives" -moved from Macau to Hong Kong Tam Achoy, (Cantonese), had dealings with British before Why were they willing to help the British? LAND REFORM --> they used land to build up the elite MONOPOLIES-->British paranoid with what the Chinese were "selling" Chinese markets run by monopolies Chinese contractors, landowners, merchants did not expansion was "imposed" upon a passive Chinese population ME: These were people who went to Hong Kong themselves, and...
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...In my opinion, the main reason that Turkish government doesn’t recognize Laz Language as a minority language is because the government is concerned about that multi-language usage would lay a threat on the current Turkish authority. According to the radio, Turkish is the only official language and also the only language that allowed to be taught in schools. Since language, for the most of the time is largely associated with culture, not letting the younger generation to carry on the culture that is different from the standard nowadays’ Turkish culture, in the government’s believe, would help the stabilize the current political situation. Tangwang, which uses mostly Mandarin words and morphemes with Dongxiang grammar, is one of the endangered languages in China. Over the years, the local government has done a series of actions to protect this endangered language. Although the language used in school is Mandarin, the government still encourages that parents talk to their children in Tangwang language at home. Every year, the government will hold Tangwang Festival that not only attracts the tourists but also spread this endangered culture. In China, since the dominant culture is Han culture and the major/official language used is Mandarin, it is very hard for younger generations to get interested for their local ancient culture. In my opinion, the government should offer benefit to motivate younger generations, including lower college entrance exam grade required if choose...
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