Career Pathways

Actuaries serve the broader financial community by bringing their expertise in mathematics, statistics, and financial theory to the quantification and evaluation of risks that are related to uncertain future events. This expertise is particularly valuable in relation to insurance and pension programmes. Actuaries may work for insurance companies, consulting firms, government bodies/agencies or in the employee benefits departments of large corporations, banks, and investment firms. In fact, any business that has substantial financial risk to manage will benefit from the services of an actuary.

The first step toward a career as an actuary is to study in an actuarial (or actuarial-based) programme such as our IFAA programme, which offers students the opportunity to pass four or more of the actuarial exams that are held by the Society of Actuaries or the Casualty Actuarial Society and Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. Most employers in Hong Kong require university graduates to pass two or more of these examinations. Students who have passed four or more are very marketable upon graduation. Employers generally prefer their junior actuaries to gain knowledge and experience while working and are, therefore, likely to be supportive of exam-related studies.

IFAA graduates are equipped with necessary trainings to pursue a variety of careers in insurance as underwriters, insurance adjusters/examiners or risk managers, amongst others.

Underwriters evaluate insurance applications to determine the risks entailed in issuing a policy. They scrutinise applications and decide whether to accept them, and, if so, determine the terms that will be acceptable and set a premium that accurately captures the risks therein. Insurance adjusters or examiners determine whether particular claims are covered by a customer’s policy, confirm payments and, in certain circumstances, investigate the background to a claim. Risk managers assess risks, such as the physical, liability and financial losses that may be incurred by insurance and non-insurance companies. In so doing, they are able to advise top management on risk-financing measures (including insurance purchases). Both buyers and sellers gain from the services of risk managers.

The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) qualification confers advantage in several finance-related areas. Securities analysts, treasury (or money market) managers, corporate investment advisors (who focus principally on securities and investment issues) and other investment advisors are likely to reap significant career benefits from holding the CFA qualification. The CFA qualification is awarded by the CFA Institute (originally AIMR), which administers examinations and sets standards in experience, education and ethics. Graduates of the IFAA programme are well positioned to pursue careers as financial analysts in investment firms.

You can find out more about the CFA qualification from the CFA Institute website.