Target Unis for Actuarial firms

Does anyone know if actuarial firms have a group of target and semi target universities they recruit from similar to Investment Banks? Or does it generally not matter what uni you go to, providing the degree is highly quantitative? Thanks

Reply 1

Trapz99

Original post by mk_98

No, they don't have target or semi-target universities. It doesn't really matter what uni you go to and the degree doesn't have to be extremely quantitative- I've seen people get into actuarial jobs with an accounting degree.

Reply 2

username738914

Original post by mk_98

No such thing for acturial firms.. this target uni phenomenon is really only for front office banking, some more strategy focused consulting firms and the more snooty law firms (larger firms are actually becoming more open/progressive with uni recruiting - see Clifford Chance's uni-blind process).

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Reply 3

Turing

Whilst there are no 'target universities', you should aim to study at the best Mathematics department you possibly can. On my internship this year (at a top firm) the entire team was from Warwick, Imperial, Cambridge, Oxford, LSE, UCL and Bristol.

Cambridge

Original post by Turing

Did the majority of people there have maths degrees, or was it fairly mixed?

Reply 6

Turing

Original post by mk_98

Did the majority of people there have maths degrees, or was it fairly mixed?

Yes most had maths degrees, some had Act Science and a few had PhD's/MFE's.

Reply 7

Foxab77

Original post by Turing

Which firm was this? Thanks

Reply 8

Foxab77

What top actuarial firms are doing summer internships for 2017, all I know of is Towers Watson and Aon (sorry I'm new to the actuarial field) . And when should I send these apps off.

Thanks :smile:

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 9

Tcannon

A friend is an actuary trainee, his firm took on 4 people in his intake year and all did maths. Strong preference for maths or physics.

Original post by mk_98

Did the majority of people there have maths degrees, or was it fairly mixed?

Reply 10

Turing

Original post by Foxab77

Which firm was this? Thanks

One of the two you mentioned above, trying to stay anonymous haha :tongue:

Reply 11

mk_98

Original post by Tcannon

A friend is an actuary trainee, his firm took on 4 people in his intake year and all did maths. Strong preference for maths or physics.

Do you know what unis they were from?

Reply 12

mk_98

Original post by Turing

Yes most had maths degrees, some had Act Science and a few had PhD's/MFE's.

Ah OK. So would you say I'm at a disadvantage studying economics? My course does have a lot of maths involved.

Reply 13

Foxab77

Original post by mk_98

Ah OK. So would you say I'm at a disadvantage studying economics? My course does have a lot of maths involved.

Are you from Oxbridge/LSE/Warwick/UCL? If so you'll have no problem I think

Reply 14

Tcannon

My friend did maths at Cambridge and took some advanced modules. One of his co trainees went to Imperial.

Original post by mk_98

Do you know what unis they were from?

Reply 15

Trapz99

For ac

Original post by Foxab77

Are you from Oxbridge/LSE/Warwick/UCL? If so you'll have no problem I think

For actuarial jobs it doesn't matter as much what uni you go to, as long as it's not a bad uni. A quick LinkedIn search will show that actuaries at top UNIX come from loads of different unis.

Reply 16

Turing

Original post by mk_98

Ah OK. So would you say I'm at a disadvantage studying economics? My course does have a lot of maths involved.

Slightly yes, especially for the bigger firms, although it's certainly not impossible.

What makes you choose Actuarial? Have you considered Risk, IBD, S&T or Management Consulting?

Reply 17

mk_98

Original post by Turing

Slightly yes, especially for the bigger firms, although it's certainly not impossible.

What makes you choose Actuarial? Have you considered Risk, IBD, S&T or Management Consulting?

Oh I haven't chosen it yet, I'm just considering it as an option along with the other careers you mentioned (except ibd due to the long hours). If I did choose actuarial as a career, I would probably try to do an msc in actuarial science after my degree.

Reply 18

Tcannon

The professional qualification for actuaries is tougher than accounting exams. Actuarial exams take 5 years and you have to take/pass exam each year. The pass rate is lower than accounting with a significant % dropping out. My friend gets plenty study leave and the firm pays for his books, courses etc. He still sacrifices part of his holiday for extra studies.

Hence firms are really selective to pick the right person who can get qualified.

Reply 19

161BMW

The people I have worked with had degrees from (FTSE 100 insurer in actuarial)
Warwick
Imperial
Oxford
Durham
Exeter
City University
University of Southampton
Nottingham (I think ?)
Cambridge
LSE
Herriot-Watt
Kent
Bath

ALOT of them were from Warwick who are highly rated for Maths. A few from Imperial. Quite a few did Actuarial Science degrees and got exemptions so higher starting salary. A lot did Maths degrees or MORSE or Mathematics with Management etc. Most people did a quantitative subject. I seen one person who did History who joined however, he was from Oxbridge and did good. If you 100% want to be an actuary the actuarial science route is preferable as saves you doing some exams. Any quantitative subject like Maths, Sciences, Engineering, Economics is also good.