Facuality of actuaries
Examinations
Qualification through the Faculty consisted of a combination of examinations and courses. The examinations could only be taken upon having officially joined the body, unlike many other countries where exams may be taken earlier; although a candidate was able to offer proof of having previously covered topics (usually while at University) in order to be exempt from taking certain subjects.
The examinations were split into four sections: Core Technical (CT), Core Applications (CA), Specialist Technical (ST), and Specialist Applications (SA). Study material for the examinations was usually obtained through the official bookshop of the Faculty of Actuaries or through the Actuarial Education Company (ActEd), a subsidiary of BPP Actuarial Education Ltd.
In addition to examinations and courses, it was required that the candidate both complete at least three years work as an actuary and be at least 23 years of age to qualify as a “Fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries” (FFA)
Core examinations
The Core Technical section consisted of the 8 exams and a “Business Awareness Module,” CT9. These were usually first sat by a candidate and included the underlying mathematics involved in actuarial work as well as an introduction to financial and economic issues. These were also the most common exams for which candidates may get exemptions. While these were the first exams, candidates coming from a less mathematical background often found these more difficult than the later ones due to the mathematical theory content. Topics covered included annuities, stochastic modelling, time series, and triangles.The Core Applications section consisted of two exams and a modeling course, CA2, that focus on the application of concepts learned, especially to insurance companies. This included the communications model, CA3, which tested the candidate on their ability to communicate complex actuarial concepts to others.
Specialist examinations
The Specialist Technical section represented the first time the candidate has a choice of which exams to take. The candidate chose two from the various actuarial specialist subjects i.e. Health and Care, Life Insurance, General Insurance, Pensions, Finance or Investments and further technical knowledge on said subjects is attained.
The Specialist Applications section allowed the candidate to choose one area for which they take the SA paper and attain full Fellowship; leading to many referring to this as the “Fellowship paper.” However, as the rules on the ordering of examinations were relaxed, this examination may be taken before taking some earlier examinations resulting in candidates qualifying on other papers.
List of Examinations
Core Technical Stage
CT1 - Financial Mathematics
CT2 - Finance and Financial Reporting
CT3 - Probability and Mathematical Statistics
CT4 - Models
CT5 - Contingencies
CT6 - Statistical Methods
CT7 - Economics
CT8 - Financial Economics
CT9 - Business Awareness Module
Core Applications Stage
CA1 - Actuarial Risk Management
CA2 - Model Documentation, Analysis and Reporting
CA3 - Communications
Specialist Technical Stage
ST0 - Alternative Specialist Technical
ST1 - Health and Care Specialist Technical
ST2 - Life Insurance Specialist Technical
ST3 - General Insurance Specialist Technical (replaced with ST7 & ST8 wef 2010)
ST4 - Pensions and other Benefits Specialist Technical
ST5 - Finance and Investment Specialist Technical A
ST6 - Finance and Investment Specialist Technical B
ST7 - General Insurance: Reserving and Capital Modelling Specialist Technical
ST8 - General Insurance: Pricing Specialist Technical
ST9 - Enterprise Risk Management Specialist Technical
Specialist Applications Stage
SA0 - Research Dissertation Specialist Applications
SA1 - Health and Care Specialist Applications
SA2 - Life Insurance Specialist Applications
SA3 - General Insurance Specialist Applications
SA4 - Pensions and other Benefits Specialist Applications
SA5 - Finance Specialist Applications
SA6 - Investment Specialist Applications
UK Practice Modules
for students working in the UK only
P0 - Generic UK Practice Half Module
P1 - Health and Care
P2 - Life Insurance
P3 - General Insurance
P4 - Pensions
P5 - Finance
P6 - Investment
Exemptions from Examinations
A student may choose to complete an accredited actuarial science degree at an undergraduate or at a postgraduate level through a number of recognised universities. Successful students may offer proof of having covered the topics whilst at university and students may be granted exemptions from certain professional examinations from the Institute of Actuaries.Depending on the University, a different number of courses may be recognised for exemption. The examinations and the exemption pass level for the examinations is usually externalised by members of the Faculty and/or Institute of Actuaries.
Naturally, the quality of the courses and lecturing at these universities are a determinant as to whether the course is recognised by the Faculty of Actuaries.
Most universities offering actuarial science courses also require the student in addition to complete various other related topics, including statistics, mathematics, applied mathematics, economics and accounting for recognition of an actuarial degree.
Upon completion of the university degree, students would then complete all remaining examinations through the Faculty of Actuaries to qualify as an actuary and become a Fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries(FFA).
Universities offering accredited actuarial courses include:
AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIA
BULAWAYO NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, ZIMBABWE
DUBLIN CITY UNIVERSITY, IRELAND
CASS BUSINESS SCHOOL, ENGLAND
CITY UNIVERSITY, ENGLAND
HERIOT-WATT UNIVERSITY (EDINBURGH), SCOTLAND
IMPERIAL COLLEGE (LONDON) TANAKA BUSINESS SCHOOL, ENGLAND
LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS, ENGLAND
MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY (SYDNEY), AUSTRALIA
NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY, SINGAPORE
NORTH WEST UNIVERSITY (POTCHEFSTROOM), SOUTH AFRICA
QUEENS UNIVERSITY BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND
STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY, SOUTH AFRICA
SWANSEA UNIVERSITY, WALES
UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK, IRELAND
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN, IRELAND
UNIVERSITY OF KENT AT CANTERBURY, ENGLAND
UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA
UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER, ENGLAND
UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES (SYDNEY), AUSTRALIA
UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND
UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE (BLOEMFONTEIN), SOUTH AFRICA
UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND (JOHANNESBURG), SOUTH AFRICA
Other qualifications recognised by the Faculty of Actuaries for exemption from certain examinations included:
ACCA Qualification
Chartered Financial Analyst (formerly membership of the Association for Investment Management and Research)
Fellowship of the Chartered Insurance Institute
Fellowship of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
Fellowship of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
Fellowship of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland
MBA
Society of actuaries
Examination system
Professional designations in the Society are earned by completing a rigorous system of examinations. It is common for actuarial students to work full time in the profession while studying for the exams.
The first five ("preliminary") exams consist mostly of core mathematics related to actuarial science including probability, statistics, interest theory, life contingencies, and risk models.
A series of online learning modules, called the Fundamentals of Actuarial Practice (FAP), are intended to be taken after the preliminary exams. They cover real-world topics such as insurance and professionalism with readings, case studies and projects. The preliminary exams and FAP modules comprise the majority of the education requirement for the ASA designation.
Upper-level exam topics for the FSA designation include plan design, risk classification, enterprise risk management, ratemaking and valuation. Three fellowship exams are taken in one of six specialization tracks chosen by the candidate - Finance & Enterprise Risk Management, Investments, Individual Life Insurance & Annuities, Retirement Benefits, Group & Health Insurance, or General Insurance. Candidates completing the Finance & Enterprise Risk Management track will also earn the CERA designation. Candidates in any of the other five tracks have the option of replacing their track-specific Enterprise Risk Management exam with a more generalized ERM exam in order to obtain the CERA designation in addition to FSA
associate of society of actuaries exams
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Exam P–Probability
Exam FM–Financial Mathematics
Exam MFE–Models for Financial Economics
Exam MLC–Models for Life Contingencies
Exam C–Construction and Evaluation of Actuarial Models
VEE* Economics
VEE* Corporate Finance
VEE* Applied Statistics
Fundamentals of Actuarial Practice (FAP) e–Learning Course
Associateship Professionalism Course (APC)