FAQs
Not at all. Some experience may help you decide that an actuarial career is the right one for you, but our induction programme provides an overview of all the areas you will be involved in and from the outset your work will be geared to a level that is suitable for you. However, we do recommend that you carry out some research to get a feel for what the actuarial industry is about. You can find further information on the Institute of Actuaries website or via Insides Careers website.
We are happy to consider candidates from all disciplines, provided that you have achieved an A grade in A-Level Maths or equivalent. A number of our staff do not have maths degrees and some subjects, such as economics, can provide a very useful grounding for actuarial work.
We would expect you to be in contact with clients on the telephone immediately. Punter Southall believes that it is beneficial to have contact with clients at an early stage of your career and is keen for less experienced staff to gain client exposure as early as possible.
You will experience a varied range of work in your first years at Punter Southall. This will often start with individual member calculations, which will help to build your knowledge, and then progress to larger project based work and more complicated individual calculations. The actuarial valuation of pension schemes (comparing the value of a scheme's assets to its liabilities) is a major area of pensions work that you will be involved in. This involves both calculations and report writing. As you become more experienced you will begin to delegate and check some of these tasks and take responsibility for training and mentoring more junior members of staff.
The industry average is around 5 years. At Punter Southall we aim to consistently beat the Institute average exam pass rate. We feel that our study support package helps us to achieve this.
Exemptions depend on the exact syllabus that you studied at university and also the results of your exams. Some university courses are noted by the Institute of Actuaries as being suitable for exemptions. You can find out more about exemptions on the Institute's website. You can also compare the syllabus for each actuarial exam (available on the website) against your course syllabus. Upon starting work you will become a Student member of the Institute and can formally apply to the Institute for your exemptions.
Our actuarial teams usually comprise about 7-10 people. The teams include people of different levels of experience ranging from the new graduates to the team leader who will usually be a qualified senior member of staff. Most work is within your team, but there are also various opportunities for working with other teams.
Whilst traditionally the actuarial profession has been dominated by men there are now many females entering the profession. At Punter Southall approximately one third of our actuarial staff are female and this includes a significant number of female Principals.
Punter Southall provides a generous study package. Students have a bank of study days that is topped-up after each exam pass and means that students can usually take one study day each week. The company pays for study notes, assignment marking, mock exams, exam entry fees and tutorials for the later subjects. In addition, you will be assigned a study mentor who can help you plan and progress with your studies.
Obviously the aim is for you to pass your exams first time and we work with our students to make this as likely as possible. However, we also recognise that students may not pass every exam first time. In such cases study mentors are always on hand to offer advice and support and the Company will pay for further assignments and study guidance.
Most work is team based and within your team you will work with people with a range of different levels of experience. Initially you will receive much on-the-job training from members of your team who have been here for two or three years. At the same time you will also work directly with qualified actuaries on some projects. All levels of our actuarial students have direct exposure to working with our Principals. In addition, the induction programme that takes place when you join is a good way to get to know your fellow new joiners.
Punter Southall is a pensions consultancy and as such work is focused on pensions. However, this includes a wide range of work with strong ties to the field of investment and there are opportunities for exposure to mergers and acquisitions work.
Applicants should normally be expecting to attain a 2:1 or above. In addition, Punter Southall requires that applicants have achieved a minimum of 340 UCAS Points at A-Level, including an A grade in Maths and excluding General Studies. Equivalent requirements apply in the case that individuals have studied courses other than A levels.
We are looking for well-rounded individuals who possess and can demonstrate the following key attributes:
- Ability to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team;
- Excellent interpersonal abilities;
- An aptitude for working with people;
- Client focused approach;
- Well-developed communication skills both orally and in writing;
- An eagerness to take on responsibility and an ability to manage conflicting demands on their time.
