Paul Fulcher. Career model
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Paul FulcherFFA/FIA: 1993 Company: Royal Bank of Scotland Role: European Head of Insurance and Pensions ALM (asset-liability management) Advisory |
Current work
I run a London-based team of actuaries and other professionals that provides advice on asset-liability and risk management to insurers and pension funds across Europe. This integrates stochastic modelling, rating agency and capital markets perspectives, and regulatory and accounting knowledge.
Ultimately, our aim is to structure and provide derivative and capital markets solutions to RBS's clients based on our detailed understanding of these markets and their issues. In contrast to a consultant working in this space, RBS is remunerated by successful delivery of a client solution, rather than by hourly rates.
Other actuaries in the company
On the investment banking side of RBS we employ actuaries in a number of areas including several on the ALM advisory team, and others working in diverse areas such as stochastic asset-liability modelling for clients, longevity risk transfer, debt capital markets structuring, inflation trading and marketing of derivatives to institutional clients.
Within these areas, actuaries are typically employed alongside non-actuaries - for example our ALM Advisory team includes people with backgrounds in accounting, corporate finance, financial economics and the wider derivatives markets.
Opportunities for others
Actuaries are in the first instance, typically sought by banks for their expert knowledge of the insurance and pensions sectors. Most of the actuaries at RBS mentioned above could still be said to work in "traditional" actuarial areas in that the end client is typically an insurer or pension fund – and indeed the client contacts are often actuaries.
However, once working for a bank, actuaries can extend their skills into other areas such as providing similar services for banks and corporate clients, or gaining greater exposure to derivatives markets.
Career history
- Friends Provident, Actuarial Department, 1990 - 1995
- PricewaterhouseCoopers, Actuarial Consultancy followed by M&A Advisory
- HSBC 2000 - 2001, M&A Advisory
- UBS Investment Bank 2001 - 2009, ALM Advisory
- RBS 2009 to date
Key steps between first job and current one
My actuarial career started in relatively traditional fashion, qualifying as an actuary with a (then) mutual life insurance company followed by a move into consulting.
The key step for me was the early years I spent at Price Waterhouse (later PwC). Although nominally part of the actuarial team, in practice I spent most of my time working with multi-disciplinary teams of non-actuaries – accountants, tax experts, business consultants and corporate financiers. I came to see – and sell – myself as an expert on financial services, rather than hiding behind the actuarial qualification. Over time, I graduated further from traditional actuarial work and more towards pure Merger & Acquisition advisory, mostly based in Tokyo although living in London.
In that regard, the move to my current role was actually a move slightly back towards my actuarial roots, and obviously closer to my London home.
Hurdles to surmount
Qualifying in 1993, the exams that I passed made no reference to derivatives, the Black-Scholes formula or any aspects of financial economics, so there was a relatively steep learning curve on joining a bank. I remember spending most of my first month surreptitiously looking up lots of things on Google to avoid appearing too ignorant. The current exam syllabus certainly rectifies this issue but it does highlight the need for actuaries to keep their skills up to date. That’s why I have taken a keen interest in promoting CPD in the profession and was involved in the launch of the Financial Economics course for qualified actuaries a few years ago.
The other main learning curve for anyone joining an investment bank is the relatively fast paced and short-term nature of the business. This makes life exciting but can be a challenge when dealing with insurance and pensions clients whose decision making tends to proceed on a rather different timescale.
Original reason for becoming an actuary
I saw it as an opportunity to use the mathematics and statistics I had learned at University in a more practical business context. The main other option was to do a PhD.
Subsequent thoughts
The traditional actuarial profession proved to be mush less mathematical than I would have expected. But the career path I have taken has given me exposure to both the exciting world of derivatives and investment banking while remaining close to my actuarial roots and contacts.