The IFoA is an independent Royal chartered professional body for actuaries, with an international membership. We regulate, educate, discipline and represent the expertise of our members around the world. We have no lobbying position; rather, we look to inform the debate.
What is an actuary?
Actuaries are experts in risk management. They use their mathematical skills to help measure the probability and risk of future events. Actuaries are known to work in the insurance and pensions industries, but our members actually work in many other industries including healthcare, banking, investment, resource and the environment and risk management. The skills of an actuary apply anywhere where a single decision can have a major financial impact.
People who work as actuaries come from all sorts of backgrounds, though clearly they share a love of maths. Actuaries are problem solvers and strategic thinkers with a deep understanding of financial systems.
Facts and figures about the IFoA
- We have more than 25,000 members
- 43% of our members are based overseas
- 72% of our members are under 40 years old.
About the IFoA
The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) is a royal chartered, not-for-profit, professional body.
Research undertaken by the IFoA is not commercial. As a learned society, research helps us to fulfil our royal charter requirements to further actuarial science and serve the public interest.
Actuaries provide commercial, financial and prudential advice on the management of a business’s assets and liabilities, especially where long term management and planning are critical to the success of any business venture. They also advise individuals, and advise on social and public interest issues.
Members of the IFoA have a statutory role in the supervision of pension funds and life insurance companies. They also have a statutory role to provide actuarial opinions for managing agents at Lloyd’s.
Members are governed by the IFoA. A rigorous examination system is supported by a programme of continuing professional development and a professional code of conduct supports high standards reflecting the significant role of actuaries in society.
The IFoA is available to provide independent expert comment to the media on a range of actuarial- related issues, including enterprise risk management, finance and investment, general insurance, health and care, life assurance, mortality, and pensions.
Follow us on Twitter @actuarynews
Contact Details
For all media queries please contact Sonia Sequeira, Media Relations Manager
sonia.sequeira@actuaries.org.uk
For out of hours, the Press Office can be contacted at: press.office@actuaries.org.uk. We aim to respond to all enquiries as quickly as possible.
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Events calendar
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IFoA Joint Member Event with the Sunshine Insurance Group, Beijing China
Room TBC, Kuntai International Plaza, No.12, Chaowai Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing 地址：会议室待定，北京市朝阳区朝外大街乙12号1号楼昆泰国际大厦12 December 2019The IFoA’s President-elect Tan Suee Chieh will visit Beijing. We will co-host CPD and Awards Presenting event with the Sunshine Insurance Group on Thursday 12 December 2019. The event is part of Mr Tan’s first presidential trip to China.
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NOCA event - The stochastic full balance sheet model
N/A13 December 2019Presenter Bill Curry
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ARC Sessional Research Event: Drivers of Mortality - Risk Factors and Inequality
Staple Inn Hall, High Holborn, London, WC1V 7QJ6 January 2020
The authors will focus on a large dataset obtained from the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) and related sources. Data are available at the level of Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs) – small geographical areas with, typically, 1000-2000 residents and include death counts, exposures and a significant number of socio-economic variables including the index of multiple deprivation (IMD). -
SIAS Event: My Journey to Data Science, Big Data and AI
Staple Inn Hall, High Holborn, London, WC1V 7QJ7 January 2020Patrick Lee is an actuary who has made the transition to working in software architecture and artificial intelligence (AI). He holds Microsoft Professional qualifications in Data Science, Big Data and AI and is currently working towards a DevOps (the automation of software testing and deployment) qualification. He is a member of the IFoA Council and is also President of the Wessex Actuarial Society. He is also a member of the IFoA and the RSS's joint Data Science Focus Group and will talk on the ethical use of AI.
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NED Event: Actuaries as iNEDs of Investment Fund Boards / Investment Governance Committees and Value
Staple Inn Hall High Holborn London WC1V 7QJ9 January 2020The event will be chaired by Brandon Horwitz, an actuary who is a consultant who has held various investment governance roles and who specialises in investment governance as well as being an iNED.
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NoCA event - The Matching Adjustment Calculation
N/A10 January 2020This presentation covers the detail for how the matching adjustment is calculated. A small simple example spreadsheet is provided and discussed in detail.
For actuaries wanting to get more involved with the matching adjustment, this is the opportunity to get a detailed description of the mechanics involved. This includes cashflows derisking, PRA tests as well as hypothecation.
The presentation is provided by James Sharpe who has worked on a number of matching adjustment calculations with several firms.
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IFoA Volunteer Recognition Reception
Staple Inn, 4 High Holborn, Holborn, London WC1V 6DR, UK15 January 2020As a thank you to all our Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) volunteers, you are invited to join us at Staple Inn Hall, for an evening of drinks, canapes and networking, in London.
IFoA President, John Taylor, will be attending and will make a speech
If you support the IFoA as a volunteer (member or non-member), or in any other role, and you are going to be in London on 15 January, please book your place and join us at this reception.
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Professional Skills Training - London (16 January 2020)
Staple Inn, High Holborn, London WC1V 7QJ16 January 2020This event is now fully booked. To join the waiting list please click here.
A Trusted Profession
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Sessional Meeting - Operational Risk Dependencies
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh 9 Queen St Edinburgh EH2 1JQ20 January 2020The Operational Risk Working Party aims to assist actuaries and others in the modelling and management of operational risk. One of the key challenges in modelling operational risk is the modelling of dependencies between operational risks, and between operational and non-operational risks such as market, credit and insurance risk. Their paper seeks to assist in this regard, and help develop good practice in setting assumptions and modelling operational risk dependencies.
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Professional Skills Training - Edinburgh (23 January 2020)
IFoA (Edinburgh), Level 2, Exchange Crescent 7 Conference Square Edinburgh EH3 8RA23 January 2020This event is now fully booked. To join the waiting list please click here.
A Trusted Profession
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KSS event in Glasgow: Public Sector Pensions
Hymans Robertson, Glasgow 20 Waterloo St, Glasgow30 January 2020– the unappreciated key assumption, the resulting unsustainable promises, the unmanaged risk and the unrecognised debt?
Speaker: Allan Martin will present this talk on 30 January in Glasgow, Stirling and Edinburgh. If you wish to register for another location please return to the Events Calendar.
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KSS event in Stirling: Public Sector Pensions
M&G Prudential, Stirling Craigforth Campus, Stirling30 January 2020– the unappreciated key assumption, the resulting unsustainable promises, the unmanaged risk and the unrecognised debt?
Speaker: Allan Martin will present this talk on 30 January in Glasgow, Stirling and Edinburgh. If you wish to register for another location please return to the Events Calendar.
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KSS event in Edinburgh: Public Sector Pensions
Hymans Robertson 1, Exchange Place, Semple St, Edinburgh30 January 2020– the unappreciated key assumption, the resulting unsustainable promises, the unmanaged risk and the unrecognised debt?
Speaker: Allan Martin will present this talk on 30 January in Glasgow, Stirling and Edinburgh. If you wish to register for another location please return to the Events Calendar.
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The Great Risk Transfer – Breakfast briefing and launch event
Staple Inn Hall, High Holborn London WC1V 7QJ31 January 2020Launch of the IFoA’s 2020 thought leadership campaign The Great Risk Transfer. The campaign will examine the trend of the transfer of risk from institutions to individuals, and how people can be better equipped to manage the financial risks they now face. At this breakfast event the IFoA will launch a call for evidence on this topic.
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NoCA event - The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals: The role of actuaries
N/A31 January 2020Presenters: Rebecca Deegan, Head of Policy, IFoA, and Faye Alessandrello, Policy Manager, IFoA
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Professional Skills Training - London (11 February 2020)
Staple Inn, High Holborn, London WC1V 7QJ11 February 2020A Trusted Profession
A 2 hour CPD event designed to meet the IFoA’s Stage 3 Professional Skills Training under the IFoA’s CPD Scheme 2019/2020. This session is suitable for actuaries working in any area (i.e. it is not specifically aimed at Pensions, GI or any other technical discipline) and is interactive, so you should come along prepared to take part in the discussions.
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Sessional: Impact of E-cigarettes Working Party
Royal College of Physicians, 9 Queen St, Edinburgh EH2 1JQ24 February 2020
This sessional meeting will be of direct interest to actuaries and others working in the in the Health and Care, Life or Pensions sectors or indeed actuaries with an interest in morbidity or mortality. Note: Registration is from 17.30 in time for the sessional to begin at 18.00. -
Professional Skills Training - Edinburgh (25 February 2020)
IFoA (Edinburgh), Level 2, Exchange Crescent 7 Conference Square Edinburgh EH3 8RA25 February 2020A Trusted Profession
A 2 hour CPD event designed to meet the IFoA’s Stage 3 Professional Skills Training under the IFoA’s CPD Scheme 2019/2020. This session is suitable for actuaries working in any area (i.e. it is not specifically aimed at Pensions, GI or any other technical discipline) and is interactive, so you should come along prepared to take part in the discussions.
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NoCA event - Model Risk
N/A28 February 2020Presenter: Mark Pibworth
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Data science - How actuaries can optimize usage of data science techniques within their sectors
Staple Inn, 4 High Holborn, Holborn, London. WC1V 6DR12 March 2020The world of Data Science continues to exponentially grow with unknown limits and where it can reach. However, without data we will all still face these challenges in our day to day life.
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What does this mean for Actuaries serving as NEDs and Trustees? These areas are likely to provide ne
Staple Inn, 4 High Holborn, Holborn, London. WC1V 6DR, UK19 March 2020What does this mean for Actuaries serving as NEDs and Trustees? These areas are likely to provide new opportunities, alongside new challenges, for the profession, but how can Actuaries identify and address the emerging professional and ethical issues?
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Spring Lecture 2020, Edinburgh - Vicky Pryce
Assembly Rooms, 54 George St, Edinburgh EH2 2LR25 March 2020What next in Economic Policy? Please join us on 25 March 2020 for our annual Spring Lecture presented by Vicky Pryce in Edinburgh.
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NoCA event - Intergenerational Fairness: Thinking long-term
N/A27 March 2020Presented By: Rebecca Deegan, Head of Policy, IFoA, and Catherine Burtle, Senior Policy Analyst, IFoA
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IFoA Asia Conference 2020, Kuala Lumpur
CCEC Nexus, 7, Jalan Kerinchi, Bangsar South, 59200 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia24-25 June 2020The sixth annual Asia Conference once again offers a prestigious line-up of home and international speakers discussing the insurance and financial industry’s innovation and change in Asia. This year's conference in Kuala Lumpur will be hosted by Tan Suee Chieh, IFoA’s first Asian President. He will also make his Presidential address at this conference and will expand on the important elements of IFoA’s new strategy. Additionally, this landmark conference will showcase how the IFoA is reinventing itself to support its members to succeed and thrive in a digital age, within traditional businesses and beyond, as a global organisation.
Not to be missed by international industry players, opinion formers, academic and industry leaders, actuaries and non-actuaries.
The authors will focus on a large dataset obtained from the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) and related sources. Data are available at the level of Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs) – small geographical areas with, typically, 1000-2000 residents and include death counts, exposures and a significant number of socio-economic variables including the index of multiple deprivation (IMD).
This sessional meeting will be of direct interest to actuaries and others working in the in the Health and Care, Life or Pensions sectors or indeed actuaries with an interest in morbidity or mortality. Note: Registration is from 17.30 in time for the sessional to begin at 18.00.