eFinancialCareers

Typically seen as the refuge of grey-suited maths nerds, the actuarial profession is struggling to attract the talent it needs.

A raft of regulation from the Financial Services Association, such as Solvency II, together with increased requirements from non-life insurance industries has seen a flood of new jobs.

Paul Walsh, CEO of Acumen Resourcing, a recruitment firm run by actuaries for actuaries, says: “Even if the number of people entering the market remains constant they still can’t fill the number of roles out there, which has increased exponentially in the last two years.”

Sadly, the sector’s allure hasn’t kept up with its requirements – Hewitt Associates says it’s seen the number of graduates looking to enter the pensions consulting space slump.

Garry Jones, recruitment coordinator at the firm, says: “We have recognised the importance of growing our talent pool, increasing the numbers of graduates recruited through our graduate recruitment programme and ensuring that these vacancies are filled early.”

The dearth of talent isn’t restricted to the UK – Ireland, Europe, the US and Australia are also said to be struggling to fill actuarial jobs.

And, as the qualifications are international, actuaries aren’t afraid to leave the UK. The Institute of Actuaries says 30% of the UK’s 5,500 actuaries are based overseas.

To ease the pressure, much of the grunt work (valuations) is being outsourced. For example, Hewitt has a team of 50 in Budapest, and Paternoster employs 65 actuaries and finance professionals in Mumbai.

“It would have been challenging to find 65 actuaries in the UK,” says Kirsty Fitzpatrick, a spokesperson for Paternoster.

The international flow of actuarial talent is fortunately a two-way affair – the International Institute of Actuaries’ figures suggest that 30% of new actuarial graduates come from emerging economies.

Investment banks have also been looking to lure actuaries into their pensions advisory groups. Cathy Carroll, actuarial manager at recruiter Darwin Rhodes, says: “The basic salaries compete with the best paying sector – general insurance – but bonuses, which are usually 25% for actuaries, can be anything from 100-200% in an investment bank.”

Walsh says salaries for actuaries have risen by 10-15% in the last couple of years. Although the levels vary wildly depending on where you’re based and what sector you specialise in, graduates are typically paid £25k-£35k, a newly-qualified actuary brings in £46k-£55k and senior actuaries earn £100k+, according to figures from recruiters D.W. Simpson & Co.