Actuary Investment Track + CERA, Trying to Break in to MFE

[InvestmentActuary]

Hey Guys,

I'm hoping you guys might be able to help me out.

I did a bachelors in Actuarial Science & Statistics in Scotland (where, in contrast to the US system where you must branch out, I did 28 courses in varying depths of mathematics & statistics finishing with masters level courses in Adv derivative pricing and stochastic calculus).

I then spent a year working on solvency II modelling in europe (VAR, and CTE/Economic Capital Calcs).

After that I moved to the us, and while working for a US medical insurer I passed the investment track exams and obtained the CERA acredittation.

So in terms of academics, I have formal background in derviatives pricing using monte carlo simulation, portfolio risk measurement, extreme value theory and all the lovely mathematics that underpin modern finance.

In terms of practical skillsets I am (self taught) but have used C++ in applied work setting, built stochastic pricing models in matlab and all of the other trimmings.

I had thought that my Investment FSA and CERA would give me the golden ticket into a quant research job (I know the maths and application already, afterall). But time and time again i'm getting screened out at the HR level for quant job interviews because I dont have a masters or PhD; do I really have to have one?

I'm kind of at a loss, I know that put in front of a quant I'd be able to hold up to scrutiny but I never seem to get there because I dont have a PhD, and I dont see how a PhD in physics would make me more qualified for the job than i already am given that I'm fairly sure the only overlap is stochastic calculus.

If I were to get a masters it'd probably be in computer science since I can see that having developmental benefits but I really dont want to outlay the cost when it's reasonably easy to learn computer language on the side/at work.

Is anyone here an actuay working in the quant field? How did you break in? Can anyone provide me with some advice?

 

[olgenue]

Dear Investment Actuary,
You are in a pretty sweet spot right now what with insurers and reinsurers embarking on their own capital modelling initiatives in parallel with solvency 2 initiatives. For the top European insurers, their actuaries (some of whom are PhDs as well) are involved in economic scenario generation to internal model calibration. The topics covered are not easy either: copulas, catastrophe models, pandemic models, stochastic mortality models, insurance-linked securitization, the use of phylogenetic analysis and bayesian networks to model emerging risk. If I were you, I would carve out my own niche is this seemingly less-glamorous but interesting industry. If quantitative finance still sounds too attractive to you, you can try to look for similar type roles within the insurance industry for eg. economic scenario generation/market risk modeller/credit risk modeller as part of an internal modelling team in an insurer or reinsurer. If getting a quantitative master's degree would give you that much needed boost, then go for it without limiting yourself to just MFEs.
I left the insurance industry 3 years ago for a bank (moving from actuarial reserving in a reinsurer to asset-liability management in a bank) and then moved back to the reinsurance industry (enterprise risk management) role. I have an MFE but prefer to carve my own niche in the insurance/reinsurance world.

 

[olgenue]

Also, one of the reasons that I moved back to the insurance industry is that I miss working with actuaries, who in my opinion are well-rounded quants with skin in the game and hence inspire trust and respect

 

[Kky]

First, I don't know why you would choose to transfer to a quant research career path. Probably you may believe that you can get paid better. However, the fact is qualified actuaries typically receive a downgrade in positions after moving to wall street, unless for some insurance oriented positions that relies on actuary expertise. Even if you manage to transfer to quant research in banks, it's very likely that you may get hired as an associate instead of a VP, which means you actually get paid less.

I think you may try to break into some quantitative research/analytic firms that provide ESG software/risk consulting services to insurance companies (Numerix, Moody's Analytics, Blackrock etc.), and then try to rotate internally to investment-oriented research positions. It's a small market that is not easy to enter. But these firms value your expertise and your career transfer would be more smooth.

Your expertise level in quantitative finance is probably above a Master degree level, but some quantitative strategist/research positions in top banks are so research intensive that only top-tier school PhDs can handle. They do hire some master students, but only for some lower-level testing stuff. Actuarial educations doesn't prepare you well for these positions, and I think it's not worth it for you to do it.

Hey Guys,

I'm hoping you guys might be able to help me out.

I did a bachelors in Actuarial Science & Statistics in Scotland (where, in contrast to the US system where you must branch out, I did 28 courses in varying depths of mathematics & statistics finishing with masters level courses in Adv derivative pricing and stochastic calculus).

I then spent a year working on solvency II modelling in europe (VAR, and CTE/Economic Capital Calcs).

After that I moved to the us, and while working for a US medical insurer I passed the investment track exams and obtained the CERA acredittation.

So in terms of academics, I have formal background in derviatives pricing using monte carlo simulation, portfolio risk measurement, extreme value theory and all the lovely mathematics that underpin modern finance.

In terms of practical skillsets I am (self taught) but have used C++ in applied work setting, built stochastic pricing models in matlab and all of the other trimmings.

I had thought that my Investment FSA and CERA would give me the golden ticket into a quant research job (I know the maths and application already, afterall). But time and time again i'm getting screened out at the HR level for quant job interviews because I dont have a masters or PhD; do I really have to have one?

I'm kind of at a loss, I know that put in front of a quant I'd be able to hold up to scrutiny but I never seem to get there because I dont have a PhD, and I dont see how a PhD in physics would make me more qualified for the job than i already am given that I'm fairly sure the only overlap is stochastic calculus.

If I were to get a masters it'd probably be in computer science since I can see that having developmental benefits but I really dont want to outlay the cost when it's reasonably easy to learn computer language on the side/at work.

Is anyone here an actuay working in the quant field? How did you break in? Can anyone provide me with some advice?