F71AA - Actuarial Applications

Course leader(s):

Peter John Guy Ridges (Edinburgh, September)

Aims

To provide students with an introduction to actuarial work skills, connecting their theoretical studies to actuarial practice.

This will include software skills in R and Excel. It may include teamwork, checking, personal effectiveness, report writing, career planning/interviews and presentations.

The course will include sufficient theoretical material to allow assessment in actuarial modelling in R and Excel, to the extent that this is not covered elsewhere in the MSc Actuarial Science. It will prepare students with the necessary knowledge to take F71AK Financial Economics in Semester 2. Topics may include run-off triangles, profit testing and portfolio construction.

Syllabus

1. Introduction to models and actuarial work (1.1 What a model is and what makes a good model. How actuaries use models.)

2. Introduction to Excel (2.1 Problem-based learning in Excel including the principles of good spreadsheet construction, using exercises such as producing run-off triangles.)

3. Introduction to R (3.1 A first introduction to statistical modelling in R with no assumed prior knowledge of R.)

4. Selected topics in the area of actuarial workplace skills (4.1 To include business writing and teamwork. Other topics may include client management, personal effectiveness or project management.)

5. Selected topics in financial economics (5.1 Topics may include measures of investment risk, mean-variance portfolio analysis and asset pricing models.)

6. Apply emerging cashflow techniques to actuarial problems (6.1 Profit-testing and unit-linked products)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students should be able to do the following:

demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of actuarial workplace skills such as effective spreadsheet construction and checking and report writing at an introductory level. Apply these to actuarial problems.
demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of Excel modelling, including the ability to identify good practice. Apply Excel to the analysis of unseen actuarial problems and the evaluation of solutions.
demonstrate an introductory knowledge and understanding of R modelling. Apply R to unseen problems in introductory statistics.
know and understand emerging cashflow techniques. Apply these to actuarial problems, in particular profit-testing and unit-linked products.
know and understand selected topics in financial economics. Apply this to the analysis of actuarial problems.

Further details

Curriculum explorer: Click here

SCQF Level: 11

Credits: 15