Skip to main content
The Actuary: The magazine of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries - return to the homepage Logo of The Actuary website
  • Search
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on Facebook
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on LinkedIn
  • Visit @TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Visit the website of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries Logo of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

Main navigation

  • News
  • Features
    • General Features
    • Interviews
    • Students
    • Opinion
  • Topics
  • Knowledge
    • Business Skills
    • Careers
    • Events
    • Predictions by The Actuary
    • Whitepapers
    • Moody's - Climate Risk Insurers series
    • Webinars
    • Podcasts
  • Jobs
  • IFoA
    • CEO Comment
    • IFoA News
    • People & Social News
    • President Comment
  • Archive
Quick links:
  • Home
  • The Actuary Issues
  • October 2020
President Comment
Opinion

Springboard for the future

Open-access content Wednesday 7th October 2020
Authors
Tan Suee Chieh

When I completed my actuarial papers in 1984, I knew I had landed in a ‘safe and secure box’.

web_p5_Tan.png

The FIA (or FFA as it was then) was a passport to attain ‘safe and secure roles’ for the rest of our lives.

With the fourth industrial revolution and increasing longevity, a professional qualification alone is no longer sufficient to guarantee continued relevance in the workplace, simply because industry structures and work are changing rapidly. The world has become more fast-moving, digital, interconnected, complex and uncertain.

The IFoA’s new VSMD strategy – vision, skillsets, mindsets and domains – seeks to transform our secure box into a springboard for the future. We have to modernise our skillsets to include data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). This is the maths of our time, and data is the currency of the future.  

Of greater importance is our mindset. We must be more curious and adaptable, and pursue lifelong learning. Actuaries must be willing not only to learn about digital and scientific developments, but also to address new sources of uncertainty such as COVID-19, low or negative interest rates and climate risk.  

We must join the dots across developments in many domains, as innovation will take place at their intersection. Genetics, behavioural finance and blockchain will impact savings and protection. Wearables, robots and new health ecosystems will transform healthcare. Autonomous vehicles, robots and drones will impact risk. Huge companies such as Alibaba and Google will influence how protection and savings are delivered. AI will replace many actuarial tasks, enabling us to navigate to higher value work.

In a world of uncertainty we must exercise greater judgment, as our risk models do not give the complete answer. We need to experiment with new ideas and work with other disciplines.

Given our profession’s rich heritage and talent, and the VSMD strategy now in place, actuaries can face the future with hope, excitement and confidence.  

Tan Suee Chieh is the president of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

October 2020
This article appeared in our October 2020 issue of The Actuary.
Click here to view this issue
Also filed in:
President Comment
Opinion

You might also like...

Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linked in
  • Mail
  • Print

Latest Jobs

Senior Underwriting Risk Manager

London (Central)
£85K-£95K + Benefits
Reference
124386

Reserving Manager (Contract)

London (Central)
£1200 - £1400 per day
Reference
124385

Life Actuary - Contract - IFRS 17 Financial Impact

England, London / England, Bristol / North Yorkshire, England
£900 - £1150 per day
Reference
124384
See all jobs »
 
 

Today's top reads

 
 

Sign up to our newsletter

News, jobs and updates

Sign up

Subscribe to The Actuary

Receive the print edition straight to your door

Subscribe
Spread-iPad-slantB-june.png

Topics

  • Data Science
  • Investment
  • Risk & ERM
  • Pensions
  • Environment
  • Soft skills
  • General Insurance
  • Regulation Standards
  • Health care
  • Technology
  • Reinsurance
  • Global
  • Life insurance
​
FOLLOW US
The Actuary on LinkedIn
@TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Facebook: The Actuary Magazine
CONTACT US
The Actuary
Tel: (+44) 020 7880 6200
​

IFoA

About IFoA
Become an actuary
IFoA Events
About membership

Information

Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Cookie Policy
Think Green

Get in touch

Contact us
Advertise with us
Subscribe to The Actuary Magazine
Contribute

The Actuary Jobs

Actuarial job search
Pensions jobs
General insurance jobs
Solvency II jobs

© 2022 The Actuary. The Actuary is published on behalf of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries by Redactive Publishing Limited. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part is not allowed without written permission.

Redactive Media Group Ltd, 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ