There are many areas you can work as an actuary and one of them being in consulting firms. Here we explain what consulting firms are to help you decide if they are the right area for you to work in. As the operation of pensions becomes ever more complex, there is an increasing demand for specialist advice to those businesses running pension schemes, creating opportunities within firms of actuarial and benefit consultants.

What are consultancy firms?

These consultancies offer independent expert advice and pensions provision to clients: they design and manage pensions schemes, providing actuarial and administration services.
They will advise clients on:

• Setting up a new scheme
• Assessing member contribution levels
• Valuing the fund in the event that the company’s taken over
• Financial accounting audits
• Dealing with regulation and compliance issues.

Additionally, consultancies will offer a range of services to their clients, such as:

• Enterprise risk management
• Merger and acquisition advice
• Corporate recovery
• Financing capital projects.

The large benefit consultancies are global organisations offering a wide range of attractive training opportunities. Typically you will work on more than one client’s pensions arrangements, so can expect varied exposure to different schemes and issues. Employers include Barnett Waddingham, Hymans Robertson, Punter Southall and Xafinity.

What will my role be at a consultancy firms?

 General tasks for graduates working in actuarial consultancy might include:

• Advising on the administration of pensions schemes
• Resolving business problems
• Keeping up to date with the business and financial worlds
• Undertaking actuarial valuations
• Determining the likelihood of different events and assess risks with mathematical models.

Some of the benefits of working in consultancy for graduate trainees are the greater variety of work, opportunity to travel and exposure to different industries and clients.

Why should I work in consultancy firms?

There are many reasons why working in consultancy firms can be a great option for you; including great growth in the industry as well as the opportunity to make an impact with your work. Here are just a few reasons why consultancy might be right for you:

• Great financial growth; – Being an actuary in a consultancy firm can be quite rewarding financially with actuarial consultants earning £36 – £54,000 and even more as you progress in your firm. Find out all the latest salaries and benefits here.
• Learning opportunities and great career progression; – At a consultancy firm there are many opportunities for growth whether you want to to become a manager or chief actuary, there are many options available with hard work and dedication. Also depending on the firm you can also progress in your actuarial career with training support from your firm to help you advance and become and expert in your field.
• Build connections with a wide range of people from all levels and industries; – Part of consulting includes working with a wide range of clients from all types of industries. So you will have the opportunity to network and build connections in your field. It’s a great way to add social value to your job and work together to solve a situation, there’s never a dull moment in consultancy.
• Can work in various locations; – Depending on the firm, many consultancy firms have international offices. This is great when you need to work with a client overseas and can open the opportunity for remote working and travel.