University attended: University of Dundee
Degree: BSc Mathematics
Office location: Stratford-upon-Avon
Department, team or function: Risk Actuarial
What first attracted you to NFU Mutual?
I applied to NFU Mutual because their Actuarial graduate scheme had the exam support I was looking for and the company itself had very positive reviews on Glassdoor, indicating that it was a good place to work. I accepted the offer of a job because of how positive my experience of the selection process was. The interviewers were very supportive and friendly, allowing me to perform at my best and signalling to me the type of culture present in the company. On top of that, the HR/Talent team were proactive in their communication with me, making me feel like a valued candidate.
How does the graduate scheme work?
I am on the Actuarial scheme. This scheme provides me with a route to becoming a qualified actuary whilst gaining valuable experience and contributing to the business in the meantime.
Successful applicants are placed in one of several actuarial teams across General Insurance and Life as an actuarial trainee. Each team specialises in its own area, for example reserving, modelling or capital management, to name a few. From there you contribute to the business and become an expert in your area, whilst studying towards becoming an Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) Chartered Actuary.
The qualification process involves sitting exams every April and September. Each exam has a specified number of paid study days which you take in the lead up to the exam, as well as a specified pay rise following a pass. Both of these vary according to the difficulty and amount of content in the exam. The company also provides study materials and the opportunity to attend tutorials.
What do you like best about your job?
There have been many development opportunities for me on the scheme. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) sessions with actuaries across the business provides the opportunity to work with experienced colleagues on topics relating directly to being an actuary, such as conduct, professionalism and ethics. There are often opportunities to attend webinars conducted by the IFoA or consultancy firms on actuarial topics – I often attend these just to broaden my knowledge, so it doesn’t need to relate directly to my role.
How are you supported in your role?
My manager is always happy to talk about career development and has helped me develop a plan for becoming a people manager myself after qualifying as an actuary. Relating to this, there are many training courses available to complete on a range of topics which could be as simple as a 1-hour webinar or a full day in-person course.
As part of the Professional Trainee scheme, I had the chance to participate in various training sessions focused on building people up to be effective in their roles, no matter the discipline. These sessions included Presentation Skills, Effective Influencing (a personal favourite), Change Management and Consultancy Skills.
What has been your proudest moment so far?
Last year a new regulation was coming into force from our regulator, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). It involved attesting to the sufficiency of the Matching Adjustment (MA), which is a tool companies use to reduce the value of their liabilities, freeing up capital for other uses. This new attestation regulation would involve many people across the business working many hours on an annual basis to complete.
My team decided it was worth applying for an exemption from this rule since the size of our MA benefit is much smaller than most companies. I gathered the data and presented it in a paper submitted to the PRA in request of the exemption. It was successful and thus far we are the only company to be exempt from the regulation. This exemption has allowed those involved to commit more time to more value-adding work for the foreseeable future.
What advice would you have for someone starting out?
Personally, I wasn’t overly formal in my answers to the application and initial interview questions. I think sounding natural and letting your personality shine through a little bit goes a long way. But whatever you do, do not use AI to the point where you're not being your authentic self.
How did you find the onboarding experience?
In the weeks leading up to my start at the company there was a good amount of communication with the Talent team and my people manager. The first week was dedicated to a comprehensive induction to the company. This included talks and Q&As from senior leaders across the business, group activities and a group project. This allowed me to make friends with many people in an environment more relaxed than the usual working week, which was especially valuable for me since I had moved from Scotland and didn’t know anyone in the area.
When I arrived for my first day in my new team, I was made to feel very welcome and relaxed. From day one I was given new and interesting tasks and soon I had my very own project to work on. I was treated like a valued team member from the very start.
What is your current role?
I am an Actuarial Trainee in the Capital Management Projects team within the Risk division. Our team, as the name suggests, is a projects team which means our work is varied and innovative. We employ various actuarial techniques and models to advise the business on the financial risks faced and how to manage or monitor them.
A few examples of this are:
- Setting target asset class proportions for the Asset-Liability Matching fund (ALM)
- Determining our interest rate swap strategy and optimal combination
- Deriving climate change financial impacts and assessing our exposure to these
- Parameterising financial risks, i.e. deriving extreme but plausible changes in financial risk metrics to be used in modelling.
Most of our work ends in a paper or report, so there has been plenty of opportunity for me to build up my written communication skills, as well as my presenting skills. There is also some creativity involved in the work since many of our tasks are not regular processes but instead involve coming up with a whole new approach.
Interested in joining NFU Mutual?
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