The Society of Actuaries (SOA) is a global

professional organization A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) usually seeks to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that profession, and th ...

for

actuaries An actuary is a business professional who deals with the measurement and management of risk and uncertainty. The name of the corresponding field is actuarial science. These risks can affect both sides of the balance sheet and require asset man ...

. It was founded in 1949 as the merger of two major actuarial organizations in the United States: the Actuarial Society of America and the American Institute of Actuaries. It is a full member organization of the

International Actuarial Association The International Actuarial Association (IAA) is a worldwide association of local professional actuarial associations. History The IAA is the continuation of the ''Comité Permanent des Congrès d’Actuaires'', established in 1895, as an assoc ...

. Through education and research, the SOA advances actuaries as leaders in measuring and managing risk to improve financial outcomes for individuals, organizations, and the public. The SOA's vision is for actuaries to be highly sought-after professionals who develop and communicate solutions for complex financial issues. The SOA provides primary and continuing education for students and practicing actuaries, maintains high professional standards for actuaries, and conducts research on actuarial trends and public policy issues. A global organization, the SOA represents actuaries from all major areas of practice, including life and health insurance, retirement and pensions, investment and finance, enterprise risk management, and general insurance (property and casualty) insurance. The

Casualty Actuarial Society The Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) is a professional society of actuaries specializing in property and casualty insurance. The two levels of CAS membership are Associate (ACAS) and Fellow (FCAS). Requirements for these levels of membership incl ...

also represents actuaries working with property and casualty. The SOA, along with its public relations firm Golin, won the ''

PRWeek ''PRWeek'' is a trade magazine for the public relations industry. The original UK edition was the brainchild of the late Geoffrey Lace who at the time worked for Haymarket. After failing to interest Haymarket in his idea he left to launch it on ...

'' Corporate Branding Campaign of the Year award for 2008. The award was given for the SOA's efforts to revitalize the actuarial profession's brand in the U.S., including the slogan "Risk is Opportunity."

History

The Society was founded as a merger of two major American actuarial associations, as reflected in its logo: the Actuarial Society of America (ASA) and the American Institute of Actuaries (AIA).

The Actuarial Society of America was the first actuarial professional association in North America, founded in 1889 with only 38 members and headquartered in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Initial members were included by invitation, but the organization soon adopted a system of examination for qualification, with the first Fellow to qualify via exams joining in 1900. The American Institute of Actuaries was founded in 1909. Based in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, it attracted members from life insurance companies in the midwestern and southern United States. The formation of the AIA, which (like the ASA) was geared toward actuaries in the field of life insurance, was followed within the decade by the creation of two other specialized actuarial organizations: the

, which still exists today, and the

Fraternal Actuarial Association Fraternal may refer to: *Fraternal organization, an organized society of men associated together in an environment of companionship and brotherhood, dedicated to the intellectual, physical, and social development of its members * Fraternal order, ...

which dissolved in 1980. Between the two organizations, which came to have some overlap in membership, the number of recognized professional actuaries climbed from the initial 38 to over 1000 by the time the two organizations merged in 1949 to form the SOA. The SOA has seen continued growth since then, now recognizing over 30,000 professional actuaries as active members.

Leadership structure

The SOA is headed by a board of directors, consisting of a president, president-elect, and fifteen other board members. In addition, the most recent past president is a member of the board. The board positions are filled by election. A member of the society is eligible to vote in board elections if they have the title of FSA, or if they have held the title of ASA for at least five years, and only FSAs can be elected to the board. (See the

Membership Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

section below for information on the professional titles granted by the society.) Regular board members are elected for terms of three years. The president-elect is elected for a term of one year, after which he or she becomes the president for a term of one year. The employees of the SOA are headed by the chief executive officer, a salaried position appointed by the board of directors.

SOA Elections

The SOA holds its elections annually in late summer or early fall for its board of directors and the Section Councils. In the board of directors election, one president-elect, and six elected board members are elected each year. Elected board members serve three–year terms. The president–elect serves three one–year terms as president–elect, president and past president. In section elections, generally one third of the council is elected each year as members serve three–year terms. Section councils select their officers (chair, vice chair, and secretary/treasurer). According to the SOA Bylaws, fellows and associates who have been members of the society for five years or more are entitled to vote in the board of directors' election. According to the Section Bylaws, all members of a Section are entitled to vote in the Section Council election. This includes ASAs, FSAs, and members of co–sponsoring organizations who are also members of a Section. SOA members with valid e–mail addresses in the SOA database are sent login credentials to vote online. Members without valid email addresses, or who notify the SOA of their request, receive paper ballots.

Membership

The society's members are involved in the

life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

, pension and

general insurance General insurance or non-life insurance policy, including automobile and homeowners policies, provide payments depending on the loss from a particular financial event. General insurance is typically defined as any insurance that is not determine ...

areas of the actuarial profession. There are three designations offered by the SOA. The two Associate-level designations are ''Associate of Society of Actuaries'' (ASA) and ''Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst'' (CERA), which was introduced in 2007. The highest designation is ''Fellow of the Society of Actuaries'' (FSA). The SOA has more than 30,000 actuaries as members. Requirements for membership for the SOA include the

actuarial exam The actuarial credentialing and exam process usually requires passing a rigorous series of professional examinations, most often taking several years in total, before one can become recognized as a credentialed actuary. In some countries, such as ...

s, a comprehensive series of competitive exams. Topics covered in the exams include mathematics, finance,

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

interest In finance and economics, interest is payment from a borrower or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is distin ...

theory, life models, and actuarial science. Non-members working in the actuarial profession and taking exams are often referred to as actuarial students or candidates. Members of the SOA who meet a professional experience requirement are eligible for membership in the

American Academy of Actuaries The American Academy of Actuaries, also known as the Academy, is the body that represents and unites United States actuaries in all practice areas. Established in 1965, the Academy serves as the profession's voice on public policy and professional ...

, which represents United States actuaries from all practice areas.

Examination system

Professional designations in the Society are earned by completing a rigorous system of

examinations An examination (exam or evaluation) or test is an educational assessment intended to measure a test-taker's knowledge, skill, aptitude, physical fitness, or classification in many other topics (e.g., beliefs). A test may be administered verb ...

. It is common for actuarial students to work full-time in the profession while studying for the exams. The first seven ("preliminary") exams consist mostly of core mathematics related to actuarial science including

probability Probability is the branch of mathematics concerning numerical descriptions of how likely an event is to occur, or how likely it is that a proposition is true. The probability of an event is a number between 0 and 1, where, roughly speakin ...

, statistics,

theory, life contingencies, and risk models. In 2016, the SOA announced changes to the curriculum for candidates seeking the associate designation and the Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst credential. In total, the number of components for Associateship from the SOA will increase from ten to twelve components, with three VEE subjects, seven formally examined subjects. These changes are in effect July 2018 and reflect an emphasis on

predictive analytics Predictive analytics encompasses a variety of statistical techniques from data mining, predictive modeling, and machine learning that analyze current and historical facts to make predictions about future or otherwise unknown events. In busine ...

, and also provides a curriculum balance between long-term and short-term insurance coverages. A series of online learning modules, called the Fundamentals of Actuarial Practice (FAP), are intended to be taken after the preliminary exams. They cover real-world topics such as

and professionalism with readings, case studies and projects. The preliminary exams and FAP modules comprise the majority of the education requirement for the ASA designation. Upper-level exam topics for the FSA designation include plan design, risk classification, enterprise risk management, ratemaking and valuation. Three fellowship exams are taken in one of six specialization tracks chosen by the candidate – Finance & Enterprise Risk Management, Investments, Individual Life Insurance & Annuities, Retirement Benefits, Group & Health Insurance, or General Insurance. The SOA is updating the Fellowship tracks beginning in late 2018. Candidates completing the Finance & Enterprise Risk Management track will also earn the CERA designation. Candidates in any of the other five tracks have the option of replacing their track-specific Enterprise Risk Management exam with a more generalized ERM exam in order to obtain the CERA designation in addition to FSA.

References

External links

Official Website''The Actuary'' magazine
{{Authority control Actuarial associations Professional associations based in the United States Organizations based in Schaumburg, Illinois Non-profit organizations based in Illinois