Actuarial profession in Pakistan - Part II

The Pakistan Society of Actuaries electoral roles show that there are 37 members registered with PSOA (no website as yet - but we are working on it). Of these approximately 30 are physically resident in Pakistan and around 27 are active in the profession. Rough estimates put the student count at 50 looking at a potential membership pool of 70 - 80 practitioners and students. Compared with statistics from the Malaysian Society of Actuaries (pool of around 300 members), the number seems low for a country of Pakistan size and resources.

In terms of employment opportunities, there are 5 consulting firms that I touched in an earlier post that do traditional work. There are 5 life insurance company, around 40 odd active general (P&C) insurers, two reinsurance firms (both state owned) and a handful of brokers. One takaful operator has opened for business and a few more are in the pipeline.

In terms of non-traditional opportunities, there are 40 odd financial instutions, a handful of DFI's and investment banks and a similar number of mutual funds. All are looking for risk management talent and implementation teams for Basel II. Some are looking for technical hands on resources for their derivative desks. Banks are also rolling out captive insurance and asset management arms that would require separate teams with similar talents.

At first glance it would appear that the future is rosier on the non-traditional side. But for a traditional actuary the transition is difficult. The names that follow have taken chances on actuarial talent in the near past and if you know some one higher up, they would represent your best chances. Institutions that have hired actuaries in non-traditional roles include:

1) The State Bank of Pakistan
2) Muslim Commercial Bank
3) Habib Bank
4) Interbank (part of Packages group)
5) Arif Habib Funds (Nasim Beg & Co)

For jobs on the non-traditional side your chances improve with a specialization in Investments and Enterprise Risk Management. They improve dramatically if you have any exposure to these areas with a banking focus. If you add Basel II, the magic is complete and you can name your own price.