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Importance of Past Experience

M

mystery128

Member
Hi!

I have about 6 years work experience in the life insurance industry and no experience in either investment or finance. I have studied ST5 and ST6 and now want to write the SA7 exam.

How important do you think is work experience for sitting this exam? Also, is there any other way to make up for lack for work experience while studying for the exam?

Any insight will be very valuable.
 
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Hi. I assume you mean SA7 above rather than SP7. You may want to read my response to a recent student in life insurance who was in a similar situation:
https://www.acted.co.uk/forums/index.php?threads/sa7-purpose.16336/
Basically you can pass SA7 without working in the investment field, particularly if you already have SP5 and SP6 (SP6 is not a requirement for SA7 though). But it does help if you work there and know about the recent issues that have been discussed in the industry over the previous few years. It sometimes depends on the luck of the exam, whether you get one that focuses on the material in the course and in SP5, or whether you get one with a large question on a topical issue that you hadnt come across before.
 
Hi Colin,

Yes, I ment SA7 only!

Thank you for the quick response. Would you also be able to help with with a list of books, etc that I can go through to help bridge the gap of my lack of work experience?
 
That is quite hard because most books discuss older established concepts, whereas the things that can catch you out are current issues that havent yet been fully explored in books. The best thing is to keep a close eye on the websites of the consultancies and see what they are recommending to trustees, and what newer LDI techniques they may be pushing. To look at the papers that are presented at the Profession's risk and investment conferences, and sometimes to keep an eye on the actuary magazine articles which sometimes discuss current issues. It can be quite difficult, and as I say, many SA7 papers do not have a topical question at all.
In terms of books, the best would probably be the ones that are referenced in the core reading itself. They are on a variety of topics including behavioural finance, investment advice, and LDI.
 
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