Actuaries are professionals who solve complex business problems in the insurance, annuity and employee benefits industries. After passing a series of examinations, they become part of a small and well-respected profession -- there are only 16,000 actuaries in the Society of Actuaries, the professional organization for life, health, and pension actuaries in the United States and Canada. More information can be found here: www.BeAnActuary.organd www.soa.org.

AXA Equitable's Actuarial Development Program (ADP) is designed so that you can gain practical experience as you prepare for actuarial exams. The goal of the program is to develop Fellows of the Society of Actuaries (FSAs) who are well positioned to become leaders of the company.

ADP members receive a combination of work experience through a formal job rotation program and generous study time to help prepare for exams. The job rotation process will provide the opportunity to work in many different business units. This experience will not only build technical and business skills, but will also provide broad exposure to the entire company operations and the many functions  that actuaries perform. Follow the links above to learn more about the actuarial profession and AXA Equitable's ADP.

At AXA Equitable, actuaries are problem solvers and decision-makers who are involved in nearly all facets of our insurance, annuity and investment operations. As highly trained managers and executives,  Actuaries work closely with experts in marketing, systems, investments, sales, and law, addressing issues such as:

• Designing and pricing new products which balance profitability and competitiveness
• Analyzing and projecting financial results
• Managing investment portfolios with insurance and annuity-specific considerations
• Long-term strategic planning and demographic forecasting
• Assessing the effects of changes in government legislation on AXA Equitable and its policyholders
  

If you are interested in a career that allows you to be a leader in all phases of our business, you should consider becoming an AXA Equitable actuary.

Members of the AXA Equitable Actuarial Development Program receive salary increases twice a year. The salary increases are comprised of (1) exam-based increases, (2) merit increases and (3) promotional increases, if applicable. Exam-based increases are determined by a set salary increase per exam successfully completed. Your performance will be evaluated twice a year; these evaluations will determine your merit increases. Evaluations follow a comprehensive format covering areas such as your analytical abilities, approach to work and interpersonal skills.

Promotions are based on both your exam progress and your work performance. In addition to increases in compensation, short-term incentive compensation is awarded to all ADP members.  This incentive compensation is based on the participant’s work performance and target bonus level, as well as the company’s past year’s financial results.

Actuarial Development Program, members participate in a formal job rotation program between business areas once every year to two years. The rotation program will provide you with the opportunity to work in many different business units. This experience will not only build your technical and business skills, but will also provide broad exposure to help you choose the career path that is right for you.

Some of the departments where our program members currently work include:

• Pricing and Product Development: You can work with our pricing actuaries to create innovative product design and develop rates for our portfolio of annuity, life insurance, and retirement products.
• Actuarial Projections and Valuation: This area is responsible for reporting and analyzing the IFRS and statutory earnings. In addition, we use financial models to project earnings and the major components of earnings statements for various projects such as: five year plan, cash flow testing, determining the amounts of DAC to be capitalized and amortized, and determining the company's embedded value.
• Corporate Models and Risk Management: The main task of this department is to coordinate the projects mentioned above (in Actuarial Projections). Actuaries gather and produce key assumptions such as sales levels, expenses, and investment returns, and produce the final reports used by senior management.
• Reinsurance: The reinsurance department is a professional retrocessionaire. This means that we agree to cover certain risks on insurance provided by reinsurance companies, which have in turn agreed to cover these risks on insurance policies issued by insurance companies.  ADP members will help determine appropriate premiums to charge for this coverage.
• Hedging:  Assessing and implementing risk management strategies.
• Tax Department:  The focus of the Tax Department is on the activity of the entire company, including all subsidiaries.  The main tasks are to analyze the tax effects of all company actions to compute and defend the actual tax liabilities and to determine financial statement tax expense.
  

The U.S. life and health actuarial profession is governed by a professional organization called the Society of Actuaries (SOA). To ensure high professional standards, the SOA has defined requirements for the attainment of the professional designation as a Fellow in the Society.

The requirements to become an Associate consist of five preliminary multiple choice exams, VEE credit for three subjects, eight online modules with an exam and exercise.  Most preliminary exams are given in May and November of each year, with the first exam being the exception. The preliminary exams and VEE cover the concepts of calculus, probability and statistics, economics, finance, actuarial models, and modeling. FAP teaches candidates about the business environment and exposes them to real-world situations before reaching the ASA level by using the control cycle as a framework.

The requirements to become a Fellow include all the requirements for an Associate, plus the completion of two written exams, two FSA modules in one specialty track and a module in decision making and communication.  The exams are given in May and November of each year.  The two written exams cover design and pricing, and company/sponsor perspective in specialized areas of actuarial practice.  The specialty tracks are Finance and Enterprise Risk Management; Health, Group Life and Managed Care; Individual Life and Annuities; Investments, and Retirement Benefits.

AXA Equitable strongly encourage you to begin taking actuarial exams while you are in school. Strong preference for summer internships will be given to college students who have passed at least one exam. Individuals interested in full-time placement in the ADP are required to have passed at least one exam.

The Society of Actuaries website is: www.soa.org.

Our program creates an environment where you will receive personal attention. An advisory committee, made up of ADP members, meets with management regularly to provide input and ensure your needs are met. We also provide a mentoring program in which you will be paired up with one of our actuaries who can provide you with personalized guidance and advice.

Our goal is to enable you to become a well-rounded future AXA Equitable business leader.

AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company is the largest single operating unit of AXA Financial, Inc. (formerly The Equitable Companies Inc.) AXA Financial, Inc. has been a leading member of the global AXA Group since 1991, when AXA made a strategic investment in the company, thereby becoming its majority shareholder. In 2001, AXA Financial, Inc. became fully owned by AXA. More information about AXA Financial, Inc. can be found at www.axa-equitable.com.

AXA  is one of the world's largest, most rapidly expanding and international financial services organizations. This added international aspect allows AXA Equitable to offer positions abroad to our actuarial community, typically after attainment of Fellowship status. In addition, we periodically offer various training classes at AXA University in Bordeaux, France.

Candidates must have passed at least one of the actuarial exams. A high academic standing and a strong math aptitude are essential. You should also possess the ability to think creatively, to express your thoughts clearly, and to work effectively with others.