BACHELOR OF SCIENCE HONOURS DEGREE IN ACTUARIAL SCIENCES (HACS)
PROGRAMME OVERVIEW
The purpose of the programme is to equip students
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- with actuarial and economic concepts, principles and processes in the areas of Science, Engineering, Industry and Commerce.
- with a background for post- graduate studies in actuarial and related areas.
- with skills to design and implement computer programming tasks.
- with a sound knowledge, of actuarial and of business studies which they can apply across a broad spectrum of areas.
- for teaching secondary school mathematics and actuarial courses at tertiary institutions.
- for conducting research at whatever level.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
For all entry pathways candidates must have at least five Ordinary Level subjects/ National Foundation Certificates including English Language, Mathematics and a Science subject at grade C or better.
| Normal Entry: | At least 5 Ordinary level subjects/ National Foundation Certificates inclusive of Mathematics and English Language AND they should have passed “A” Level Mathematics and any other science or commercial subject or their recognized equivalents. |
| Special Entry: | National Certificate, National Diploma or Higher National Diploma in relevant fields. |
| Mature Entry: | Refer to Section 3.3 of the General Regulations. |
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AND FURTHER EDUCATION
5.1 Career Opportunities
- Insurance: investigating, analysing and explaining a wide range of numerical information to create and price polices, or to ensure they have sufficient funds to cover claims.
- Pensions: designing and advising on company pension schemes.
- Investments: involved in research and on the pricing and management of investments.
- Banking: calculating and quantifying an array of risks faced by these institutions such as the inability of some borrowers to repay their debt, or the risk of a fall in financial markets.
- Healthcare: investigating, analysing and explaining a wide range of health and medical information to price contributions to medical schemes or assess the impact to the industry of changes in regulation.
- Risk management: assisting businesses to better understand the multiple risks they face in a holistic and comprehensive manner, as well as provide assistance and guidance in terms of how to understand their impact and how they can best be managed.
- Consultancy: Actuaries in administrative positions have to explain technical matters to executives, government officials, shareholders, policyholders.
- Further Education
Graduates could continue to an MSc in Applied Actuarial Science, an MSc in
Mathematics and its applications or an MSc in Statistics.
PROGRAMME STRUCTURE
N.B Modules in bold are MBK modules
Level 1 Semester 1
Module Description Credits
HACS131 * Introduction to Actuarial Methods and Applications 12
HMAT131* Calculus 1 12
HSTA133* Probability 1 12
HSTA132* Introduction to Statistics 12
HACS132*Introduction to Information Technology 12
CS131*Communication Skills 12
Level 1 Semester 2
Module Description Credits
HMAT132*Linear Mathematics 1 12
HSTA* Statistical Computing 1 12
HSTA107*Statistical Inference 1 12
HACS134* Micro Economics 12
HSTA105* Regression and ANOVA I 12
HCSCI132 Principles of Programming Languages 12
Total number of credits 144
Level 2 Semester 1
Module Description Credits
HACS231* Actuarial Mathematics I 12
HACS232* Theory of Interest 12
HMAT241*Analysis 12
HSTA237*Time Series Analysis 12
HACS233*Fundamentals of Actuarial Mathematics 1 12
GS231*Gender Studies 12
Level 2 Semester 2
Module Description Credits
HACS234* Fundamentals of Actuarial Mathematics 1I 12
HACS235*Corporate Finance 1 12
HMAT233*Partial Differential Equations and Fourier Series 12
HMAT424*Optimization Techniques 12
HCSCI Models of Database and Database Design 12
TCNP201*Technoprenuership 12
Total number of credits 144
Level 3 Semester 1 Credits
HSTA410*Stochastic Processes 12
HACS331* Actuarial Statistics I 12
HACS332*Risk Theory 12
HSTA210*Operations Research I 12
HACS333*Corporate Finance II 12
Level 3 Semester 2 Credits
HACS334* Financial Economics 12
HSTA408* Econometrics 12
HACS335* Actuarial Mathematics I 12
HACS336* Methods of Actuarial Investigations 12
HACSS337* Computational Finance 12
Total number of credits 120
Level 4 Semester 1 and 2
Module Description Credits
HACS431* Work-Related Learning I 40
HACS432* Work-Related Learning II 80
Total number of credits 120
Level 5 Semester 1
Module Description Credits
HSTA412* Survival Models 12
HACS531* Principles of Financial Management 12
HACS532* Health Indicators 12
HACS533* Life Contingencies 12
HACS534* Actuarial Mathematics II 12
Level 5 Semester 2
Module Description Credits
HACS535* Pensions and Benefits Insurance 12
HACS536* Investment and Asset Liability Management 12
HACS537* Financial Engineering 12
HACS538 Actuarial Statistics II 12
HACS570* Dissertation 36
Total number of credits 84
SYNOPSES
HACS131: Introduction to Actuarial Applications
Elementary Mathematics, Statistics and multistate models. Principles of Mathematics of Finance, life contingencies, risk assessment and management; practice of investments, life insurance, general insurance and retirement provision; and current topics. The course culminates by addressing questions concerning professionalism and what it is to be an actuary.
HMAT131: Calculus 1
Limit of functions. One-sided and infinite limits. Continuity. Differentiation. Definition, basic properties. Rolle’s Theorem, mean value theorem, Cauchy’s mean value theorem. Leibniz’ rule. Applications. Taylor series. Integration, Definite integrals. Antiderivatives. Fundamental theorem of calculus. Improper integrals. Gamma and Beta functions. Definition of natural logarithm as integral of 1/x and exponential as inverse. Area, volume of revolution, arc length, surface area. Parametric equations. Arc length, surface area. Polar coordinates. Graph sketching. Area in polar coordinates. Complex numbers. Algebra of complex numbers. De Moivre’s theorem, Exponential form.
HMAT132: Linear Mathematics I
Complex numbers: geometric representation, algebra. De Moivres theorem polynomials and roots of polynomial equations. Matrices and determinants: algebra of matrices, inverses, definition and manipulation of determinants, solutions of simultaneous linear equations, applications to geometry and vectors. Differential equations: separable, homogeneous, exact, integrating factors, linear equation with constant coefficients.
HSTA132: Introduction to Statistics
Graphical techniques. Kinds of measures of central tendency. Measures of variability. Empirical distributions. Moments. Skewness and Kurtosis. Applications. Indicators. Contingency Tables. Introduction to Time Series trends. Sampling. Introduction to estimation procedures: Judgemental method and Method of moments. Introduction to Hypothesis testing. Ideas about non-parametric statistics. Chi-square contingency methods, Goodness of fit, Q-Q plots, using applications in agricultural and health statistics.
HSTA133: Probability Theory I
Axiomatic probability, sets and events, sample space, conditional probability, Independence, laws discrete and continuous random variables, probability density functions, mean, variance, expectation. Independence, Chebyshev’s inequality, moments and moment generating functions. Common Discrete Distributions, Uniform, Bernoulli and Binomial, multinomial, hypergeometric, Poisson, Geometric and negative binomial. Use of tables. Common Continuous Distributions: Uniform, Normal, Exponential, gamma, beta. Joint Probability Distributions. Conditional and marginal distribution, expectation, covariance and correlation. Approximations, Law of large numbers, Central limit Theorem, Normal approximation to Binomial, Poisson, etc.
HSTA104: Statistical Computing
Introduction to use of statistical software. Training on database software including Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, SPSS, Epi-Data and Epi-Info. Use of these software for data entry, data management and analysis. Interpretation of analysis results and statistical report writing.
HSTA107: Statistical Inference 1
Deductive inference, population and sample concepts as the basis of statistical inference, parameters and statistics, review of probability theory. Central Limit Theorem, Chi-square, student-t and F distributions, distribution of min and max. Estimation: methods of estimation, properties of estimators and their sampling distributions. Interval estimation. and Hypothesis testing.
HACS133: Economic Principles
Economics as a science, the scope of economics. Introduction to microeconomics. Demand and supply analysis, effects of controls on prices and supply; classicity of demand and supply, production factors, cost analysis. Utility theory and consumer behaviour. Analysis of insurance problems in terms of utility. Market forms and income distribution, general equilibrium theory. The theory of firms. Introduction to Macro Economics and the role of government in Economics, public sector, finance and taxation. National Income measures; the circular flow of income; the multiplier and accelerator; aggregate demand and supply. Government fiscal policy and its effects. Government monetary policy and its effects. The money supply and credit creation by banking systems. The major factors affecting unemployment, inflation, and economic growth. Monetarist and Keynesian approaches. International trade, exchange rates and the balance of payments.
HMAT241: Analysis
Revision of elementary functions including hyperbolic functions and their inverses. Limits and continuity of functions. Techniques of differentiation. Higher order derivatives. Applications to curve sketching and extreme value problems. Taylor series. L’Hopital’s rule. Methods of integration. The fundamental theorem of calculus. Applications of the integral. Complex exponentials. De Moivre’s theorem. Historical development of the real number system: Countability, cardinal numbers, existence of transcendental numbers. The real numbers as a complete, ordered field. Supremum axiom, Archimedean property, principle of monotone bounded convergence, nested interval theorem, Bolzano-Weierstrass theorem, convergence of Cauchy sequences. Limits and continuity of real functions. Boundedness theorem, intermediate value theorem, interval theorem, application to fixed–point theorem, Uniform continuity. Differentiability, Local extrema, Rolle’s theorem, mean – value theorem, L’Hospital’s rule, Leibnitz’s theorem. Taylor’s theorem. Applications to finding roots, curve sketching, classification of local extrema, and approximation by polynomials. The Riemann integral, Integrability, properties of the Riemann integral, the mean-value theorem for integrals, the fundamental theorem of calculus.
HSTAT105: Regression and Analysis of Variance 1
Correlation and regression, scatterplots, correlation matrix. Method of least squares, associated lines, assumptions underlying regression. Checking validity of assumptions. Residuals and transformations. Outliers. Pearson’s and Spearman’s correlation coefficients, predictions. Regression in terms of sums of squares and sums of products. Estimation and testing, t and F-tests. Multiple linear regression: linear equations and matrices. Matrices in simple and multiple linear regression. Testing and inference in multiple linear regression using matrices. Partial correlation. Analysis of variance (ANOVA). Assumptions underlying ANOVA. One-way, balanced design ANOVA.
HACS231: Actuarial Mathematics I
Annuities: Level annuities-continuously payable annuities, accumulations and annuities payable pthly, deferred and increasing annuities(including compound and varying annuities).Definition and application of an equation of value .Loan payments and repayment of regular instalments of interest and capital:
Discounted cash flow techniques in investment project appraisal:
Investment and risk characteristics of the following types available for investment purposes: Fixed interest government borrowings, Fixed-interest borrowing other bodies, Shares and other equity-type finance, Derivatives
Analyse elementary compound interest problems:
PV of payments from a fixed interest security where the coupon rate is constant and security is redeemed in one instalment; Calculate upper and lower bounds for the present value of fixed interest security that is redeemable on a single date within a given range at the option of the borrower; running yield and redemption yield from a fixed interest security, given price; PV of real rate of interest implied by equation in the presence of specified inflationary growth; PV or real yield from an index-linked bond, given assumptions about the rate of inflation; Calculate the delivery price and the value of a forward contact using arbitrage free pricing methods.
Arbitrage:
Show an understanding of term structure of interest rates;
Par yield and yield to maturity; discrete spot rates and forward rates; continuous spot rates and forward rates; duration and convexity of a cash flow sequence, and illustration of how these may be used to estimate the sensitivity of the value of the cash flow sequence to a shift in interest rates; Redington (immunisation.)
Show an understanding of simple stochastic models for investment returns;
The concept of a stochastic interest rate model and the fundamental distinction between this deterministic model; annual rates of returns which are iid and for simple models, expressions for the mean value and the variance of accumulated amount of a single premium; recursive relationship which permit the evaluation of the mean value and the variance of the accumulated amount of an annual premium; r.v (1+i) with
Log-normal distribution amount of a single premium and from the present value of a sum due at a given specified future time; applying the above results to the calculation of the probability that a simple sequence of payments will accumulate to a given amount at a specified future time.
HACS232: Theory of Interest
Measurement of simple and compound interest; accumulated and present value functions, annuities, yield rates, amortization. Schedules and sinking funds; bonds, securities and related funds; Application to mortgages and bonds.
HACS233: Fundamentals of Actuarial Mathematics 1
Various rates of simple and compound interest, present and accumulated values based on these, annuity functions and their application to amortization, sinking funds and bond values; depreciation methods; introduction to life tables, life annuity and life insurance values.
HSTA240: Operations Research I
Survey of continuous optimization problems; unconstrained optimization problems and methods of solution; introduction to constrained optimization. Linear Programming: formulation of LP problems, graphical solution of simple LPs; the simplex algorithm, duality and economic interpretation; post optimality/sensitivity analysis. Decision analysis: decisions under risk, decision trees, decisions under uncertainty. Markov decision processes and dynamic programming. Project scheduling; probability and cost considerations in project scheduling; project control, critical path analysis. Integer programming. Queuing models: types of queues, queues with combined arrivals and departures; queues with priorities of service. Stochastic simulation: role of random numbers; simulation experiments; Monte Carlo calculus.
HACS234: Fundamentals of Actuarial Mathematics II
The single decrement model and calculations based on it; the stationary population model; present values and accumulations of stream of payments based on a single decrement model; equation of value for payments based on a single decrement model; annuity and assurance
Commutation functions and their relationships; assurance and annuity contracts; product pricing, reserving, surrender values, emergence of profit.
HACS235: Corporate Finance I
The aim of the course is to identify the objective that corporate finance managers pursue or ought to pursue in order to satisfy the needs of corporate stakeholders and to develop, in students, concepts and corporate analytical tools that will enable them to meet this objective. To this end, the course will cover the following critical areas: Goals of a firm and the agency theory; Time value concepts and valuation of bonds and shares; Capital Budgeting under certainty; Operating and financial leverage; Introduction to portfolio theory and capital asset pricing; the stock market and other sources of long-term capital; innovations in corporate finance.
HSTA237: Time Series Analysis
Time series models, estimation and elimination of trend and seasonal variation. Tests of randomness and normality. Introduction to projects. Model building strategy. Variance and covariance of linear combinations. Time series as a stochastic process, stationary stochastic process, white noise, and random walk. Variance of sample mean estimation of trends and seasonal variation. Sample ACP. Variance of sample autocorrelation and corresponding significance test for zero autocorrelation. General linear process. Auto-covariance generating function. Moving average process. Invertibility. Autoregressive processes. Yule-Walker equations. Solution of difference equations. AR(1) and AR(2) processes: stationarity conditions. ARMA (1, 1) process. General ARMA(p, q) process. ARIMA models for non-stationary processes: IMA(1,1), AR(1,1) IMA(2,2) models. Log transformation to stationarity. Identification of ARIMA models. Var (Z) for stationary processes. Partial ACF and applications to AR(1), AR(2) and MA(1) models. Parameter estimation: method of moments, least squares, and maximum likelihood. Properties of parameter estimators. Goodness of fit: Box Pierce statistics, overfitting, autocorrelation of residuals. Forecasting: minimum mean measure square error forecast; forecast errors. Applications to ARMA and ARIMA processes. MA(1)12, AR(1) 12, ARMA(1,1) 12 models. Multiplicative seasonal ARMA(p, q) x (P,Q)s model. Introduction to the frequency domain. Periodogram and spectral analysis.
HSTA410: Stochastic Processes
To include integer-valued variables: probability generating functions, convolutions. Markov chains: transition probabilities, classifications of states, stationary distributions, transient states. Gambler ruin, random walk. Markov processes: Chapman-Kolmogorov equations, transition rate matrix, forward and backward systems. Poisson process, normal equations, machine operation machinery
breakdown, queuing model.
HACS331: Actuarial Statistics I
Sampling and statistical inference; t-distribution and F-distribution. Point estimation, method of moments, maximum likelihood method, least squares method, properties of estimators, score function. Unbiased estimators, minimum variance unbiased estimators, consistent estimators, asymptotic normality of estimators, confidence intervals; exact and asymptotic confidence intervals. Hypothesis testing; test statistics, critical regions, type I and type II errors, level of significance power test, Neyman- Pearson Lemma, Likelihood- Ratio tests. Analysis of variance, Fisher’s transform of r, correlation analysis, residual analysis, inferences, Properties of MLE’s, consistency of estimators, efficiency and relative efficiency. Correlation and regression; correlation analysis, linear and multiple linear regression model. Analysis of variance; one-way ANOVA, treatment means-analysis and confidence intervals.
HACS332: Risk Theory
Classical approaches to risk include the insurance principle and the risk-reward trade-off. Risk models, review of probability, Bachelier and Lundburg models of investment and loss aggregation. The fallacy of time diversification and its generalization. Loss distributions, geometric and Brownian motion and the compound Poisson process. Modelling of individual losses which arise in a loss aggregation process. Distributions for modelling size loss; statistical techniques for fitting data. Credibility theory. Economic rationale for insurance, problems of adverse selection and moral hazard. Utility theory; ruin theory. Capital asset pricing model, Black-Scholes option pricing model. Application of risk theory.
HSTA412: Survival Models
Survival models and the life table; Describe the future lifetime as a random variable
Define probabilities of death and survival, Define the actuarial functions tpx, tqx, n/mqx, Define the complete and curtate expectations of future lifetime, Describe the life table functions lx and dx, Describe the simple laws of mortality, Define simple assurance and annuity contracts and develop formulae for means and variances.
Estimating the lifetime distribution Fx(t); Describe how lifetime data might be censored, Describe the estimation of empirical survival function, Describe the Kaplan- Meier estimate of the survival function in the presence of censoring, Describe the Nelson-Aalen estimate of the cumulative hazard rate in the presence of censoring, compute it from typical data and estimate its variance.
The Cox regression model; Describe the Cox model for proportional hazards and derive the partial likelihood estimate
The two state Markov model; Describe the two state model of a single decrement and compare the assumptions with those of the random lifetime, Derive the MLE for the transition intensities in models of transfers between states with piecewise constant transition intensities, Define waiting time in a state.
The general Markov model; Describe the statistical models of transfers between multiple states, State the assumptions underlying the Markov model of transfers between a finite number of states in continuous time,
Binomial and Poisson Models of Mortality; Describe the Binomial model of mortality, derive a maximum likelihood estimator for the probability of death and compare the Binomial model with the multiple state models
Graduation and statistical tests; Describe how to test crude estimates for consistency with standard table or a set of graduated estimates, and describe the process .
Methods of graduation; Describe the process of graduation by the three common methods and state the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Exposed to risk; Define initial and central exposed to risk, and the various common rate intervals, Calculate the central exposed to risk in simple cases. State the principle of correspondence.
HACS333: Corporate Finance II
The aim of the course is to develop further, in students, concepts and corporate financial analytical tools. The areas covered will include the following: Introduction to capital structure theory and practice; Cost of capital and valuation; Introduction to capital budgeting under uncertainty; Dividend policy theory and practice; corporate working capital management; and innovations in corporate finance.
HACS334: Financial Economics
Utility theory – the theory and application; comparability, transitivity, Independence, certainty equivalence, common utility functions, attitude to risk.
Stochastic dominance and Absolute dominance; first order, second order and third order stochastic dominance in portfolio selection
Investment measures; mean, variance, short fall probability, mean shortfall, mean-variance portfolio theory; method of Lagrangian multiplier, Gaussian eliminator, the two fund theorem, Kuhn tucker approach, corner portfolios,
Models of asset returns; Markowitz efficient frontier, single index model, multi index model, orthogonal indices
Asset-liability modelling;
Equilibrium models (CAPM & APT); tangent portfolio/ market portfolio, opportunity set Efficient frontier with or without short sells, separation theorem, indifference curves, security, market line theorem, arbitrage pricing theory;
Efficient market hypothesis (EMH)
Strong for EMH, Semi-Strong EMH, weak for EMH, Technical analysis, Fundamental analysis
HACS335: Actuarial Mathematics I
Life assurance contracts; Define simple assurance contracts and develop formulae for the means and variances of the present values of the payments under these contracts, assuming constant deterministic interest.
Life annuity contracts; Define simple annuity contracts and develop formulae for the means and variances of the present values of the payments under these contracts, assuming constant deterministic interest.
The life table; Describe practical methods of evaluating expected values and variances of the simple assurance and annuity contracts. Describe the life table functions lx and dx and their select equivalents l[x]+r and d[x]+r and expressing the following life table probabilities in terms of the following functions: n px , nqx , n|mqx and their select equivalents n p[x]+r , nq[x]+r , n|mq[x]+r
Evaluation of assurances and annuities; Define simple assurance and annuity contracts, develop formulae for the means and variances of the present values of the payments under these contracts, assuming constant deterministic interest, Annuities paid in arrears, in advance and continuously, Assurance benefits paid at the end of the year and immediately, Use of commutation functions.
Net premiums and provisions; Describe and calculate, using ultimate or select mortality, net premiums and net premium reserves of simple insurance contracts, Define the net random future loss under an insurance contract and state the principle of equivalence and reasons for setting up provisions, Define and calculate net premiums for the insurance contract benefits in cases where premiums and annuities may be payable annually, more frequently than annually, continuously and benefits may be payable at the end of the year of death, immediately on death, annually, more frequently than annually, or continuously, Describe
prospective and retrospective policy values, Define and evaluate prospective and retrospective net premium policy values, Derive Thiele’s differential equation satisfied by net premium policy values for contracts with death benefits paid immediately on death,
Variable benefits and with-profit policies; Describe the calculation, using ultimate or select mortality, of net premiums and net premium reserves for increasing and decreasing benefits and annuities, Calculate the expected present value of an annuity, premium, or benefit payable on death, which increases or decreases by a constant compound rate, Calculate net premiums and net premium reserves for contracts with variable premiums and benefits, Define with profits contracts including the types of bonuses that may be given to with profit contracts, Calculate net premiums and net premium reserves for with profits contracts.
Gross premiums and provisions for fixed and variable benefit contracts; Describe the calculation of gross premiums and reserves of assurance and annuity contracts, Define the gross future loss random variable for the benefits and annuities, Calculate gross premiums using the future loss random variable and the equivalence principle including other criteria in cases where premiums and annuities may be payable annually, more frequently than annually, or continuously. Benefits may be payable at the end of the year of death, immediately on death, annually, more frequently than annually, or continuously, Prove that, under the appropriate conditions, the prospective reserve is equal to the retrospective reserve, with or without allowance for expenses, for all standard fixed benefit and increasing/decreasing benefit contracts, Derive a recursive relation between successive annual reserves for an annual premium contract, with allowance for expenses, for standard fixed benefit contracts.
HACS336: Methods of Actuarial Investigations
Capital redemption policies; determination of the rate of interest in a given transaction. Valuation of securities; effect of income and capital gains taxes. Cumulative sinking funds; yield curves; discounted mean terms; matching and immunization; consumer credit. Introduction to stochastic interest models. Decremental rates and other indices; analysis of data and derivation of exposed to risk formulae; calculation of mortality, sickness and other decremental rates, including multiple decremental rates; graduation methods and their applications; tests of graduation; features of principal tables in common use; national vital statistics and population projection; applications outside insurance, national social security and pension schemes.
HACS337: Computational Finance
Computational methods in finance and financial modelling; interest rate models and interest rate derivatives; derivative securities; Black-Scholes theory; no-arbitrage and complete markets theory; Hull and White models; Heath-Jarrow-Morton models; Hedging and immunization; the stochastic differential equations and martingale approach, multinomial tree and Monte Carlo methods, the partial differential equations approach, finite difference methods.
HMAT424: Optimisation Techniques
Formulations of combinatorial optimization problems, greedy algorithms, dynamic programming, branch-and-bound, cutting plane algorithms, decomposition techniques in integer programming, approximation algorithms. Nonlinear Optimization A course on the fundamentals of nonlinear optimization, including both the mathematical and the computational aspects. Necessary and sufficient optimality conditions for unconstrained and constrained problems. Convexity and its applications. Computational techniques and their analysis. Deterministic OR Models: An applications-oriented approach illustrating how various mathematical models and methods of optimization can be used to solve problems arising in business, industry, and science. Computational optimization methodologies underlying portfolio problems in finance. Computational linear algebra, determining derivatives, quadratic, and nonlinear optimization. The efficient frontier problem. Applications: Use and interpret practical big data in business/finance optimization, economic optimization and other economic producing problems, and interpret big data analytic problems.
HSTA408: Econometrics
Role of Econometrics in Zimbabwe. Review of general linear model. Linear restrictions, Generalised least squares, GLS estimator, heteroscedasticity, pure and mixed estimation, group observations and grouping of equations. Autocorrelation. Heteroscedasticity. Multicollinearity. Stochastic regressors. Simultaneous equations systems. Restrictions on structural parameters. Two stage and three stage least squares.
HSTA410: Stochastic Processes
Multiple decrement tables; Describe the construction and use of multiple decrement tables, including the relationships with associated single decrement tables.
Pension funds; Use multiple decrement tables to evaluate expected cash flows dependent upon more than one decrement, including pension benefits, other salary related benefits, health and care insurance, Describe practical alternatives to the multiple decrement table in order to evaluate expected cash flows, Evaluate expected cash flows contingent upon risks other than human life.
Mortality, selection and standardization; Describe the principal forms of heterogeneity within a population and the ways in which selection can occur, Explain how selection can be expected to occur amongst individuals taking out each of the main types of life insurance contracts, or amongst members of large pension schemes, Explain why it is necessary to have different mortality tables for different classes of lives, Explain how decrements can have a selective effect, Explain the theoretical basis of the use of risk classification in life insurance.
HACS531: Principles of Financial Management
Objective of financial management. The annual financial statements; content, interpretation and application for planning and control. Budgets as a management tool. The time value of money, risk and return. Company structure and financing.
Basic principles of taxation. Different types of taxation. The role of the main institutions in financial markets. Basic principles of group accounts. Calculation and use of accounting ratios. Limitations of company accounts.
HACS532: Health Indicators
Health indicators: Uses and criteria of selection; health policy indicators, social and economic indicators, indicators of provision of health care, health status indicators. Sources of health indicator data. General principles of a health statistics system. Classification of diseases and causes of death. Nutrition surveys.
HACS533: Life Contingencies
Multiple life models; joint life, last survivor, contingent insurance:- values of premiums for multiple life annuities and assurances and reversionary annuities and compound statuses. Multiple decrement models: disability, withdrawal, retirement etc. and reserving models for life insurance. The control cycle. Introduction to the stochastic approach to life and other contingencies.
HACS534: Actuarial Mathematics II
Simple annuities and assurances involving two lives; Define and use straightforward functions involving two lives.
Contingent and reversionary benefits; Extension of techniques covered in Actuarial Mathematics IIA (CIN 4110) in order to deal with cash-flows dependent upon the death or survival of either or both of two lives and functions dependent upon a fixed term as well as age.
Profit testing; Describe the technique of discounted emerging costs, for use in pricing, reserving, and assessing profitability, Define unit-linked contract, Evaluate expected cash-flows for whole life, endowment and term assurances, annuities, and unit-linked contracts including profit testing of these contracts and determine the profit vector, the profit signature, the net present value, and the profit margin, Show how the profit test may be used to price a product.
Determining provisions using profit testing; Show how the profit test may be used to determine reserves.
Competing risks; Describe methods which can be used to model cash flows contingent upon competing risks, Explain how the value of a cash flow, contingent upon more than one risk, may be valued using a multiple-state Markov Model, Derive dependent probabilities from given transition intensities, using the Kolmogorov equations.
HACS535: Pensions and Benefit Insurance
Principles of pension funds. Mathematical models for retirement income, retiree medical benefits, disability benefits and survivor benefits. Computer applications, simulation. Guarantees and options. Principles of pension valuation: actuarial cost methods, asset valuation methods, actuarial assumptions, gain and loss analysis.
HACS536: Investment and Asset Management
Covers part of subject (CA1) of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries
The aim of the module is to develop necessary skills that will enable students to apply the principles of actuarial control planning and control to the appraisal of investments, and to the selection and management of investments appropriate to the needs of the investors. The structure of the course mainly follows the expectations required for subject CA1 of the Faculty and institute of Actuaries (or old course 301 of the Faculty and Institute of Actuaries but not everything in this old course). Not everything pertaining to subject CA1 will be covered so no exemptions from the Faculty and Institute of Actuaries are expected. The following will be covered under this course
Introduction to Investments and Asset Management; The actuarial control cycle (ACC); Taxation; Cash and money markets; Bond markets; Equity markets; Property markets; Derivatives; Collective investment vehicles; Overseas markets; Economic influences on investments; Other factors affecting relative valuation; Relationships between returns on asset classes; the institutional framework; personal investment; Investment indices; Valuation of individual investments; Valuation of Asset Classes and portfolios; Developing an investments strategy; Regulation of financial services; Capital project appraisal
HACS537: Financial Engineering
The primary objective of financial engineering is to optimize financial outcomes by designing sophisticated financial products and strategies that enable investors to manage risk, maximize returns, and achieve their financial goals. Financial engineers work with insurance companies, asset management firms, hedge funds, and banks. Within these companies, financial engineers work in proprietary trading, risk management, portfolio management, derivatives and options pricing, structured products, and corporate finance departments. It entails:
- The use of mathematical techniques to solve financial problems.
- The test and issue new investment tools and methods of analysis.
- work with insurance companies, asset management firms, hedge funds, and banks.
- Led to an explosion in derivatives trading and speculation in the financial markets.
- It has revolutionized financial markets, but it also played a role in the 2008 financial crisis.
Types of Financial Engineering: Derivatives Trading and speculation
Criticism of Financial Engineering
HACS538: Actuarial Statistics II
Explain the concepts of decision theory and apply them; Fundamental concepts of Bayesian statistics; Calculate probabilities and moments of loss distributions both with and without simple reinsurance arrangements; Construct risk models appropriate to short term insurance contacts and calculate the moment generating functions for the risk models both with and without simple reinsurance arrangements; Calculate and approximate the aggregate claim distribution for short term insurance contracts; ruin for a risk model; Calculate the adjustment coefficient; effect on the probability of ruin of changing parameter values and simple reinsurance arrangements; Fundamentals of credibility theory; fundamentals of concepts of simple experience rating systems; Apply techniques for analysing a delay ( or run-off) triangle and projecting the ultimate position; Fundamental concepts of a generalised linear model (GLM), and describe how a GLM may be applied.
Monte Carlo Simulation: The generation of pseudo-random variates from a specified distribution: Inverse transform method, The generation of standard normal variates: Box-Muller algorithm and polar algorithm.
Time Series Analysis: Generalised linear process, White noise process, Auto covariance and Auto-Correlation Functions, Moving Average Process (MA (q)) process, Autoregressive processes (AR(p)) process, Yule walker equations, Mixed Autoregressive-Moving Average model (ARMA (p, q)), ARIMA models for non-stationary series, Stationarity and Invertibility of the different models above.
HACS570: Dissertation
Students will be expected to complete a research project on a topic of their choice but limited to the taught courses. The project is a consolidation of the theoretical knowledge gained in the taught courses and the practical experience gained from Industrial Attachment
Introduction to Management 1
The module deals with the history and development of management thought, functions of management, organizational structure, decision making, globalization, leadership and motivation, controlling, budgetary and non-budgetary controls, change management.
CS131: Communication Skills
Refer to Communication skills
HCSCI: Models of Database and Database Design
Review of the relational data models and introduction to distributed databases, DBMS architectures, data dependences, decomposition, algorithms, data dictionaries. concurrency, integrity, security and reliability issues. Query decomposition, optimization, and evaluation strategies. Physical database design
Gender Studies
Refer to Gender studies.