Will shares his unique journey from being a Pensions Actuary in the UK to becoming Head of Investment Strategy in Hong Kong, Head of Sales Operations in Thailand, as well as being an advocate for teaching children about money.

We explore everything from how Will discovered the actuarial profession, transitioning from pensions to investment consulting, relocating with his family from London to Hong Kong, taking some time out of the corporate world and becoming a financial wellbeing advocate & author!

We of course discuss his fantastic best-selling book “Grandpa’s Fortune Fables.” It’s a fantastic way to help children to develop a healthy relationship with money from an early stage, and there is plenty in there for grown-ups too. I’m a couple of chapters in with my 6 year old!

I hope you enjoy the conversation. (And apologies for the audio quality, it dips from around 20mins onwards but is well-worth sticking with :) )

Will’s book is available is many good book shops and on amazon: https://amzn.eu/d/6jZfFLq

Please connect with Will here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-rainey-bluetree/

Mentioned in this episode:

Actuarial People is sponsored by my recruitment company Turner Perkins. I specialise in helping pensions actuarial professionals across all experience levels with their career moves. Please visit https://turnerperkins.com or email james.turner@turnerperkins.com to arrange a confidential conversation!

TP Website

Julian is a Senior Actuarial Consultant and rectification specialist at Capita.

We discuss everything from his journey into the profession with a degree in English Literature, working at consultancies of different sizes, becoming an industry expert in rectifications & GMP equalisation, the importance of building strong technical knowledge early in an actuarial career, Julian’s approach to interviewing people for his team, and his views on the future of pensions.

Julian also shares his perspective on neurodivergence in the workplace, having been diagnosed with ADHD and Autism quite recently. He shares how these traits have shaped his approach to work, highlighting both the challenges and advantages they bring.

It was a pleasure to get to know Julian and I hope you enjoy the conversation!

01:30 Julian’s history

13:00 What he does now

18:30 His views on pensions

24:00 Neurodivergence

42:30 Final thoughts

Here is the link to the video I mention during the podcast, in which Julian shares more about his experiences with neurodivergence: https://capita.wistia.com/medias/nj9kxxbs2u

Please connect with him here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julian-tolan-fia-96204a15/

Mentioned in this episode:

Actuarial People is sponsored by my recruitment company Turner Perkins. I specialise in helping pensions actuarial professionals across all experience levels with their career moves. Please visit https://turnerperkins.com or email james.turner@turnerperkins.com to arrange a confidential conversation!

TP Website

Catrin is a Qualified Actuary, Motor Pricing Manager and Author!

Catrin is so passionate about the actuarial profession, and this is a fantastic episode for aspiring actuaries, current actuaries, and anyone curious to learn more about what actuaries do. Catrin shares her views on how actuarial skills can be applied in many different ways, as well as providing insights into the world of insurance!

Starting with a brilliant example from World War II to illustrate how understanding risk can lead to better decision making, moving on to the importance of being able to quantify, manage and trade risk in enabling a functioning society, we then discuss everything from a day in the life of a pricing actuary, the different factors impacting your car insurance premiums, raising awareness & accessibility of the profession, and increasing diversity of thought in pricing teams.

We also chat about Catrin’s brilliant book – ‘A Risky Business: An Actuary’s Guide to Quantifying and Managing Risk in Society’ which is available to buy on Amazon. (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Risky-Business-Actuarys-Quantifying-Managing/dp/3031116720)

I hope you enjoy the conversation!

Please connect with Catrin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catrin-townsend-608b44234/

Mentioned in this episode:

Actuarial People is sponsored by my recruitment company Turner Perkins. I specialise in helping pensions actuarial professionals across all experience levels with their career moves. Please visit https://turnerperkins.com or email james.turner@turnerperkins.com to arrange a confidential conversation!

TP Website