How can you spot an extroverted actuary at a party? He's the one staring at someone else's shoes, rather than his own.
Tip style
Growth
Risk rating
Medium
Timescale
Medium Term
Bull points
- Uptick in demand
- Defensive, recurring revenues
- Margin improvement
- Big reduction in debt
Bear points
- Shares have already re-rated
- Large share awards
- Possible slowdown
Actuaries are the butt of many such jokes, which play on the idea that the profession consists of socially awkward men too absorbed in complicated maths to manage much small talk. This is almost certainly a lazy stereotype, but it doesn’t do much for the sector’s image. In recent years, however, actuarial work has been generating a buzz among investors due to the success of one company: XPS Pensions (XPS).