Prof Angelos Dassios

This course is compulsory on the BSc in Actuarial Science. This course is available on the BSc in Business Mathematics and Statistics, BSc in Mathematics, Statistics, and Business and BSc in Statistics with Finance. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit and to General Course students.

Students must have completed Mathematical Methods (MA100) and Elementary Statistical Theory (ST102).

Introduction to actuarial modelling.

The application of compound interest techniques to financial transactions.

Describing how to use a generalised cash-model to describe financial transactions such as a zero-coupon bond, a fixed interest security, an index-linked security, cash on deposit, an equity, an interest only loan, a repayment loan, an annuity certain and others.

The time value of money using the concepts of compound interest and discounting.

Accumulation of payments and present value of future payments. Variable interest rates.

The calculation of the present value and the accumulated value of a stream of equal or unequal payments using specified rates of interest and the net present value at a real (possibly variable) rate of interest, assuming a constant rate of inflation.

Compound interest rate functions; definitions and use. Equations of value with certain and uncertain payments and receipts.

Introduction to life insurance. Life, assurance and annuity functions. Calculating means and variances

of contracts with contingent payments.

20 hours of lectures and 9 hours of seminars in the MT.

Students will be expected to give written answers to a number of problem sets.

J J McCutcheon & W J Scott, An Introduction to the Mathematics of Finance, Heinemann; Institute of Actuaries, Formulae and Tables for Actuarial Examinations. Core reading notes obtainable from the Institute of Actuaries.

Exam (100%, duration: 3 hours) in the January exam period.