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Actuarial analyst vs finance analyst

The differences between actuarial analysts and finance analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an actuarial analyst has an average salary of $75,593, which is higher than the $69,887 average annual salary of a finance analyst.

The top three skills for an actuarial analyst include statistical analysis, SAS and statistical data. The most important skills for a finance analyst are financial analysis, financial models, and financial data.

Actuarial analyst vs finance analyst overview

Actuarial AnalystFinance Analyst
Yearly salary$75,593$69,887
Hourly rate$36.34$33.60
Growth rate21%9%
Number of jobs41,511138,600
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 81%Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age3940
Years of experience-4

What does an actuarial analyst do?

Actuarial Analysts use statistical formulas to assess the probability and costs of certain events such as accidents, property damages, injuries, and deaths. They are usually specialized in finance, general insurance, health and care, life insurance, and savings/investment.

What does a finance analyst do?

A finance analyst is responsible for evaluating a company's financial data and historical reports to assess investment opportunities and provide accurate financial statements in support of business strategies and company performance prediction. A financial analyst's duties also include suggesting recommendations to boost operations efficiency and grow revenues, researching the current market performance and economic trends to adjust budget goals as needed, and managing client portfolios. Finance analysts must have excellent critical and analytical thinking skills to identify the best actions for the company's profitability.

Actuarial analyst vs finance analyst salary

Actuarial analysts and finance analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

Actuarial AnalystFinance Analyst
Average salary$75,593$69,887
Salary rangeBetween $55,000 And $103,000Between $46,000 And $104,000
Highest paying CitySeattle, WASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateWashingtonConnecticut
Best paying companyNationwide FinancialThe Citadel
Best paying industryFinanceFinance

Differences between actuarial analyst and finance analyst education

There are a few differences between an actuarial analyst and a finance analyst in terms of educational background:

Actuarial AnalystFinance Analyst
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 81%Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common majorMathematicsBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of Notre DameUniversity of Pennsylvania

Actuarial analyst vs finance analyst demographics

Here are the differences between actuarial analysts' and finance analysts' demographics:

Actuarial AnalystFinance Analyst
Average age3940
Gender ratioMale, 61.1% Female, 38.9%Male, 56.2% Female, 43.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 3.0% Hispanic or Latino, 4.7% Asian, 21.9% White, 67.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.0%Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 14.1% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage18%7%

Differences between actuarial analyst and finance analyst duties and responsibilities

Actuarial analyst example responsibilities.

  • Lead an experience study on morbidity assumptions to more accurately identify LTC rider risks.
  • Lead actuarial intern on automating internal reports, help intern write SQL queries and VBA macros.
  • Develop SAS programs to automate analysis correcting extant errors resulting from arduous manual processes.
  • Evaluate capitation agreements between provider groups and manage care plans, including commercial and Medicare populations.
  • Analyze GAAP financial statements including fair value assessment, shadow adjustments, embed derivatives and unlocking.
  • Integrate rating factors and other data used for GLM motor pricing model by SAS, SQL.
  • Show more

Finance analyst example responsibilities.

  • Manage company asset accounts, wire funds to clients and record and structure amounts into QuickBooks.
  • Manage the UAT team involve in the testing of an enterprise accounting and project management software.
  • Manage customer portfolio to department KPI's, target balance, aging metrics, cash recovery and write-off tolerance.
  • Manage contract database and SalesForce for historical research and financial reporting purposes.
  • Manage and maintain information in worldwide-military database which include exemptions, transfers, retirements, and payroll records.
  • Accomplish project accounting functions including project costing, time reporting, project accruals and proper capitalization of development costs.
  • Show more

Actuarial analyst vs finance analyst skills

Common actuarial analyst skills
  • Statistical Analysis, 14%
  • SAS, 11%
  • Statistical Data, 11%
  • VBA, 6%
  • Actuarial Models, 5%
  • PowerPoint, 4%
Common finance analyst skills
  • Financial Analysis, 9%
  • Financial Models, 5%
  • Financial Data, 5%
  • Strong Analytical, 4%
  • Variance Analysis, 4%
  • Hyperion, 3%

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