Connecting Actuaries

Highlights from the SOA’s 2025 international events

SOA STAFF February 2026

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The ever-changing world continues creating new financial and economic risks for actuaries to help address. As a global organization, the Society of Actuaries (SOA) has made international growth part of its strategic goals to accelerate the actuarial profession and better support its candidates and members.

In 2025, the SOA leaned into its commitment to international growth by hosting, sponsoring and participating in many events around the world. None of this work would have been possible without our dedicated global volunteers, SOA leadership and SOA International staff members. This article lists a sampling of events and activities that reflect how the SOA is seeking to support the growth of the actuarial profession globally. We want to be locally relevant by leveraging the efforts of our global volunteers, supported by our International staff.

New SOA offices: Places for connection, curiosity and community

On March 14, 2025, the SOA celebrated the grand opening of its Singapore office. Members, stakeholders and staff attended, demonstrating the strength of the Singapore SOA community.

“The Singapore office brings opportunities for in-person networking and collaboration with local universities and employers,” said Jessie Li, FSA, regional director of Asia for the SOA. “Together, we’ll inspire future actuaries and support the regional actuarial community for years to come.”

The SOA also opened an office in Dubai in 2025. The locations and staff in Hong Kong, Beijing and now Dubai and Singapore show the SOA’s commitment to supporting actuaries and candidates in the Middle East and throughout Asia.

Building the next generation of actuaries in India

Also in March, SOA leaders traveled to Mumbai, India, for the Global Conference of Actuaries (GCA), a key annual event in India hosted by the Institute of Actuaries of India (IAI). SOA Past President Amanda Hug joined the Presidential Round Table, discussing actuaries’ evolving role, emerging risks, regulations and the profession’s data-driven future.

Andy Peterson, FSA, MAAA, FCA, managing director, International, SOA, moderated a session presenting the first edition of the India Emerging Risk Survey Report, a joint SOA-IAI project. SOA leaders also took part in a Candidate Connect event, meeting with students and future actuaries to share career insights.

AICT-SOA Joint Seminar: Embracing the future

The 2025 Actuarial Institute of Chinese Taipei (AICT)-SOA Joint Seminar was held on April 15, in Taipei, Taiwan, which offered actuaries and industry leaders an opportunity to connect. The event also provided its participants with a learning platform featuring a wide variety of actuarial topics from life insurance risk to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and from medical insurance to retirement.

SOA Asia-Pacific Symposium: Celebrating 15 years

The 2025 SOA Asia-Pacific Symposium was held June 16–17 in Hong Kong and highlighted the event’s 15th anniversary with the theme “Actuaries: One Profession, Infinite Possibilities.” More than 400 people attended, the highest number of registrants ever for this event, representing a wide range of countries from across Asia.

Volunteers with the Greater Asia Committee organized the event, and Organizing Committee Chair Victor Chen, FSA, FCIA, CERA, who is now a member of the SOA Board, served as one of the speakers. Dave Dillon, FSA, MAAA, FCA, SOA President and Chair, delivered welcome remarks, and SOA CEO Greg Heidrich served as moderator for the first keynote session, “Regulatory and Leadership Insights—Capturing Opportunities for Actuaries and the Industry.” Courney Nashan, managing director, chief global engagement officer, SOA, delivered the closing remarks. The symposium included a Datathon workshop for health insurance rating co-led by SOA President-Elect and Vice Chair Ian Duncan, PhD, FSA, FIA, FCIA, MAAA, FCA.

SOA Seoul Seminar sees success

As a reflection of the SOA’s growing presence in South Korea, the organization held the SOA Seoul Seminar on Sept. 2. The Institute of Actuaries in Korea helped promote the event with its members, and participants had the opportunity to attend a wide range of sessions on topics relevant to the Korean insurance industry.

Most attendees were from Korea, but the seminar also attracted people from across Asia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and North America. The seminar received such positive feedback, the SOA plans to expand it to a two-day seminar in 2026.

SOA Regional Symposium goes to Cairo

The SOA held its 4th annual SOA Regional Symposium in Cairo on Sept. 28–29. The SOA Middle East, Africa and Pakistan (MAP) Committee organized the event and chose the theme: “The Modern-Day Actuary: Pushing the Boundaries of the Actuarial Profession.” SOA President and Chair Dave Dillon, FSA, MAAA, FCA, helped lead a well-received “Judge and Jury” professionalism session. The symposium was followed by an Actuaries Connect event for students.

ASM-SOA Joint Seminar: Innovation in Kuala Lumpur

The SOA and the Actuarial Society of Malaysia (ASM) held their third joint seminar in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Oct. 29–30. Here was another SOA event that experienced its highest registration in 2025, and it brought together actuaries, analysts and other industry professionals from Malaysia and across Asia. The event offered the attendees an opportunity to network and explore the latest marketplace trends and impacts.

The SOA contributed program development, speakers and content. Sessions included topics such as designing Takaful products, AI in Asian insurance and health care markets, longevity in Asia, a panel discussion on risk management and more. The seminar included a professionalism panel on the last day, which welcomed more than 300 attendees.

Asian Actuarial Conference: Connecting actuarial leaders

In November, the SOA participated as a gold sponsor of the Asian Actuarial Conference (AAC) in Bangkok, Thailand. SOA leadership and staff were well represented at the conference, and many presented and participated in panel discussions. SOA Past President Amanda Hug, FSA, MAAA, spoke on a presidential panel titled “Professionalism: Future Skills and Global Actuarial Collaboration.”

Coincident with the AAC, the SOA facilitated an in-person Asian Employers Council (AEC) meeting and an SOA Discussion Forum with Asian actuarial associations and regulators. The SOA also hosted a reception for members and industry practitioners, and ran a booth to share SOA news and information about PD Edge Plus.

Advancing actuarial excellence around the world

The SOA’s activities spanned multiple regions to help advance the actuarial profession and support local communities of actuaries and industry stakeholders:

• Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are investing in developing local actuarial talent, and the SOA supported this effort with several initiatives in 2025. In May, the SOA joined the Heriot-Watt University Dubai Actuarial Challenge, where high school students explored actuarial science and finalists presented case studies; the winning team received an SOA exam scholarship. In November, the SOA hosted Future Actuaries Connect – Riyadh 2025, engaging more than 150 students in exploring actuarial careers and building connections with mentors and industry professionals.The SOA also partnered with the Center for National Health Insurance’s National Casemix Center of Excellence, WTW, and The Financial Academy to launch the National Program for Actuarial Excellence in Healthcare Financing, aligned with Saudi Vision 2030 and centered on three new certification exams. Additionally, the SOA collaborated with the Institute of Public Administration (IPA) in Saudi Arabia to deliver a multi-cohort training program introducing public-sector employees to actuarial work.
• Africa. The SOA has been growing its partnership with the African Actuarial Development Academy (AADA). The nonprofit expands opportunities for professionals to grow their industry knowledge and supports university faculty as they help students prepare for actuarial exams and careers. In 2025, the SOA teamed up with AADA to host a faculty event in Nigeria, offer an SOA introduction webinar for faculty and students, and support Student Success Scholarship programs in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and Egypt. Even more joint initiatives are on the way for 2026!
• Canada and Latin America. In 2025, the SOA actively engaged with the actuarial community by meeting with chief actuaries and development program leaders at more than 40 employers across Canada, Mexico and South America. The SOA also organized member networking events in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. To further support professional growth, the SOA hosted a full-day in-person artificial intelligence (AI) seminar exclusively centered around actuaries in Toronto, featuring enterprise risk management and AI expert and SOA Board member Dave Ingram, FSA, as keynote speaker.

Powering up actuarial education

SOA student outreach activities have stretched to students and universities across the globe, and panels, case studies and student competitions continued to gain momentum. For instance, the Asian Young Actuaries Contest drew strong engagement, with 20,000 social media views.

In January 2025, the SOA launched a Student Ambassador program in Canada to maintain ongoing engagement with student leaders between annual campus outreach events. Activities include sharing Excel skills, exam preparation strategies, supporting study groups and recognizing exam successes. Additionally, more than 20 SOA campus events and sponsored student conferences in both Canada and Mexico attracted nearly 3,000 students in attendance.

Collaborating with local actuarial associations and industry

SOA staff and volunteers travelled across their own countries and visited other regions to connect with actuarial communities and industry stakeholders. This included the Nigerian Actuarial Society’s Annual Industry Conference, International Actuarial Association meetings in Brazil and the Canadian Reinsurance Conference. Additionally, across Asia, the SOA partnered with local associations to offer both in-person and virtual professional development programs. For example, the SOA collaborated with the Society of Actuaries of Indonesia to hold the PAI-SOA Joint Webinar in February.

Finding risk solutions in every region

The SOA has been active globally, especially through professional development and candidate outreach, but the scale of our global engagement has grown. While 35% of SOA membership resides outside the U.S., 45% of our candidates do so. This means the proportion of our membership that is from outside the U.S will continue to grow.

“SOA events welcome all members worldwide and create opportunities to connect and learn about global actuarial challenges,” said Jennifer Bruggeman, senior manager, International Operations, SOA.

Looking toward 2026, growth in the industry landscape isn’t slowing down. Climate change, the aging population and expanding risk exposures are all driving insurance growth worldwide, but many countries simply don’t have enough qualified actuaries. Regulators and governments know they need stronger guidance and policy expertise, which creates even more urgency for training and outreach.

As the world’s needs evolve, the SOA is committed to expanding support for actuaries everywhere and opening more pathways for future talent. The momentum is real, and the work ahead is full of possibility. Visit soa.org to stay up to date on information about major meetings around the globe and other opportunities to connect internationally.

Copyright © 2026 by the Society of Actuaries, Chicago, Illinois.