Areas of work undertaken by the Finance, Investment and Risk Management Board.

Flexible retirement
In 2005 the Profession identified that the financial services industry needed to evolve to suit the changing nature of retirement, which increasingly features an initial phase of part-time retirement and a final period of prolonged long term care.  A competition was held to mark the start of a thought leadership campaign in which the Profession will seek to redress matters.

Institutional, equity, bond, real estate and other investment
Investment today centres around the capital markets: that is, stock and bond markets, and currency, property and derivatives markets. Many actuaries are involved in day-to-day activity in these markets (on behalf of their clients or employers), whilst others advise on the longer-term characteristics and implications of different investment stances.

Banking Interest Group
Recognising the increasing consolidation in Financial Services, the profession has established a Banking Interest Group (formerly the Action Group for Banking). The Group's overall objective is to develop the profession's understanding of banking and facilitate the placement of actuaries at working level within banks.

Capital project appraisal
Major projects that go wrong or fail are no longer tolerable - especially when millions of pounds are at stake and scarce resources liable to be wasted. Risks and their consequences must be considered during the planning stages, before costs are incurred and promises made.  The actuarial profession exists to solve problems that involve long-term financial risk. More and more project teams are therefore turning to actuaries to assess the viability of major capital projects. In this relatively new field, actuaries have demonstrated the flexibility and value of their unique skills.

Private Finance Initiative projects
With their special skills, actuaries can make a vital contribution in steering public bodies through the complexities of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI).