Research working parties

The Sustainability Research and Thought Leadership Sub-committee has oversight of all the working parties listed below and encourages them to undertake research that can be shared with Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) members via sessional papers, articles in The Actuary or the British Actuarial Journal (BAJ), and presentations at conferences and workshops.

 The Committee currently has the following research working parties exploring the following topics:

• Biodiversity
• Intergeneration Fairness
• Net-zero and the implications for investment portfolios

The following are new areas of research to be set-up:

• Climate assumptions and scenario modelling
• Demographics – mortality and morbidity
• Climate change disclosures
• Carbon pricing 
• Role of the Sovereign
• Effect of climate change on long-term interest rates
• Managing sustainability in the absence of metrics and measurement
• Private, public, and universal ownership
• Asset management
• Inequality of climate change

The Sustainability Board has commissioned a series of working parties to prepare practical guides to support actuaries who are considering how to appropriately include sustainability matters into their work.

The committee also has links to several working parties led by other practice areas.

If you have your own ideas for member-led research you would like to pursue, please refer to our Guidance for Research Working Parties or contact the IFoA Communities team.

Members interested in volunteering for a research working party should check Volunteer vacancies for current and new working parties.

The Sustainability Research and Thought Leadership Sub-committee collaborates with external researchers who are studying relevant topics.  

The IFoA is also actively involved in commissioning strategic and external research relating to Sustainability.

Information on research undertaken by universities and other external agencies which receive funding and/or support from the IFoA, as well as the IFoA’s strategy for involvement, the process for calls for research, current research initiatives and funding, can be found in Research and Knowledge.