OBITUARY
Jeremy Goford Jeremy Goford was a true Colossus in the actuarial world and his premature death on 25 February aged only 71, following a short but courageous fight against a brain tumour, is a huge loss to the profession that he loved and did so much for. In his work, he was instrumental in establishing Tillinghast (subsequently to become part of Towers Perrin and now Willis Towers Watson) as a major force in the UK. He helped build its London office in the 1990s into what at the time was the firm’s largest and most successful office worldwide. He put a huge amount of effort into volunteering for the profession. He wrote a paper on effective financial management for life offices, which is still used and can be thanked for helping to avoid the effects of the credit crunch that hit the banks so hard. He chaired a steering group tasked with developing a new education framework, and a paper entitled ‘Principles of the Future Education Strategy’ was presented to meetings of the Institute and the Faculty in January 2001. That framework was developed into the syllabus that has been in place since 2005. The
strategy, which is strongly reflective of Jeremy’s own views, has stood the test of time. Subsequently, Jeremy became president of the Institute in 2002 – 2004, where he instigated a drive to get actuaries to see things from the customer’s perspective. He was a man who would often think outside the box – sometimes a slightly uncomfortable place to be. He left big ripples behind him as the rest of us struggled to keep up. Jeremy was highly involved with the Worshipful Company of Actuaries. Jeremy saw that actuaries could have a larger role in the financial affairs of London and the UK and that the livery company could make this happen. He became Master of the company and was subsequently instrumental in establishing the Financial Services Group of Livery Companies to advise the Lord Mayor more effectively for his/her meetings at home or abroad. He was awarded the Company’s Award of Honour last year (only the seventh time it has been awarded in nearly 40 years) in recognition of his achievements. Away from work, Jeremy was equally active and determined. He loved to talk way into the
evening, covering any topic that you could imagine, and to consume the odd glass of wine or port (can you tell the difference between red and white port when you are blindfolded?). He will be greatly missed by the profession and his lovely wife, Jane. We are all better for having known Jeremy, personally and professionally – he will leave a big hole in a lot of people’s lives. Written by Nick Salter
CALL FOR RESEARCH PROPOSALS BEHAVIOURAL ASPECTS OF INSTITUTIONAL INVESTMENT DECISION-MAKING The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA), through its Actuarial Research Centre, is inviting research teams and organisations to submit proposals for a research project on behavioural finance. The objective of this call for research is to explore the decision-making of institutional investors – in particular, insurers and pension schemes, especially the biases that may affect their investment decisions. This could include, but not be limited to, emotional, psychological and political biases.
The project is expected to explore what ‘rational’ or ‘optimal’ behaviour could be expected from an institution in certain economic scenarios, based on its investment objectives and underlying values. It will then explore whether there is solid evidence that ‘behavioural’ factors, such as human psychology, company culture, corporate politics and conflicts of interest, cause them
to deviate from optimal behaviour in any way. The research should then make practical conclusions that could be used by actuaries working in investment and related areas. For example, one possible output of the research could be a suggested governance structure that an organisation could choose to put in place to manage these biases and conflicts.
The IFoA is seeking research that has both impact and practical application. It has allocated a funding allowance of up to £200,000 to this proposal. This grant may be split across more than one research team, depending on the scope and content submitted by respondents. Visit www.actuaries.org.uk/ call-research-institutionalinvestment-decision-making
OPENING DATE: 20 FEBRUARY 2017 Closing date
21 April 2017 (17:00 UK time, BST)
Expected date of award
Mid May 2017
Expected date of commencement
June 2017 onwards
April 2017 • THE ACTUARY 11 www.theactuary.com
p09_12_April_IFoA news_FINAL•CT.indd 11
03/04/2017 16:02