Cass and NAPF launch first-of-its-kind evening programme for pensions industry
12 February 2013
Cass Business School, part of City University London, and the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) are launching a unique, all-encompassing evening programme in conjunction with the Pensions Institute on Pensions Risk and Investment Management.
The programme, which is the first of its kind in the UK, is designed to give pensions professionals a comprehensive grounding in the pensions risk and investment management strategies and techniques associated with managing defined benefit and defined contribution schemes.
Starting in May and concluding in October, the programme will be taught across 12 evenings by a mixture of highly-respected academics from the Pensions Institute and finance faculty of Cass, together with leading practitioners from the pensions industry.
Chris Wagstaff, Senior Visiting Fellow at Cass Business School, and the programme’s Director, said:
“Pensions professionals are facing ever more complex risk and investment management demands across an increasingly challenging economic and investment environment.
“Understanding the nuances of institutional investment and risk management, with its often mystifying jargon and terminology, is by far the hardest and arguably most important aspect of successfully managing any pension scheme.
“Our programme is designed to help pensions professionals confidently navigate the risk and investment management landscape, and understand the governance challenges involved in developing, implementing and running a scheme’s investment and risk management strategies.”
Joanne Segars, NAPF Chief Executive, said:
“This exciting new venture offers trustees, pension managers and anyone working in pensions a solid understanding of risk and investment management, which are critical areas during these difficult economic times.
“This unique course blends academic rigour with frontline industry experience to deliver key material through a lively mix of teaching methods. We have put a lot of thought into developing a wide-ranging syllabus that will deepen a delegate’s pensions knowledge and also go towards professional accreditation.”
The programme is targeted at delegates who may have little or no formal training in risk and investment management but who would benefit from a practical, structured and comprehensive grounding in these vital areas.
It is accredited by the Pensions Management Institute, the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment and the CFA Society of the UK, meaning that delegates who complete the training will receive formal accreditation towards their Continuing Professional Development.
Among the topics covered in the curriculum are the macroeconomic background to pensions, risk and risk management, mainstream and alternative asset classes, portfolio management, liability driven investment, investment governance and behavioural finance.
The programme will be taught through a mixture of presentations, interactive training, case studies, panel debates and supplementary reading. By drawing on the expertise of Cass’s highly-respected faculty, together with the know-how of top industry professionals, the programme blends academic rigour with the latest thinking in risk and investment management.
The programme aims to attract lay and professional trustees, pension scheme managers, asset management and client service professionals, trainee actuaries and investment consultants, scheme lawyers, accountants and journalists.
It will be delivered from Cass’s London campus in Bunhill Row, EC1 one evening per week between May and June and then September and October.
Notes to editors:
- The NAPF is the leading voice of workplace pensions in the UK. We speak for 1,300 pension schemes with some 16 million members and assets of around £900 billion. NAPF members also include over 400 businesses providing essential services to the pensions sector (http://www.napf.co.uk/)
- Cass Business School, which is part of City University London, delivers innovative, relevant and forward-looking education, training, consultancy and research. Located in the heart of one of the world’s leading financial centres, Cass is the business school for the City of London. For further information visit: www.cass.city.ac.uk
Contacts:
Paul Platt, Head of Media and PR, NAPF, 020 7601 1717 or 07917 506 683, [email protected]
Christian Zarro, Press Officer, NAPF, 020 7601 1718 or 07825 171 446, [email protected]
Chris Johnson, Press Officer, Cass Business School, 020 7040 5210, [email protected]