The text of this paper, together with the abstract of the discussion held by the Institute of Actuaries on 25 November 1996, are printed in British Actuarial Journal, 3, II, 227-319.

This report outlines proposals for the development of the Education and CPD strategy of the profession.

The first part of the report gives an introduction to the key issues which have been considered in developing the strategy. The main part of the report describes the proposed model and the rationale behind various aspects of the proposed model. In particular, there is a commentary on how key issues have been addressed.

The report has been discussed at a joint meeting of both Councils, and has received support for further development along the broad lines indicated. The key emphasis is on evolution from our present strategy. The report is now being issued for wider discussion by the profession.

Comments are particularly sought on the following issues:

(1) Is it necessary to specifically assess detailed country-specific legislation and regulation in any subject prior to Fellowship, or is it appropriate to assess this at Stage 3 through the problem solving activity as proposed in the paper?

(2) How useful will it be to members to seek intermediate qualifications from the Privy Council?

(3) Should the profession look to increasing the range of assessment methods used?

(4) The Fellowship qualification is defined as the level of an embryo actuary. How do we encourage actuaries to gain enhanced skills during the CPD stage?

(5) Is the approach to specialisation appropriate?

Increasingly, modern business and investment management techniques are founded on approaches to measurement of profit and risk developed by financial economists. This paper begins by analysing corporate pension provision from the perspective of such financial theory. The results of this analysis are then reconciled with the sometimes contradictory messages from traditional actuarial valuation approaches and the alternative market-based valuation paradigm is introduced. The paper then proposes a successful blueprint for this mark-to-market valuation discipline and considers whether and how it can be applied to pension schemes both in theory and in practice. It is asserted that adoption of this market based approach appears now to be essential in many of the most critical areas of actuarial advice in the field of defined benefit corporate pension provision and that the principles can in addition be used to establish more efficient and transparent methodologies in areas which have traditionally relied on subjective or arbitrary methods. We extend the hope that the insights gained from financial theory can be used to level the playing field between defined benefit and defined contribution arrangements from both corporate and member perspectives.