As an alternative investment specialist, Ian Dillon, partner at William Fry, is still getting a lot of queries on AIFMD from clients around the world. Dillon, who has recently returned from a 7 year spell in the Cayman Islands, notes that while the format of the firm’s bi-weekly Asset Management and Investment Funds Group lunch hasn’t changed much from when he last worked in William Fry around 10 years ago, the get-together now requires a considerably bigger room.

An aptitude for mathematics is a primary skill required for anyone considering a career as an actuary, but the need for this is sometimes over-stated with many professionals coming from a wide variety of backgrounds, including theology and physics, says Brona McGee, head of Royal Liver's actuarial division.