First Actuarial adds Vicky Greenwood to Manchester team

Vicky Greenwood has joined First Actuarial to help advise clients on their actuarial schemes. Well-known for her expertise in the North-West of England, Greenwood brings more than 14 years of experience to the role.

Commenting on her decision to join First Actuarial, Greenwood said, “With their knowledge and expertise, professional trustees can grasp difficult scheme issues quickly. That opens up better outcomes for schemes and members by freeing up time to work at a strategic level. I see First Actuarial as a firm that is unafraid to look at issues differently. That should reassure professional trustees that we’re looking at every option available to them and not playing to our own agenda.”

First Actuarial is a consulting firm which specialises in pension advisory services. Founded in 2004, the firm’s headcount across its five offices now tops 430, with locations in Leeds, Manchester, Peterborough, Tonbridge and Basingstoke. Amid the continued uncertainty in the pensions sector, the consultancy’s services have been in keen demand of late – and First Actuarial reported record revenue levels last year, with turnover growing by 19% in the year to 31 July 2023.

Explaining why that might be, Greenwood added, “I like the way that First Actuarial is happy to challenge norms. There are some great characters with strong opinions at First Actuarial, which is celebrated rather than discouraged. That’s good for clients because lively debate brings out the strongest ideas and the most effective advice. There’s space to be your own adviser here, with the support of everyone around you, which is great.”

Greenwood’s career started at Buck, where she worked as an actuarial student. She moved to Mitchell Consulting in a split role as trainee actuary and professional trustee. At KPMG, she then provided services to both trustees and employers as she advanced towards her scheme actuary certificate.

Greenwood is well known in the Greater Manchester area, not least because of her active involvement in the North West Actuarial Society. Looking ahead, this knowhow and industrial insight will see her take on scheme actuary responsibilities – helping make sure that defined benefit schemes are appropriately funded – with First Actuarial, providing services to employers, and supporting the firm’s growth through new business opportunities.

Looking ahead, she concluded, “I really like looking at the art of the possible to find fresh ways of solving problems for employers. With so much new work coming in, I won’t be treading on anyone’s toes, even with more than 400 employees. I feel that there’s space for anyone to grow in a number of directions here.”