And even better, investment consulting firms are hiring. Hymans Robertson, Hewitt Associates, Capita Hartshead and Watson Wyatt have all made some high-profile appointments recently.

Gavin Orpin, head of trustee investment at Lane Clark & Peacock, says the firm has increased its investment team by 20 people, to 50, over the past two years.

“The increasing complexity of pensions investments, diversification and liability-driven investment means there’s been a greater demand for investment services throughout the industry,” he says. “Investment consultants have been affectively understaffed and are still playing catch up.”

Mark Walker, investment consultant at Mercer, says the industry isn’t entirely sheltered from the economic downturn, but adds: “We’re aware of a number of firms looking to fill vacancies and across a variety of disciplines related to investment consulting.”

Investment consultants’ enthusiasm for adding staff couldn’t have at a better time. In 2006 and 2007, investment banks such as Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Citigroup RBS, JPMorgan and BNP Paribas all hired actuarial staff out of consultants for their liability driven investment teams. Now, many of those teams are being trimmed and the flow of individuals is reversed.

One actuary still in an investment bank tell us that five of his colleagues were laid off in the past few months (from a team of seven) and several of his peers have gone to investment consultants of their own accord.

Tony Deacon, director of actuarial recruiter The Emerald Group says pay at consultants now compares favourably to banks. “Bonuses have shrunk by as much as 90% this year” he says. “In real terms, you can now make as much money at an investment consultancy as you can in a bank and we’re dealing with more and more actuaries making the move back.”