About a2Risk

A2Risk was set up in 2006 in response to growing demand for a simple and effective way for advisers and product providers to assess individual investors’ attitude to risk when managing their money.

Since then, we have continually adapted and improved the Attitude to Risk Questionnaire (ATRQ) to ensure it provides a robust and reliable assessment of clients’ risk tolerances.

Today, our market-leading risk profiling tool is used by major UK investment planning platforms to help people understand their own approach to investment risk and choose strategies that are suited to their needs.

We work with leading research organisations (such as YouGov) to conduct regular research on large, carefully selected samples of the investing public to ensure our questions are robust, up to date, and easy to understand. This research also calibrates the algorithm which calculates each customer’s score and category.

We are also able to conduct custom research and bespoke product development to suit your needs – contact us today to find out how we can help you serve your clients better.

Meet our team

A2Risk’s team have decades of experience in academia and financial services

Dr Alistair Byrne
Dr Alistair Byrne, CFA
Director / Founder

Dr Alistair Byrne, CFA, is a co-founder of A2Risk and co-developed the ATRQ.

Alistair has held a number of senior roles in investment management and consulting in his career. He has also held academic positions at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Strathclyde business schools. Alistair is a fellow of the Pensions Institute at Bayes Business School.

Dr David Blake
Dr David Blake
Director / Founder

Professor David Blake is a co-founder of A2Risk and co-developed the ATRQ.

David holds several roles across academia and the pensions industry. He is Professor of Finance at Bayes Business School, where he is also director of the Pensions Institute, which he founded in 1996. David is also chairman of research and training company Square Mile Consultants and chaired the Independent Review of Retirement Income, a two-year review of the UK’s post-retirement landscape published in 2016.

Dr Alistair Haig
Dr Alistair Haig, CFA
Director

Alistair Haig, CFA, is a director of A2Risk and focuses on questionnaire design and testing. He also leads projects to design online investment journeys for clients.

Alistair has more than 20 years of experience in quantitative investment research, investment analysis and investment risk, including with companies such as AEGON, UBS, and Baillie Gifford. He was also a research fellow at the University of Edinburgh Business School.

Iain Horn
Iain Horn
Business Consultant

Iain Horn is a business consultant at A2Risk, working with our key clients.

A qualified actuary, Iain has held several senior management roles at financial services groups including AEGON, Alliance Trust, Barrie & Hibbert (now Moody’s Analytics), and the Financial Conduct Authority. He is now an independent consultant on business and regulatory matters.

Iain commissioned Alistair Byrne and David Blake to develop the original version of the ATRQ in 2006 while he was Managing Director at DecisionsDecisions, a sister company of Barrie & Hibbert.