“The industry missed the GFC,” Gilbert says. “It was a failure of the forecasters. I think the industry needs to do some navel gazing. Instruments like the CDOs took everyone by surprise. The big companies need to look at their risk management systems. And the economics profession, the market economists worldwide, need to be a lot less focused on history and more focused on the future.” Gilbert will attend his last IFSA conference as CEO, on the Gold Coast from August 5-7, and while the mood will not be buoyant, it will not be as glum as looked likely a few months ago. With more than 100 member companies, and 40 supporting members, IFSA has cemented a strong position representing a sophisticated growth industry.