Tuesday 16th September
13:00 – 14:00
Registration & Lunch
14:00 – 14:05
Chair’s Opening Remarks
Chair
Dawn Turner
Independent Adviser & NED
14:05 – 14:45
Keynote: Securing benefits and investing for growth: the changing nature of defined benefit pensions
In our opening keynote, we hear from the Pensions Regulator who will be outlining their regulatory approach to defined benefit pensions in the brave new world of surpluses and productive finance. How does the regulator balance securing benefits and investing for growth? How will it manage the inevitable trade-offs? And how will regulation evolve and respond to the brave new world we find ourselves in.
Speaker
David Walmsley
Director of Trusteeship, Administration and DB Supervision
The Pensions Regulator
14:45 – 15:25
Panel: Tell us what you want, what you really really want…
This panel will hear from those at the forefront of running DB schemes, whether private sector, public sector or LGPS. What’s top of their agenda investment-wise? What are they looking for from asset managers and consultants. And how is the changing pensions landscape affecting the way that schemes are thinking about investment solutions?
Panellists
Trevor Castledine
Chief Commercial Officer
LGPS Central
15:25 – 15:55
Break
15:55 – 16:15
Presentation: A year on from the US election. What is the outlook for fixed income?
Presenter
Amanda Stitt
Fixed Income Portfolio Specialist
T. Rowe Price
16:15 – 16:35
Presentation: How to enhance your passive equity portfolio
Speaker to be confirmed: J.P. Morgan Asset Management
16:35 – 17:15
Panel: Using pension investments to deliver impact for society: housing
Our panel will look at how pension fund capital can be best deployed to help solve the nation’s housing crisis. With pension funds seeking strong and stable returns and an urgent need for affordable, sustainable housing, we will explore innovative ideas to help get the nation building and providing people with suitable and affordable homes. We will discuss the feasibility, challenges, and potential benefits of investing in housing solutions that could transform local communities and secure financial futures for generations to come.
Panellists
Justin Faiz
CEO & Co-Founder
Pluto Finance
17:15 – 17:25
Devil’s Advocate Summaries
17:25 – 17:35
Chair’s Closing Remarks
19:00
Dinner at La Vista
Wednesday 17th September
08:30 – 09:00
Registration, coffee and early networking
09:00 – 09:05
Chair’s Opening Remarks
09:05 – 09:45
Keynote: TBC
09:45 – 10:25
Panel: Solving a problem we never thought we’d have – what to do with overfunded schemes and scheme surpluses
For decades, pension funds have wrestled with the challenges of underfunding, deficit recovery plans, increasing contributions and managing risk. But many defined benefit schemes now find themselves in the surprising position of being overfunded, with surpluses they never dreamed of achieving. This panel will explore the complex and emerging issues around managing pension scheme surpluses a “good problem” that raises some tricky questions.
10:25 – 10:45
Presentation: Digital real estate
Speaker to be confirmed: Principal Asset Management
10:45 – 11:05
Presentation: Infrastructure (natural capital)
Speaker to be confirmed: Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners
11:05 – 11:35
Break
11:35 – 12:15
Roundtable: The future of defined benefit pensions
Defined benefit pensions stand at a crossroads of opportunity and challenge. Think back only a few years and the main discussion was about underfunding and how to secure member benefits through buy out. But times have quickly changed, and we are now in a world where schemes aren’t just heading blindly towards buy out. But what are the challenges and opportunities, and what will this mean for defined benefit pensions in public and private sectors? We’ll be exploring this and more in this interactive roundtable session.
Moderator
Nick Reeve
Editor
Pensions Expert
12:15 – 12:35
Presentation: Looking under the bonnet – making sure you’re ready for pensions dashboards
12:35 – 12:55
Presentation: Hot topics for fiduciaries – what’s the latest legal lowdown and what trustees should be thinking about going into 2026
12:55 – 14:00
Lunch
14:00 – 14:40
Panel: Playing the (anti) Trump card: the future of Sustainability and ESG in pensions investing
There’s a lot more hot air than usual swirling around the North Atlantic Jet Stream. Is this a sign of our climate changing or is storm Trump changing our weather? Has anything really changed given the US President’s anti-diversity, anti-climate and anti- ESG stance, or will Europe carry on regardless and invest responsibly for people and the planet? And how should pensions schemes and institutional investors respond? In this panel we deal our Aces to take a step back, appraise where we’re at and look at how we can maintain momentum in investing responsibly and sustainably.
Panellists
Jennifer Devine
Head of Pensions
Wiltshire Pension Fund
Charlotte O’Leary
CEO
Pension for Purpose
14:40 – 15:00
Presentation: Managing currency risk
This session will take a deep dive into the question “does currency matter?”. We will discuss what has helped and what has hurt portfolios and compare the different outcomes between passive and managed currency approaches. We’ll also take a look at some of the more recent drivers of currency movements and identify methods to transform existing currency risks into potential profit opportunities that can be used to improve cash flow and pay pensions.
Presenter
Bruce D. George
Investment Solutions
P/E Investments
15:00 – 15:20
Presentation: Insuring your benefits
With end game planning still high on the agenda what are the key things that trustees need to think about in embarking on a mission to buy out? How should they be thinking about their investment strategy? How do they get their data in order to ensure a smooth transition? And what are the key considerations in making buy out work for members.
15:20 – 15:50
Break
15:50 – 16:30
Panel: Consolidation reprised – where are we at and where are we going?
This panel will look back on what has happened post Mansion House 2.0 and consider the environment that defined benefit schemes (private sector and LGPS) are operating in. Where are we on the path for realising the vision for a reformed LGPS? How are private sector schemes thinking about surpluses? Are they still planning for the endgame? What about further consolidation and will we see commercial consolidators take off and what is the future role for DB mastertrusts?
Panellists
Martin Baily
Chair of Pensions Committee
London Borough of Lambeth
Nicholas Chadha
Pan Trustees
Helen Forrest Hall
Chief Strategy Officer
PMI
16:30 – 17:10
Panel: What next for defined benefit pensions?
17:10 – 17:20
Devil’s Advocate Summaries
17:20 – 17:30
Chair’s Closing Remarks
18:30 – 19:30
Drinks Reception
19:30
Gala Dinner
