Tuesday 16th September
13:00 – 14:00
Registration & Lunch
14:00 – 14:10
Welcome & Opening Remarks
Chair
Dawn Turner
Independent Adviser & NED
14:10 – 14:55
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?
Speaker
David Walmsley
Director of Trusteeship, Administration and DB Supervision
The Pensions Regulator
14:55 – 15:35
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?
Moderator
Dawn Turner
Independent Adviser & NED
Panellists
Trevor Castledine
Chief Commercial Officer
LGPS Central
Denise Le Gal
Non Executive Director
Lothian Pension Fund
Peter Smith
Investment Director
TPT Investment Management
15:35 – 15:55
Break
15:55 – 16:15
Presentation: A year on from the US election. What is the outlook for fixed income?
The speaker will be analysing the impact of post-election policies on the fixed income market. They will discuss changes in interest rates, inflation and fiscal strategies, exploring fixed income investment opportunities and risks as the market adapts to the new political landscape.
Presenter
Amanda Stitt
Fixed Income Portfolio Specialist
T. Rowe Price
16:15 – 16:35
Presentation: How to enhance your passive equity portfolio
Active management targeting high relative returns through concentrated portfolios often involves an uncomfortable level of volatility relative to a chosen benchmark. Taking a broader range of small relative positions to enhance returns can provide a more consistent source of outperformance. The speaker will explain how investors can achieve alpha without the angst.
Presenter
Ruairidh Hill
Executive Director, International Equity Group
J.P. Morgan Asset Management
16:35 – 17:15
Keynote: TBA
17:15 – 17:25
Devil’s Advocate Summaries
17:25 – 17:30
Chair’s Closing Remarks
19:00
Dinner at La Vista
Wednesday 17th September
08:30 – 09:05
Registration, coffee and early networking
09:05 – 09:10
Chair’s Opening Remarks
09:10 – 09:30
Keynote: Delivering patient, mission impact investment to the Scottish economy
In this session we hear from the Scottish National Investment Bank about how they go about providing patient capital to businesses and projects throughout Scotland to support the development of a fairer, more sustainable economy.
Speaker
Mike Wedderspoon
Director Strategic Engagement and Delivery
Scottish National Investment Bank
09:30 – 10:10
Panel: Delivering better pensions and investment through effective collaboration
This panel will look at how institutions, whether from the public or private sectors, can collaborate to improve outcomes for pension schemes, their members, and the economies and societies we all live in.
Moderator
Dawn Turner
Independent Adviser & NED
Panellists
David Parker
Councillor
Scottish Borders
Mike Wedderspoon
Director Strategic Engagement and Delivery
Scottish National Investment Bank
10:10 – 10:50
Panel: Delivering better performance while also creating a positive societal impact: 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. 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.
Moderator
Dawn Turner
Independent Adviser & NED
Panellists
Laura Collis
Head of Pensions
North East Scotland Pension Fund
Justin Faiz
CEO & Co-Founder
Pluto Finance
10:50 – 11:20
Break
11:20 – 11:40
Presentation: Digital real estate
Data centre’s remain a vital and rapidly expanding asset class, fuelled by accelerating global digitalisation and soaring data demand. With supply struggling to keep pace, the sector continues to demonstrate strong fundamentals, minimal vacancy, and robust rental growth potential. This session will explore the evolving investment landscape, emerging trends, and Principal’s ongoing success and expertise in data centre investments.
Presenter
Paul Lewis
Director, European Data Centres
Principal Asset Management
11:40 – 12:20
Presentation: Infrastructure (natural capital)
Speaker to be confirmed: Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners
12:00 – 12:20
Dashboard masterclass: Looking under the bonnet – making sure you’re ready for pensions dashboards
After a number of false starts and some lengthy delays, pensions dashboards are starting to become a reality. Not a week now goes by without an announcement (or two) that another provider or ISP has successfully connected into the dashboard ecosystem and we’re building momentum to dashboard go-live. But what do DB and LGPS schemes need to do to be ready for implementation?
An introductory presentation will be followed by our dashboard power panel which will look at where we are with dashboard implementation in terms of identity, data and communications. How is the programme progressing? What are the key things DB schemes need to be thinking about and, importantly, doing to get ready for go live? And what will it mean for how DB schemes think about communicating with their members?
Moderator
Dawn Turner
Independent Adviser & NED
Panellists
Martin Freeman
Founder and Director
Pensio
Ian MacIntyre
Founder
Lavercock FC
12:20 – 12:40
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
12:40 – 13:40
Lunch
13:40 – 14:20
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 and is storm Trump intensifying the havoc? Has anything really changed given the US President’s 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 play our Aces to take a step back, appraise where we are, and look at how we can maintain momentum in investing responsibly and sustainably.
Moderator
Dawn Turner
Independent Adviser & NED
Panellists
Jennifer Devine
Head of Pensions
Wiltshire Pension Fund
Charlotte O’Leary
CEO
Pension for Purpose
14:20 – 14:40
Presentation: Infrastructure (natural capital)
Speaker to be confirmed: Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners
14:40 – 15:20
Panel: Solving a problem we never thought we’d have – are we really overfunded and if we are what do we do with it?
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.
Moderator
Dawn Turner
Independent Adviser & NED
Panellists
Peter Gorin
Chair of Trustees
Cardiff University Pension Fund Board / Queen’s University Belfast Pension Trustee
15:20 – 15:40
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.
15:40 – 16:00
Break
16:00 – 16:40
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?
Moderator
Dawn Turner
Independent Adviser & NED
Panellists
Martin Bailey
Chair of Pensions Committee
London Borough of Lambeth
Nicholas Chadha
Pan Trustees
Helen Forest Hall
PMI
16:40 – 17:20
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
17:20 – 17:30
Devil’s Advocate Summaries
17:30 – 17:35
Chair’s Closing Remarks
18:35 – 19:30
Drinks Reception
19:30
Gala Dinner
