Tuesday 25th April
13:30 – 13:40
Chair’s Opening Remarks
Chair
John Harrison
Adviser
Border to Coast Pensions Partnership
13:40 – 14:20
Panel: Strategy perspective (fixed income and other public markets)
Although LGPS funding levels have improved significantly in recent years, the sector still needs to generate strong long term investment returns in order to keep pensions affordable. In this session we consider the outlook for listed equities and bonds and the implications for current LGPS fund strategy.
Moderator
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
Panellists
Quentin Fitzsimmons
Portfolio Manager
T. Rowe Price
Sam Gervaise-Jones
Independent Adviser
Cambridgeshire Pension Fund
Bridget Uku
Investment Manager
Ealing Pension Fund
14:20 – 14:50
Panel: Has pooling delivered on cost savings?
One of the original objectives of pooling was to reduce costs. Has this been achieved in practice? To help answer this question, this session will consider a case study exploring the impact of pooling on costs and debate its wider implications for the sector.
Moderator
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
Panellists
Fiona Miller
Deputy CEO
Border to Coast Pensions Partnership
Chris Sier
CEO & co-Founder
ClearGlass Analytics
Matthew Trebilcock
Head of Pensions
Gloucestershire Pension Fund
14:50 – 15:20
Break
15:20 – 16:10
Asset Pooling Reflection: Discussion 1
Each of the eight LGPS pools has its own characteristics and taken its own approach to implementation. In this session four of the pools reflect on the challenges they have faced over the last five years and their priorities for the future.
Moderator
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
Panellists
Rachel Elwell
CEO
Border to Coast Pensions Partnership
Kevin McDonald
Director
ACCESS
Euan Miller
Director
Northern Pool
Anthony Parnell
Treasury & Pension Investments Manager
Carmarthenshire County Council (host authority Wales Pension Partnership)
16:10 – 17:00
Panel: Pooling influencers
LGPS pooling is at a critical point in its development. After five years most of the investment capabilities originally envisaged have been or will soon be rolled out. Where does LGPS pooling go from here? This Panel of some of the sector’s key influencers will discuss the historic objectives of pooling, how these objectives may evolve in the next five years and the implications for the overall structure of pooling.
Moderator
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
Panellists
Teresa Clay
Head of Local Government Pensions
DLUHC
Jeff Houston
Independent Adviser
Mike O’Donnell
Former CEO of London CIV
17:00 – 17:10
Devil’s Advocate Summaries
William Bourne, Independent Adviser
Anthony Fletcher, Independent Adviser
Dawn Turner, Independent Adviser & NED
17:10 – 17:20
Chair’s Closing Remarks
Chair
John Harrison
Adviser
Border to Coast Pensions Partnership
17:20
Private Key collection and check-in
18:00
Drinks Reception
19:00
BBQ and Mini Golf
Wednesday 26th April
08:50 – 09:00
Chair’s Opening Remarks
Chair
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
09:00 – 09:40
Panel: Strategy perspective private markets
The second Panel debating current LGPS investment strategy will look at the opportunities and risks associated with private markets. LGPS allocations to private markets have trended upwards in recent years. Is that trend set to continue and how do private markets align to the changing needs of LGPS funds?
Moderator
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
Panellists
Chris Hawketts
Vice President, Alternatives Strategist
PIMCO
Gordon Ross
Chief Investment Officer
LGPS Central
Bola Tobun
Pensions and Treasury Manager
London Borough of Harrow
Lindee Wong
Director of Climate & Biodiversity
Tikehau Capital
09:40 – 10:30
Pools Reflection: Discussion 2
The second Panel in which four pools reflect on the challenges of the last five years and their priorities for the future.
Moderator
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
Panellists
Dean Bowden
CEO
London CIV
Laura Chappell
CEO
Brunel Pension Partnership
Chris Rule
CEO
LPP and LPPI
Mike Weston
CEO
LGPS Central
10:30 – 11:00
Break
11:00 – 11:40
Panel: Levelling Up
LGPS investment strategy is likely to be influenced by UK Government policy, in particular in respect of the levelling up and climate change agendas. This Panel will discuss the investment implications of levelling up and how this might be incorporated in LGPS fund strategies.
Moderator
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
Panellists
Anne Copeland
Co-head of Social Infrastructure
AlphaReal
Paul Guilliotti
Assistant Director of Resources
Wandsworth Pension Fund
Mark Lyon
Deputy CIO
Border to Coast Pensions Partnership
Matt Ridley
Partner, Private Markets
Schroders Greencoat
11:40 – 12:20
Regulation and Governance
LGPS pools are unusual in that they seek to act as asset owners but are regulated as asset managers. This Panel will consider the implications of the current regulatory framework for LGPS governance and how this might evolve in the coming years.
Moderator
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
Panellists
Jill Davys
Head of LGPS
Redington
Joanne Donnelly
Head of Pensions
Local Government Association
Denise Le Gal
Independent Chair
Brunel Pensions Partnership
12:20 – 13:00
Team Challenge
This is a new take on Roundtable discussions. Each table will be allocated one of a range of key topics that will shape the future of LGPS pooling. The challenge is to see whether our collective views are aligned.
Facilitator
Andrien Meyers
Head of Pensions Investments
Royal Borough of Kingston / London Borough of Sutton
13:00 – 14:00
Lunch
14:00 – 14:20
Team Challenge results
Results from the Team Challenge.
Facilitator
Andrien Meyers
Head of Pensions Investments
Royal Borough of Kingston / London Borough of Sutton
14:20 – 15:00
Panel: Net zero
Climate change is a huge issue for long term investors and not just because of the UK Government’s commitment to achieving Net Zero. The Panel will discuss a range of specific investment opportunities and consider how these can be captured effectively.
Moderator
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
Panellists
James Armstrong
Founder and Managing Partner
Bluefield Partners
Jeff Dong
Head of Finance & Pension Fund
City & County of Swansea Pension Fund
Gustave Loriot
Responsible Investment Manager
London CIV
Rosalind Smith-Maxwell
Senior Vice President
Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners
15:00 – 15:30
Panel: Innovation in public sector investment
The last year has seen a material change in the investment environment in particular in respect of interest rates. In this session we will consider two potential investment strategies that are not yet widely used across the LGPS but which may be more relevant in this new environment.
Moderator
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
Panellists
Bruce D. George
Partner, Investment Solutions
P/E Investments
David Newman
CIO Global High Yield, Head of Public & Private Solutions
Allianz Global Investors
15:30 – 16:00
Break
16:00 – 16:50
Panel: What lies ahead?
The only constant is change. The first phase of the LGPS pooling project is coming to an end. How will the next phase pan out? In this session panellists will share their views about the potential direction of travel for the sector to meet the challenges of the next five years.
Moderator
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
Panellists
William Bourne
Independent Adviser
John Nestor
Trustee and NED
Capital Cranfield
Chris Rule
CEO
LPP and LPPI
16:50 – 17:05
Devil’s Advocate Summaries
Jeff Houston, Independent Adviser
Abigail Leech, Director of Finance, People and Culture, Local Pensions Partnership Administration
Neil Mason, LGPS Senior Officer, Surrey County Council Pension Fund
Phil Triggs, Director, Westminster City Council
17:05 – 17:15
Chair’s Closing Remarks
Chair
John Harrison
Adviser
Border to Coast Pensions Partnership
17:15
Drinks Reception
19:00
Dinner and Guest Speaker
Speaker
Tim Harford
Behavioural Economist
