Monday 9th November
Devil’s Advocates | Afternoon Sessions
Arlene Mitcham, Member Nominated Trustee, Coral Gala
Jason Fletcher, Head of Pooling & Investments, Buckinghamshire Pension Fund
Sam Gervaise-Jones, Independent Investment Adviser, Cambridgeshire Pension Fund
11:00 – 11:30
Registration and Networking
11:30 – 11:40
Welcome & opening remarks
Chair
Sarah Smart
Conference Chair
11:40 – 11:55
Keynote: A word from our editor
Pensions Expert Editor, Nick Reeve, looks back at some of the key themes and trends dominating the pension headlines in 2026.
Speaker
Nick Reeve
Editor
Pensions Expert
11:55 – 12:30
Keynote: A year of change, but with a lot more to come
Speaker
Richard Knox
Executive Director of Strategy, Policy, and Analysis
The Pensions Regulator
12:30 – 13:10
Panel: The new settlement – policy, regulation, reform. What schemes need to do next
UK pensions are moving from consultation and policy ambition into a more focused phase of implementation. With reforms touching DB, DC and the LGPS, this opening panel asks what has really changed, what remains uncertain, and where schemes and the industry should be focusing their attention now.
Moderator
Sarah Smart
Conference Chair
Panellists
Joanne Donnelly
CEO
London Pensions Fund Authority
Patrick Heath-Lay
CEO
People’s Partnership
David Lane
CEO
TPT
Morten Nilsson
CEO
Brightwell
13:10 – 14:10
Lunch
14:10 – 14:30
Presentation: Bond yields and inflation outlook
Against a backdrop of persistent inflation and elevated bond supply, this session will explore the outlook for bond yields and the implications for fixed income investors. The discussion will consider the potential direction of long-end yields, the impact of increased government and corporate issuance, and how these dynamics could shape risks and opportunities across fixed income markets.
Presenter
Amanda Stitt
Portfolio Specialist
T. Rowe Price
14:30 – 14:50
Presentation: Digital infrastructure: powering the next wave
The growth of cloud computing, AI and data consumption has reinforced the strategic importance of digital infrastructure, with the world’s largest technology companies investing hundreds of billions of dollars to expand capacity. For investors, it is critical to distinguish between the technology layer and the physical infrastructure layer of the value chain, and to understand their different risk-adjusted return profiles. In this session, we explore the evolution of digital infrastructure, compare the opportunities and challenges across the US and Europe, and discuss why the sector has become a compelling investment opportunity.
Presenter
Richard Redstone
Managing Director
Blue Owl
14:50 – 15:45
Presentation & Roundtable: Pensions dashboards: ready, set, go!
In this interactive session we’ll hear the latest dashboard news from the pensions dashboard team and then discuss what the implications are for schemes and the industry.
Presenter
Chris Curry
Principal
Pensions Dashboard Programme
Roundtable Facilitator
Nick Reeve
Editor
Pensions Expert
15:45 – 16:15
Refreshment and networking break
16:15 – 16:35
Presentation: Beyond 2030: making UK clean energy investable for pension capital
The UK’s Clean Power 2030 target is under strain. Delivery is falling short of the pace required, while demand for electricity is set to rise sharply with electrification, data centres and industrial growth. The result is a widening gap between ambition and reality, and a substantial funding requirement for UK clean energy infrastructure over the next decade. This session sets out the scale of that challenge and what it means for the capital needed. Drawing on an investor’s perspective, it examines what makes UK clean energy assets genuinely investable: the regulatory and revenue frameworks, the risk and return profile, and the delivery characteristics that institutional investors look for.
Presenter
Barney Coles
Senior Managing Director, Co-Head of Clean Energy
Capital Dynamics
16:35 – 17:15
Panel: Climate investing in a harder world
Net zero commitments are now being tested by politics, performance pressures and a more complex geopolitical and societal backdrop. Our panellists will take stock of where we are and will ask how schemes can maintain credible climate strategies while staying focused on risk, return and fiduciary duty.
Moderator
Sarah Smart
Conference Chair
Panellists
Nick Dixon
Director
Avon Pension Fund
Alex Quant
Partner and Head of Responsible Investment
XPS Group
Maggie Rodger
Co-Chair
AMNT
Zahra Rumani
Climate Change Risk Manager
London CIV
Natalie Waller
Trustee Board Director & NED
Corporate Scheme, Foundation and Social Finance
17:15 – 17:25
Devil’s Advocate Summaries
17:25 – 17:30
Closing Remarks
Chair
Sarah Smart
Conference Chair
19:00
Dinner
Tuesday 10th November
Devil’s Advocates | Morning Sessions
Andrew Carrett, Managing Director, Flint Hyde
Nemashe Sivayogan, Head of Pension, Treasury and Capital, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
Mike Weston, Chair of Trustees, Institute of Cancer Research Pension
08:15 – 09:00
Coffee and Registration
09:00 – 09:05
Opening Remarks
Chair
Sarah Smart
Conference Chair
09:05 – 09:45
Panel: Productive finance: fiduciary opportunity or political pressure?
Pension schemes and providers are being ‘encouraged’ to support UK growth through private markets, infrastructure and productive assets. We ask whether that agenda creates genuine long-term investment opportunities, or whether trustees and providers are being asked to compromise on member outcomes.
Moderator
Sarah Smart
Conference Chair
Panellists
Sarah Adams
Director of Policy
UK Private Capital
Charles Griffith
Head of Investment Strategy
Pension Protection Fund
Jonathan Ord
Investment Director
GLIL Infrastructure
David Vyravipillai
Investment Manager
Railpen
09:45 – 10:05
Presentation: Completing the UK funding continuum: capturing more value from British innovation
The UK does not have a start-up problem. It has a funding continuum problem. While significant progress is being made to support venture-backed businesses, too many successful UK quoted growth companies still struggle to access the long-term capital required to scale, leading to value, ownership and future returns leaving the UK. This session will explore why growth capital remains a critical missing link in the UK ecosystem and how pension funds can participate in the next generation of UK success stories while targeting private-equity-like returns.
Presenter
Alex Kirke
Portfolio Manager / Product Specialist – 1798 Volantis Team
Lombard Odier Investment Management
10:05 – 10:25
Presentation: Building Britain: can infrastructure deliver for schemes and the economy?
Infrastructure is central to the debate about how pension capital can support UK growth, but schemes still need assets that work on risk, return, liquidity and governance. This session looks at where the strongest opportunities may lie and what pension schemes need to consider in accessing this important asset class.
Presenter
James Samworth
Partner and Co-Head of M&A
Schroders Greencoat
10:25 – 10:45
Presentation: We are all emerging markets now
For decades, emerging markets were where investors expected the next crisis. In 2026, the picture looks rather different. As developed market governments wrestle with rising debt and stubborn inflation, many emerging economies are benefiting from years of fiscal reform and credible central banking. In this session, we explore the real world outcomes that discipline is making possible: households saving and investing at home, affordable banking, better healthcare and more reliable energy. For long term investors, these changes may offer a more robust foundation than many assume.
Presenter
Nick Payne
Analyst / Portfolio Manager
Comgest
10:45 – 11:10
Refreshment break
11:10 – 11:50
Panel: Surplus and security: the changing nature of DB endgames
With many DB schemes funding positions in rude health, the ‘endgame’ conversation is becoming more complicated. This panel asks whether trustees and sponsors should still see buyout as the natural destination, or whether surplus release and run-on strategies are creating a more open future for DB.
Moderator
Sarah Smart
Conference Chair
Panellists
Louise Davey
Trustee Director – Head of Policy
IGG
Ruari Grant
Head of Policy & External Affairs
TPT
Uzma Nazir
Senior Director – Head of PRT Origination
Standard Life
Phil Triggs
Director
Westminster
11:50 – 12:10
Presentation: Creating value and driving outperformance in European real estate
Despite continued geopolitical risk and a prolonged period of volatile interest rates, returns from European real estate are proving remarkably resilient. The last 12 months have seen a positive total return and healthy rental growth; we believe this will continue given supply-side constraints. But outperforming won’t be easy, and market beta is unlikely to be overly supportive. In this session we will explore why investors need to look carefully for attractive opportunities, be prepared to accept certain risks, and have a strong focus on active management and value creation.
Presenter
Clemens Schaefer
Global Head of Real Estate APAC & Europe,
Deutsche Asset Management
12:10 – 12:30
Interview: Investment decisions and trustee liability: the protection gap
Interviewer
Sarah Smart
Conference Chair
Interviewee
Edmund Walsh
CEO & Founder
Economic Data Sciences
12:30 – 12:40
Devil’s Advocate Summaries
12:40 – 13:40
Lunch
Devil’s Advocates | Afternoon Sessions
Robert Branagh, Independent Adviser
Priya Nair, Treasury & Pensions Manager, Camden Pension Fund
13:40 – 14:15
Keynote: The Geopolitics of Investment – in a more uncertain world for private capital
The last four decades provided a geopolitically benign investment backdrop, underpinned by neoliberal preferences and the predictable structures of multilateral coordination, interdependence and globalisation. Macroeconomic prioritisation and commercial efficiency flourished. In a more malevolent world, the fundamental principles that underpinned geopolitics have been turned on their head. So how should frameworks for assessing the investment implications evolve?
Speaker
Nick Greenstock
Co-Founder and CEO
Gatehouse Advisory Partners
14:15 – 14:55
Panel: Stewardship with teeth: can schemes really influence companies?
Schemes are under pressure to be responsible owners, but stewardship must prove it can deliver more than reports and voting statistics. This panel explores how asset owners can hold managers and companies to account on climate, governance and long-term value. What really moves the dial and how can we move from a world where what gets measured gets reported to what get measured gets managed?
Moderator
Sarah Smart
Conference Chair
Panellists
Leanne Clements
Head of Responsible Investment
People’s Partnership
Luke Hildyard
Head of UK Policy
ShareAction
Sanjay Joshi
Responsible Investment Consultant
Hymans Robertson
Joe Robinson
Director, Investment Stewardship & Sustainability
Equitix
14:55 – 15:25
Roundtable: Stewardship deep dive
What pension schemes really want from their asset managers when it comes to managing and stewarding their investments.
Moderator
Nick Reeve
Editor
Pensions Expert
15:25 – 15:45
Refreshment break
15:45 – 16:15
Keynote: AI investing: backing the future or buying the hype?
AI is being described as a transformative economic force, but investors are increasingly asking whether the market has moved too far, too fast. This keynote explores the risks of concentration, inflated valuations and bubble dynamics, and asks how pension schemes can capture potential upside while protecting members from the consequences of over-exposure.
Speaker
Richard Tomlinson
CIO
LPPI
16:15 – 16:50
Fireside Chat: Politics, regulation and pensions – a candid conversation
Pensions Expert editor Nick Reeve talks to former pensions minister Paul Maynard and former chair of The Pensions Regulator Sarah Smart about how pensions policy and regulation are made. How do politicians and regulators work together, where do tensions arise, and what do they really think of the pensions and investment industry?
Interviewer
Nick Reeve
Editor
Pensions Expert
Interviewees
Paul Maynard
Former Pensions Minister
Sarah Smart
Former Chair of The Pensions Regulator
16:50 – 17:25
Keynote: UK fiscal policy: how did we get into this mess – and how do we get out?
With the dust now settling on the Chancellor’s latest Budget, economist Steven Bell examines how the UK’s public finances reached this point and whether the Chancellor’s choices offer a credible way forward. What would it take to break the cycle of weak growth and difficult tax and spending decisions? Could AI materially improve productivity, tax revenues and public service delivery, or are we expecting too much? And what does the fiscal outlook mean for pension investors?
Speaker
Steven Bell
Economist
17:25 – 17:35
Devil’s Advocate Summaries
17:35 – 17:40
Closing Remarks
Chair
Sarah Smart
Conference Chair
17:40 – 18:30
Drinks Reception and Canapés
19:00 – 21:00
Dinner with After Dinner Speaker
Speaker
Andy Zaltzman
