Monday 9th November
11:00 – 11:30
Registration and Networking
11:30 – 11:40
Welcome & opening remarks
Chair
Sarah Smart
Former Chair of The Pensions Regulator
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
12:30 – 13:30
Lunch
13:30 – 13:50
Presentation: The investment outlook: navigating uncertainty, growth and risk
What are the macroeconomic and market trends shaping pension scheme strategy in 2026. From inflation and interest rates to geopolitics, growth expectations and market volatility, we ask where the real opportunities and risks now lie for long-term investors.
Speaker to be confirmed: T. Rowe Price
13:50 – 14:30
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
14:30 – 14:50
Presentation: Digital infrastructure
Speaker to be confirmed: Blue Owl
14:50 – 15:10
Refreshment and networking break
15:10 – 15:50
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
Former Chair of The Pensions Regulator
15:50 – 16:10
Presentation: UK local clean energy
Speaker to be confirmed: Capital Dynamics
16:10 – 16:30
Presentation: Nature
Speaker to be confirmed: Lombard Odier Investment Managers
16:30 – 17:15
The big debate: This house believes bigger schemes will not necessarily deliver better outcomes
Scale is now central to pensions policy, but bigger does not always mean better. We ask whether consolidation will genuinely improve governance, investment access and member outcomes. Or whether politicians and regulators risk confusing size with quality.
Moderator
Sarah Smart
Former Chair of The Pensions Regulator
17:15 – 17:25
Devil’s Advocate Summaries
17:25 – 17:30
Closing Remarks
Chair
Sarah Smart
Former Chair of The Pensions Regulator
19:00
Dinner
Tuesday 10th November
08:15 – 09:00
Coffee and Registration
09:00 – 09:05
Opening Remarks
Chair
Sarah Smart
Former Chair of The Pensions Regulator
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
Former Chair of The Pensions Regulator
09:45 – 10:05
Presentation
10:05 – 10:25
Presentation
10:25 – 10:45
Presentation: Emerging market equities
Speaker to be confirmed: Comgest
10:45 – 11:10
Refreshment break
11:10 – 11:50
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
Former Chair of The Pensions Regulator
11:50 – 12:10
Presentation: Real estate
Presenter
Clemens Schäfer
Head of Real Estate
DWS Investments
12:10 – 12:50
Panel: Data driven investment decisions
Moderator
Sarah Smart
Former Chair of The Pensions Regulator
Speaker to be confirmed: Economic Data Services
12:50 – 13:00
Devil’s Advocate Summaries
13:00 – 14:00
Lunch
14:00 – 14:40
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
Former Chair of The Pensions Regulator
14:40 – 15:00
Presentation
15:00 – 15:40
Panel: AI in pensions
Moderator
Sarah Smart
Former Chair of The Pensions Regulator
15:40 – 16:05
Refreshment break
16:05 – 16:45
Roundtable Discussion
16:45 – 17:25
Keynote: Building pensions fit for the future
17:25 – 17:35
Devil’s Advocate Summaries
17:35 – 17:40
Closing Remarks
Chair
Sarah Smart
Former Chair of The Pensions Regulator
17:40 – 18:30
Drinks Reception and Canapés
19:00 – 21:00
Dinner with After Dinner Speaker
