Agenda

Downloadable presentations:

Helen Beckinsale, Panel Manager, Pension Protection Fund (PPF)
Andrew Cole, Head of Multi Asset London, Pictet Asset Management
Chris Curry, Director, Pensions Policy Institute (PPI)
Fiona Frobisher, Head of Policy, The Pensions Regulator (TPR)
Douglas Hogg, Investment Director, Outcome Based Product Strategy & Solutions, Aberdeen Standard Investments

08:30 - 08:55: Registration and refreshments

08:55 – 09:00: Chairman’s welcome
Roger Cobley, Chairman, Stamford Associates and Pension Fund Trustee

09:00 – 09:30: Keynote speaker
Fiona Frobisher, Head of Policy, The Pensions Regulator (TPR)

Fiona will speak about TPR’s new, more proactive approach to regulation and what it means for trustees, employers and their advisers. She will focus in particular on TPR’s priority to reduce the number of poorly governed schemes.

09:30 – 09:55: From doom to boom?
Andrew Cole, Head of Multi Asset London, Pictet Asset Management

From doom to boom? Perhaps not. What do we make of the economy and the markets? Andrew Cole explores

09:55 – 10:20: Investing for the DB end-game
Douglas Hogg, Investment Director, Outcome Based Product Strategy & Solutions, Aberdeen Standard Investments

The DB pension landscape is changing. As pension schemes mature and funding levels improve, there is a shift in focus towards income, cashflow matching and investing for the “End Game”. In his session, Douglas will discuss the new risks that trustees and employers are facing as schemes become cashflow negative, and what investment strategies to consider to effectively navigate the End Game.

10:20 – 10:50: The consumer landscape is changing. Are you keeping up?
Annette Cheseldine, Client Partner, Ferrier Pearce
Laura MacPhee, Clients Relationship Director, Ferrier Pearce

We believe in treating pension scheme members as people - people who have more exciting things to do than read about pensions. If you want to get your message across you need to speak to them using language and channels that are relevant to them. Technological development has fuelled and supported behavioural change. People use technology for everything from booking holidays to paying mortgages, so why should pensions be different? We explore what the next five years could look like if pension schemes harness the opportunities available to encourage healthy saving.

10:50 – 11:20: Coffee break

11:20 – 11:45: Can Master Trusts help de-risk DC?
Anish Rav, Head of Clients, Proposition and Strategy, Atlas Master Trust

There has been a strong focus on de-risking DB, but should DC Schemes consider de-risking as well? Anish will discuss how and when DC Master Trusts can help existing schemes de-risk and the factors that need to be considered for a successful transition.

11:45 – 12:10: Lessons in Manager Selection
Jason Collins, Head of Equity Portfolio Management, SEI

In this presentation, Jason will discuss some of the challenges inherent in researching managers and building multi-manager portfolios, and some of the lessons that can be learnt. Jason will also uncover how informed investors with technical expertise, and skilful portfolio managers, can beat the market through a forward-looking alpha source-based approach to exploiting market inefficiencies.

12:10 – 12:35: Democratising sustainable investing through a flexible multi-asset fund
Maria Municchi, Fund Manager, M&G Investments

Asset owners increasingly want to commit their funds to investments that aim to achieve financial returns, at the same time as generating positive outcomes and avoiding harmful or detrimental effects from these investments. The nature of some of the more sustainable asset classes may make them less accessible for some investors, perhaps due to the large scale of each individual asset or because of limited liquidity. We believe a flexible and dynamic multi-asset product could help investors navigate the effects felt in different economic environments, while giving them the opportunity to access some of these sustainable asset classes.

12:35 – 13:00: The Globalisation of Real Assets
Sorca Kelly-Scholte, Managing Director, J.P. Morgan Asset Management

Historically investors have retained a strong domestic bias in their portfolios of real assets. This has been especially true when investing in real estate. In this session, Sorca will set out how real asset portfolios are to become more global, drawing parallels with the globalisation of equity portfolios. She will also discuss how the opportunity set has evolved and the ways in which some of the historical barriers to international investing are being overcome.

13:00 – 14:00: Lunch break

14:00 – 14:30: Keynote speaker
Helen Beckinsale, Panel Manager, Pension Protection Fund (PPF)

In her session, Helen will give a PPF perspective on what action trustees can and should be taking if they think their employer is in trouble and there is a risk that their scheme could enter the Pension Protection Fund. She will give an overview of why planning for a PPF scenario is important and explain the PPF processes. She will then talk in more detail about the kind of issues she encounters, where things have gone wrong for trustees and where they have gone well, all seen through the lens of maintaining members’ confidence that their pension is safe.

14:30 – 15:00: Legislative update
Matthew Swynnerton, Partner, DLA Piper

This session will take a look at some of the most recent cases and legislative decisions to impact the UK pensions space today

15:00 – 15:30: What does the future hold for pensions? 
Chris Curry, Director, Pensions Policy Institute (PPI)

Based on recent PPI reports, Chris Curry looks at emerging trends in UK pensions and considers what these might mean for the shape of the UK pension system in future.

15:30 – 15:40: Chairman’s roundup
Roger Cobley, Chairman, Stamford Associates and Pension Fund Trustee

15:40: Close of conference, drinks reception and networking