This conference will explore the equity investment opportunities that are available to pension funds, looking at practical application issues, performance, prospects and how different equity strategies can be structured to achieve a fund’s specific investment objectives. We will normally include both public and private equity in both developed and emerging markets considering mainstream as well as alternative strategies.
Comments from Delegates Included
"Well organised, good environment and refreshments" Alistair KcKissack, Hymans Robertson
"Overall an excellent, extremely informative and highly relevant conference for me personally. Well done and thank you very much!." Anon
"A worthwhile day" Anon
"Many thanks for inviting me" Anon
Pension Funds who attended this conference included:
ADAS Retirement Benefits Plan
Aerion Fund Management Ltd
Amalgamated Metal Corporation plc.
AstraZeneca Pension Fund
Bechtel Limited Pension Plan
Belron International
BG Group
BNP Paribas
BP Finance
Bush Boake Allen Pension Trustees Ltd
Civil Aviation Authority Pension Scheme
Clwyd Pension Fund
Coal Pension Trustees Services Ltd
E&Y Trustees Ltd
Georgia-Pacific International Limited
Habitat UK Pension & Life Assurance Plan
Hamworthy plc
Kingfisher plc
London Borough of Hounslow
London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames
Medical Research Council
MEPs Pension Fund
Molins UK Pension
Nationwide Building Society
Orange Pension Scheme
Oxfordshire County Council Pension Fund
PA Pension Trustees Limited
Pension Protection Fund
Pensions Trust, The
RWE npower
Scott Bader Pension Trustees Limited
Transport for London
Universities Superannuation Scheme
West Midlands Pension Fund
A similar conference which was run previously can be found
here
Fred Jaffe, Executive Director, Specialist Pension Services
09.10
Equities Place in your Portfolio
Moderated by:Peter Scales, Chair of Trustees, Scout Association Pension fund
"The Long-term Case for Global Equities"
A new world order - a two-tier world where the East is outpacing the West; The macro environment - government deficits in the West, consumer spending in emerging markets; What matters for stockmarkets - demographics, corporate profits, investors' trust in equity markets; The outlook for equities - short term, medium term and long term; Stockpicking - the decade of the multinational?
Aled Smith, Co-Founder of M&G Global Equity Desk, M&G Investments
“Can Equities Surprise Investors this Decade and Outperform all other Asset Classes?”
What signals are there today that they can? What types of companies can thrive in an open, competitive world when capital is scarce? Unconstrained active investing remains the key strategy to capture this opportunity Ignore last decades ideas of risk management that have dominated over past decades.
Nick Hamilton, Head of International Equity Products, Invesco Perpetual
10.30
Coffee/Tea
11.00
Looking to Add Value
Moderated by: David Bennett-Rees,Saul Trustee Company
“Emerging Markets: The Story Behind the Headlines”
How much comfort should we take from recent positive headlines surrounding this asset class? Emerging markets uncovered: what are the pitfalls and how do you avoid them? Exploring the long-term merits of this asset class; where will value come from in years to come? Moving on from BRIC and other key themes e.g. inflation; Is this the asset class to watch over the long-term and does it really have far greater potential than developed markets?
John Pollen, Head of Emerging Markets Equity, Pioneer Investments
"Inflation: drivers, outlook, and hedging strategies"
This presentation will examine the key drivers and the outlook for inflation
. It will discuss equity returns in different inflation regimes and explore effective inflation hedging strategies.
Christope Oryl, Investment Director, Wellington Management International
A History of Indexing; Assumptions of Efficient Market Hypothesis; Pros and Cons of Market Capitalisation weighted Indexing; A look at other types of Indexing Methods; enhanced, fundamental etc; Active Indexing – a revolutionary combination of both passive and active investing.
Des Morris, Head of UK Institutional, Wegelin Asset Management
“Unconstrained Investment”
A critique of index-based investing covering market irrationality, industrial and thematic over-concentration, liability matching and over- emphasis on the short term ; The concept and characteristics of unconstrained investing including, risk and performance measurement and monitoring; A detailed look at outcomes – the pattern of returns, turnover (and therefore costs) and diversification; Unconstrained as part of a larger investment strategy
Douglas McDowell, Head of Client Investment Strategies, Neptune Investment Management
15.10
Coffee/Tea
15.40
Practical Issues and Panel Session
Moderated by: Dave Lyons, Divisional Director, JLT Benefits Solutions
“Value and Growth Strategies: How have they performed?”
Are there really size and value premiums in equity investing? If so, how and when can they be exploited? Who performs best in periods of low GDP growth and are there links between inflation and the value premium and/or the size premium. What strategy performs best when short-term interest rates are low?
Robert Schwob, Principal & Founder, Style Research Ltd.
“Panel Session”
A look at the issues facing pension funds when deciding how to invest in equities today. How do equities fit into a liability driven investment programme? How to decide between domestic and global equities? Panellists:
Leyland Otter, Senior Investment Manager, Merseyside Pension Fund
Nick Greenwood, Pension Fund Manager, Berkshire Pension Fund
