Tuesday 23rd April
11:30 – 12:00
Registration
Devils Advocates | Afternoon Panel
William Bourne, Independent Adviser
Jo Donnelly, Head of Pensions, Local Government Association
Dawn Turner, Independent Adviser and NED
12:00 – 12:10
Chair’s Opening Remarks
Chair
John Harrison
Adviser
Border to Coast Pensions Partnership
12:10 – 12:35
Interview: AustralianSuper
Pooling of LGPS assets was only started recently, but other countries began their journeys many years ago. This interview will explore the challenges and opportunities faced by Australia’s largest pension super fund and the possible implications for the future direction of pooling in the LGPS.
Interviewer
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
Interviewee
Carl Astorri
Head of Investments, Europe
AustralianSuper
12:35 – 13:15
Panel: Government’s policy proposal
Late last year the Government set out its ambitions for the evolution of LPGS investments, with a clear direction of travel both for pooling and for asset allocation. The Panel will consider what these proposals mean in practice for funds and for pools.
Moderator
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
Panellists
Nick Dixon
Head of Pensions
Avon Pension Fund
Roger Phillips
Chair
Scheme Advisory Board
Chris Rule
Chief Executive Officer
LPPI
Phil Triggs
Director
Westminster City Council
13:15 – 14:00
Light Lunch
14:00 – 14:35
Panel: Strategy perspective (global equities)
Equity market performance in recent years has been polarised in favour of US companies, particularly those in the technology sector. The panel will discuss the way in which the LGPS takes strategy decisions in relation to equity allocation, the implications of recent market trends for current valuations and potential systemic risks to future equity returns.
Moderator
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
Panellists
Keith Guthrie
Head of Sustainability UK
Cardano
Eric Lambert
Independent Adviser
George Sakoulis
Partner and Portfolio Manager
GMO Horizons
14:35 – 15:10
Panel: Strategy perspective (fixed income)
While inflation measures have fallen significantly from recent peaks, government bond yields appear to have stabilised at the higher levels reached in late 2022. The Panel will consider the impact this is having on fixed income markets and the wider economy, the outlook for the coming years and the implications for LGPS investment.
Moderator
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
Panellists
Matt Lawton
Portfolio Manager, Fixed Income Division
T. Rowe Price
Tim Mpofu
Head of Pensions & Treasury
Haringey Pension Fund
Katrina Uzun
Institutional Fixed Income Portfolio Manager
MFS Investment Management
15:10 – 15:40
Break
15:40 – 16:30
Panel: Implementing Government policy for pooling assets – a pool perspective
Each of the LGPS pools has its own characteristics and taken its own approach to implementation. In this session representatives from five of the pools reflect on the challenges they face in the coming years to meet evolving LPGS fund needs.
Moderator
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
Panellists
Aoifinn Devitt
Chief Investment Officer
London CIV
Kevin Mcdonald
Director
ACCESS Support Unit
Joe McDonnell
Chief Investment Officer
Border to Coast Pensions Partnership
Euan Miller
Managing Director
West Yorkshire Pension Fund
Anthony Parnell
Treasury & Pension Investments Manager
Carmarthenshire County Council
16:30 – 17:05
Panel: Global macro investment forecast
The macro-economic and political outlook is as uncertain as ever. The investment environment could change quickly depending on elections, central bank monetary policy and the outcome of global conflicts. The Panel will seek to identify the key issues for investors to focus on and discuss how to structure asset allocation to navigate the potentially choppy waters ahead.
Moderator
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
Panellists
William Bourne
Independent Adviser
Jamie Dannhauser
Economist
Ruffer
Guillermo Felices
Global Investment Strategist
PGIM Fixed Income
17:05 – 17:10
Devil’s Advocate Summaries
17:10 – 17:15
Chair’s Closing Remarks & Delegate Observations
Chair
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
17:15
Private key collection and Check-in
18:30
Mini golf
19:30
BBQ Buffet in Sam’s Restaurant
Wednesday 24th April
Devils Advocates | Morning Panel
Dafydd Edwards, Independent Adviser
Eric Lambert, Independent Adviser
Neil Mason, LGPS Senior Officer, Surrey County Council
09:00 – 09:05
Chair’s Opening Remarks
Chair
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
09:05 – 09:45
Panel: Investing in property
Real estate is one of the harder asset classes to pool given its inherent illiquidity and high costs of change. The Panel will provide both pool and investment manager perspectives on the challenges and opportunities that LGPS funds face in investing in property.
Moderator
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
Panellists
Justin Faiz
CEO & Co-Founder
Pluto Finance
Mike Hardwick
Investment Director for Property
LGPS Central
Alistair Smith
Head of Real Estate
Border to Coast Pensions Partnership
Giles Smith
Head of Fund Management, Real Estate
Principal Asset Management
09:45 – 10:20
Panel: Strategy perspective – private markets
LGPS fund allocations to private markets have trended upwards in recent years as investors have sought to harvest illiquidity premia and access higher income. With a much changed yield environment, will private markets continue to attract higher allocations and how does the Government’s ambition to promote UK growth impact on the sector?
Moderator
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
Panellists
Pierre Abadie
Group Climate Director and Co-Head of Decarbonisation Private Equity
Tikehau Capital
Jeff Dong
Deputy Chief Finance Officer and Deputy S151 Officer
City & County of Swansea
David Hedalen
Head of Real Assets Research
Aviva Investors
10:20 – 11:00
Team Challenge
Our new version of 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
Robert Branagh
CEO
London Pensions Fund Authority
11:00 – 11:30
Break
11:30 – 11:50
Team Challenge results
Facilitator
Robert Branagh
CEO
London Pensions Fund Authority
11:50 – 12:30
Panel: Net Zero
The LGPS has been at the forefront of long term investors addressing climate change. The previous widespread global support for achieving net zero is showing signs of waning, especially in the US. The panel will discuss whether our net zero ambitions are still achievable, the sectors where progress could be most impactful and what challenges and opportunities lie ahead.
Moderator
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
Panellists
Baiju Devani
UK Investment Director
Bluefield Partners
Becky LeAnstey
Investment Manager
Environment Agency
Shiventa Sivanesan
Assistant Director – Investment Management & Stewardship
West Midlands Pension Fund
Rosalind Smith-Maxwell
Director
Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners
12:30 – 12:35
Devil’s Advocates Summaries
12:35 – 13:40
Lunch
Devils Advocates | Afternoon Panel
Robert Branagh, CEO, London Pensions Fund Authority
Abigail Leech, Director of Finance, People and Culture, Local Pensions Partnership Administration
13:40 – 14:20
Panel: Building local impact solutions across the private asset classes
This session considers private markets, with a focus on local impact through physical assets. The Government’s desires to promote UK economic growth while levelling up can both be achieved through private market investments seeking local impact. But what does this mean in practice?
Moderator
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
Panellists
Jamie Broderick
Deputy Chair, Board
Impact Investing Institute
Debbie Fielder
Deputy Head
Clwyd Pension Fund
Lee Moscovitch
Partner
Schroders Greencoat
James Murray
Co-Head of Social Infrastructure
AlphaReal
14:20 – 14:55
Panel: Pension funds’ toolkit for advancing corporate governance and sustainability in their investments
The panel will discuss how shareholder litigation has become part of the “toolkit” for pension funds to advance corporate governance and sustainability in companies they invest in. It is a powerful tool by which funds can monitor their investments to ensure alignment with their broader goals as fiduciaries. The panel will also discuss the impact of multiple pension funds working collaboratively to effectuate change and obtain recoveries, and the impact of LGPS pooling—if any—on such strategies from the perspective of the LGPS. This interactive session will explore these themes through discussion of recent examples and hypotheticals.
Moderator
Mike Weston
Independent Consultant and former CEO of LGPS Central
Panellists
Martin Bailey
Councillor
London Borough of Lambeth
Guillaume Buell
Partner
Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP
14:55 – 15:30
Panel: Private debt (asset backed lending)
Higher interest rates have been reflected in higher required yields on private market debt. The Panel will debate what this means for the type of projects capable of delivering these returns and in particular the role of asset backed lending.
Moderator
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
Panellists
Brian Coleman
Managing Director, Head of Private Credit
J.P. Morgan Asset Management
Jill Davys
Director – Global Assets
Redington
Christian Stracke
Managing Director, President, Global Head of Credit Research
PIMCO
15:30 – 16:00
Break
16:00 – 16:25
Interview: Railpen
With over £30 billion in assets and over 100 underlying sections, Railpen faces similar scale and governance challenges as an LGPS pool. This interview will explore how Railpen has coped with these challenges and how the current arrangements enable funds to exploit investment opportunities for the benefit of their members.
Interviewer
John Harrison
Symposium Chair
Interviewee
Ted Jennings
Head of Long Term Income
Railpen
16:25 – 17:05
Panel: What lies ahead?
The only constant is change. The first phase of the LGPS pooling project is nearly at 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
Jo Kempton
Head of Pensions (LGPS)
Lincolnshire County Council
Andrien Meyers
Head of Pensions Investments
Royal Borough of Kingston/London Borough of Sutton
John Nestor
NED and Trustee
Capital Cranfield
Mike O’Donnell
Former CEO
London CIV
17:05 – 17:10
Devil’s Advocate Summaries
17:10 – 17:15
Chair’s Closing Remarks & Delegate Observations
Chair
John Harrison
Adviser
Border to Coast Pensions Partnership
17:15
Drinks Reception
19:00
Dinner and Guest Speaker
David Walsh
Chief Sports Writer
The Sunday Times
