8:00
Registration and welcome coffee
8:50
Welcoming address
8:55
Panel discussion: Economy and global markets outlook
- Outlook on growth and inflation
- Will inflation finally be put to bed or does the 2% target remain elusive?
- To what extent can we expect Trump’s agenda to influence the inflation outlook?
- Central Bank policy – can we still anticipate a continued fall in rates?
- US exceptionalism and the disparity between regions
- As the US continues to outperform other major markets, can we see a catalyst for this to stop?
- Poor performance of Uk and European economies - Can Europe survive America?
- Is the periphery now the core?
- US protectionist trade policies and its implications for international trade relationships and asset prices.
- Rising levels of sovereign debt /Sovereign debt sustainability – can it continue and what will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back?
- Outlook for the gilt market/ Gilt issuance– possibility and implications of a failed gilt auction.
- Which geopolitical tensions pose the greatest risk to global stability?
Panellists:
Adam Ruddle, Chief Investment Officer, LV=
Konstantinos Stergiou, CFA, Head of Financial Risk, AXA UK & Ireland
09:35
Keynote Presentation
Speaker: Mike Eakins, Chief Investment Officer and Group Executive Committee Member, Phoenix Group
10:00
Presentation topic TBC
10:25
Coffee break
10:45
Panel discussion: Unlocking investment Opportunitues - Do policy and regulatory measures go far enough?
- How is evolving regulation impacting the investment decision- making process?
- To what extent have changes to Solvency regulatory regimes freed up access to wider investment opportunities?
- Which aspects of regulation could still be amended to further unlock investment opportunities?
- How successful have government initiatives like the Mansion House compact been to date and how do we convert government rhetoric and good intentions into practical actionable measures/practices?
- Highly predictable assets – how have firms approached this and what progress have they made on the journey with PRA towards approval for MA asset applications?
- What opportunities have been identified?
- The trend towards more complex asset strategies and asset intensive reinsurance looks set to stay – how do regulators play catch up and get comfortable with this material shift in insurer investment strategies?
- Are the fears of systemic risk justified?
- Can we expect tighter regulation? What additional scrutiny on the role of the board and of the shareholders can we expect?
- Prudent person principle enhancement programmes – how is the bar being raised for prudent person principle frameworks?
- What is next on the horizon for the regulatory agenda?
Moderator: Representative, Conning
Panellists:
Angela Jung, Group Head of Investment Risk, Monument Re Group
Daniel Blamont, Group Investment Operations Director, Royal London
David Otudeko, Interim Director of Regulation, ABI
11:25
Presentation: Real Estate - Global trends and sourcing opportunities for insurance portfolios
- 2025 has the potential to be a vintage year for real estate
- Favourable demand and supply characteristics and stable (or reducing) interest rates provide an impetus for growth
- The session will explore the strategies and sectors we favour globally and how they might be suitable for insurance portfolio
Speaker: Representative, Invesco
11:45
Panel discussion: CIOs in conversation: Innovation and diversification – How are insurers building resilient portfolios amidst an uncertain geopolitical and macroeconomic backdrop
- Which risks do you see as having the biggest influence on your asset allocation strategy?
- How has the prevailing macroeconomic environment impacted the attractiveness of different asset classes? Which asset classes are in favour? Do you plan to make any material changes to your investment strategy in response to any key geopolitical and macro factors?
- Is the trend towards more complex asset strategies here to stay? Is it still appropriate and prudent in the current macroeconomic environment?
- Do Insurer risk and actuarial teams have the right skill set and risk frameworks to appropriately manage the risks?
- How are firms reviewing their stress tests of asset allocation in the investment portfolio?
- Trump-proofing the portfolio - steps to mitigate risk vs opportunistic risk taking.
- With the possibility that higher rates may be around for longer, how are you reviewing your investment strategies? Does FI become more attractive?
- Innovation and opportunity
- Where are you spotting opportunities for innovation?
- Have you been able to take advantage of changing regulation and policy to expand investment opportunities?
- How are you reviewing liquidity strategies?
- Is there excess liquidity in the insurance market? How can that liquidity be best put to work? How are insurers revising asset selection to ensure there is sufficient liquidity to weather volatility and to take advantage of opportunities as they arise?
Panellist:
Ashish Dafria, Chief Investment Officer, Aviva
12:25
Lunch break
13:20
Panel discussion - The CIO view on private markets
- Diversification vs illiquidity premium – what is the key driver for private market investment?
- How is the rate environment influencing both appetite and strategic approaches to private asset allocation?
- Are regulatory factors still a restriction or have UK regulatory regime changes aided in enabling greater access to private market assets?
- Addressing the imbalance between supply and demand of long-term assets. How are firms innovating to meet the challenge of ALM duration matching?
- What additional, new approaches are firms deploying to find a way to invest?
- What innovation are we seeing around structuring of deals? Co-investment strategies? Partnership deals?
- Accessing private markets in a dc context
- How does liquidity management need to evolve both from a risk management and portfolio optimisation perspective in order to facilitate more private credit investment?
Panellist:
Prasun Mathur, Head of Private Assets, Aviva
14:00
Presentation: Topic TBC
14:20
Panel discussion: Investing with impact - How are insurers adapting to ensure that sustainable investment strategies remain relevant and forward looking
- Keeping sustainability on the agenda: How are insurers redefining and refocussing sustainable investment strategies to navigate a changing landscape and adapt to a new political climate
- Differentiating Impact investing from ESG
- Europe vs US: How do international frameworks impact domestic portfolios? What are the risks and opportunities for investors?
- Dovetailing impact investing and productive investing
- What new assets are emerging?
- How can investment be directed towards critical infrastructure
- Unlocking private capital – what mechanisms can be put in place to encourage more private sector investment in large-scale, high impact projects?
- Financing the transition
- As insurers and institutional investors prepare to assess their next five-year strategies and targets, what should the new objectives be?
- How can capital be best allocated to balance returns with long-term economic resilience?
- Financing adaptation - what is the role of insurers?
15:00
Coffee break
15:25
Panel discussion: Harnessing the power of AI – Discussion of practical examples of applying AI techniques in asset allocation decision-making
5-minute presentation – client case study: the impact of Scenario-based Machine Learning (SMBL) optimisation for an insurance portfolio in the UK
Panel Discussion:
- To what extent are you using AI in the investment process?
- What successes and lessons learned can you share from your AI journey so far?
- As AI becomes more technologically advanced and becomes more embedded in the investment process, what are some of the risks that insurers will face when using it?
- What was the client experience of using Scenario-based Machine Learning (SBML) and other approaches?
- What were the advantages, what were the pitfalls/risks, how were these mitigated; what were the outcomes and how were they measured, etc
- How can you trust the results - avoiding an "AI Black box" or replacing human expertise
- What are the challenges in moving the process from Pilot to BAU?
- What other problems are in-scope for SBML techniques in investment optimisation?
- Does anyone envisage a time when AI is solely responsible for taking judgement-based investment decisions?
- Other ways AI is being applied within insurers/asset managers
16:05
The next chapter for private credit
- As insurers look to expand their private credit investments into a broader array of assets – where are the growth opportunities?
- Asset-backed finance – how are insurers approaching asset-backed finance? Where are the opportunities and challenges?
- Infrastructure and project finance assets
- Jumbo residential mortgages
- Higher-risk commercial real estate
- What partnership models have insurers identified to create and exploit opportunities
- Implications for liquidity practices
Panellist:
Roman Hederer, Head of Portfolio Management, Institutional Retirement Legal and General
16:45
Keynote Presentation: Trump 2.0 and the New World Order – Is EUROPE ready?
- To what extent will Trump policies be the single most influential driving factor for the markets over the coming 12 months?
- What is the biggest economic risk from Donald Trump's presidency?
- What lessons should we draw from the first few months of Trump's administration?
- Rhetoric vs reality -How much of the election manifesto can we expect to materialise?
- What does Trump's re-election mean for geopolitical uncertainty?
- What will Trump's tariffs mean for the wider global economy?
- How can we expect UK and Europe to respond to US policy?
- What are the implications for the financial markets based on Trump's anti-ESG rhetoric?
- Are there any lessons we can actually learn from Trump? Is Europe overregulated? Do we need a European industrial policy too?
- What opportunities does Trump's return to the Whitehouse pose for insurers?
17:10
Closing remarks
17:15
Close of conference and drinks reception