The Pensions Asset Allocation Summit

However the current geopolitical turmoil plays out, the nature and stability of the Western alliance as we have known it for the past 80 years is no more.

The necessary reconfiguration of global defensive, political and trade compacts will come at enormous expense, amid great risk and uncertainty, and over an indefinite time period. This in addition to other notable megatrends, many of which are likely to be exacerbated in the present environment – climate and nature risks, continuing migration challenges, increased urbanisation and breathtaking technological advances, especially the development of artificial intelligence, to name a few.

Our speaker will present his view on how major capital market assumptions need to modified to reflect these seismic changes, and the resulting recommendations for strategic asset allocation in institutional investment portfolios to manage the many risks and  opportunities in this completely changed world.

A recent article by Toby Nangle in FT Alphaville drew attention to the wide divergence in asset allocation strategies, and consequently investment performance and contribution rates, among the 87 local government pension funds in England and Wales.

Toby will moderate a panel of pension heads and advisers representing several LGPS funds each making the case for their choice of asset mix.

As the various strategies cannot all be optimal, the panel will discuss the implications for improved future performance, ability to support the UK economic growth agenda, and overall financial health for the LGPS.

The optimal asset mix for a corporate DB scheme, unless it remains open to new members, will be significantly different from the LGPS. 

Many DB schemes are targeting buyout by an insurance company to secure members’ benefits, thereby seeking to derisk their portfolios especially from a legacy of equity and alternatives holdings. Others believe they can manage surplus assets more effectively by running on – maintaining or even increasing investment in higher return assets for the greater benefit of members and/or corporate sponsors. 

Speakers will describe how they consider optimal asset allocation should look among various DB scheme scenarios, and the lessons learned overall.

Similar to the LGPS, the asset mix among DC schemes varies widely. In addition, DC schemes have been constrained in achieving optimal growth strategies through a combination of costs via the charge cap, daily dealing and liquidity needs, competition from providers on cost rather than value, and the need to invest over platforms.

Our panellists will discuss how DC Master Trusts and single trusts are seeking to overcome these barriers to develop an asset allocation strategy designed to achieve a marked improvement in future investment performance, both to and through retirement, and the key decision factors involved.

Multi-asset investment specialists must by definition monitor and forecast the major global macroeconomic variables in seeking to construct the best performing portfolios on behalf of their clients.

This mirrors the challenge that institutional investors face in deciding upon their asset allocation strategies.

Our speaker, a longstanding expert in the field, will propose the optimal composition of a multi-asset investment portfolio in light of current geopolitical unrest, and recommendations for delivering excess return while protecting against significant downside risk.

The Devil’s Advocates will give their summary of the main debating points, conclusions and action points from the morning session. 

The Government has well-articulated plans to reform pensions and position them to support the economic growth agenda. These involve extensive consolidation, encouragement to deploy capital far more extensively in UK investment opportunities, especially in VC and private assets, though also listed equities, and with clear targets for LGPS, Corporate DB and DC schemes.

The panel will discuss the detail of these initiatives, how they square with pension funds’ own investment objectives and fiduciary duty obligations, the practical availability of UK deal flow in private equity and VC, the impact on asset allocation strategies once implemented, and the expected benefits to investment performance.

Our speakers will discuss why sustainability remains important, indeed essential, within institutional portfolios and strategic asset allocation, and how best practice can be defined amid the current geopolitical headwinds.

Most pension schemes remain firmly committed to environmental risk mitigation in their governance approaches and investment strategies.

However, strong headwinds prevail, especially as the political will to meet climate targets has weakened in lockstep with the need to prioritise economic growth. This has two primary consequences: survival strategies for a 2.5 – 3 degree world must be seriously considered, while the focus of action has shifted towards the private sector and to investable outcomes more than legislative mandates.

For the former, decision-useful economic scenarios are being developed, while nature may lead the way for the latter – for one example many businesses can see the need to invest in water quality and  sufficiency as a core expense.

Our panel will debate how asset allocation strategies will need to be adapted to reflect these challenges.

Following a scene-setting introduction, a Moderator at each table will lead a discussion on the key changes to governance structures, investment beliefs, decision criteria, manager selection and the resulting asset mix that delegates consider necessary to produce a step change in investment performance at their funds, taking account of the different priorities and constraints for LGPS, DB and DC schemes.

Several of the Moderators will be called upon to summarise their conclusions to the overall conference. 

Our speaker will discuss the different governance arrangements at pension schemes determining who is responsible for formulating asset allocation strategy: between trustee boards, in-house investment teams, external consultants, or outsourced fiduciary managers and OCIOs.

The pros and cons of each in delivering the best performance outcomes will be examined. 

Shalin joined the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) in 2023, where he serves as Chief Actuary and interim Chief Financial Officer. 

At PPF, he brings extensive pensions, insurance and investment experience, having previously worked at DWS Investments since 2018, and other companies across the sector for many years. He originally started his career in South Africa in life insurance pricing and reserving and then transitioned into liability valuations for defined benefit pension funds. 

In addition, he brings significant LDI, derivative and credit portfolio management experience and has advised some of the UK’s largest pension funds on their LDI strategies both as a consultant with Mercer and portfolio manager with Legal & General Investment Management.

Shalin is a member of the Advisory panel at the Financial Reporting Council. He recently served as a member of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries’ Finance and Investment Board and as an advisory member for the task force to boost socio-economic diversity at senior levels in both the financial and professional services sectors.

Shalin is a Fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries and holds an Honours Degree in Statistics and Actuarial Science from the University of Cape Town.

Marian is the Global Head of Risk & Sustainability at GFG Alliance. 

Prior to joining GFG, she was a Managing Director at Redington and before that led Deloitte’s Trustee Advisory team in London. 

Her experience covers pension risk management, sustainability, trusteeship, scheme actuarial work, corporate advisory and investment consulting.

Nicolas Firzli is founder of the World Pensions® Council, the retirement & savings industry group, co-chair of the G7 Pensions Roundtable held on the sidelines of the G7 Summit, founding-member of the Advisory Council for the Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF), a World Bank and G20–led global initiative, and executive director of the Singapore Economic Forum (SEF).

He has co-developed notions such as ‘SDG–Driven Investment’, ‘Pension Superpowers’, the ‘Age of Geoeconomics’, ‘Employee Capitalism’, and chaired the Pensions and Asset Owners Roundtable at the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference (Paris COP21 Summit/Paris Agreement).

Nicolas is a graduate of Canada’s McGill University (Statistics & Financial Economics), an alumnus of the HEC Paris School of Management (MBA Corporate Strategy & Marketing) and the University of Paris Law School (LL.M. Corporate Law) and has conducted research at the University of Louvain (UCL) Doctoral School of Economics and Management in Waals Brabant (Belgium).

He is a regular contributor to BBC News (Asia), Asharq News with Bloomberg, the Arabian Gulf financial news network, RTÉ, Ireland’s National Television and Radio Broadcaster, and Cairo TV (Qahera News).

He is also active in ecumenical, intercultural dialogue, nonalignment, & the promotion of peaceful, inclusive sustainable development endeavours in Britain, the European Union (EU) and the Greater MENA–APAC continuum.

Mark is a Trustee and former Chief Investment Officer of the Nationwide Pension Fund, where he had responsibility for the performance and implementation of the asset allocation strategies agreed with the fund investment advisors.

Previously, he led the establishment of Nationwide’s Covered Bond programme and its Silverstone RMBS Master Trust funding vehicle. In addition, Mark has securitised UK Student Loans and a synthetic corporate bond structure along with structured transaction and investment in various ABS instruments. Past experience also includes leading the origination and structuring of social housing, PFI and commercial real estate debt transactions.

Philip has worked in Local Government Finance since 1987 and has been involved in various roles for the Clwyd Pension Fund since 1996.

During this time he has worked with an in house team and external advisors who have recommended and implemented changes to the Clwyd Fund’s governance, funding, investment and administration strategies.

Over the 27 years the value of the Fund has increased from £300m to over £2.3bn and the investment strategy and approach to managing investment risk has significantly changed.

Recreationally, Phil can be found supporting Everton and Chester FC or making investments at various racecourses.

Neil leads the £6bn+ Surrey Pension Fund, with near 130,000 members and over 500 employers. Surrey is one of the 11 LGPS partner funds that make up the Border to Coast asset pool. 

Neil believes excellence in service delivery is best achieved through an integrated pension service with equal emphasis on all elements of the business, and a laser focus on the customer. 

The Surrey Fund has received pension industry acknowledgement for its outstanding approach to risk management, governance, responsible investing and most recently, administration.

Neil is a member of the PLSA Policy Board, and its Local Authority Committee. He is also the Independent Chair of the Local Pension Board for the London Borough of Hounslow, and an Independent Advisor to the Local Pension Board of the South Yorkshire Pension Authority. 

He is the father of twin boys who are both off doing far more interesting things than he ever did at university. In his spare time, he supports Queens Park Rangers and three putts.

Charlotte Moore is an award-winning journalist and communications consultant, who has written about investments and pensions for 18 years.

She writes for a number of well-respected trade magazines. She examines how institutions like pension schemes and insurers allocate capital. 

Investing to protect the planet and improve society is one of her areas of expertise and she holds regular salons, where panellists are invited to debate different sustainable institutional investment topics. She is often asked to moderate panel topics at external conferences.

I was formerly CEO of Newton Investment Management where I managed and led the business by establishing and developing appropriate business goals, both short term targets and strategic objectives to ensure that clients were well served, that the firm succeeded commercially and attracted and retained talented people.

I am a seasoned investment management investor with a background in macro investing. As a CEO for over a decade I have strong executive experience having served as a FTSE100 and Fortune 500 executive.

I have a first-class honours degree in Physics from the University of Edinburgh and am a Fellow of the Faculty and Institute of Actuaries. I am also a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Wharton Business School, Philadelphia.

All views I express are my own and do not necessarily represent those of my employer.

Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family, trying to keep fit by playing golf and running, and walking in the Scottish hills with my wife and deerhound dog and I am an active member of my local church.

Toby Nangle is Contributing Editor for the Financial Times.

He spent 25 years in the asset management industry, most recently as Global Head of Asset Allocation at Columbia Threadneedle, where he led an award-winning asset allocation investment team of 26 professionals, based across four time-zones, managing c$160bn AuM for a range of institutional and retail clients. 

Sofia is a Director of the UBS Pension Trustee Company. Sofia is also an Executive Director at UBS Asset Management, where she works closely with portfolio managers and institutional investors to achieve their investment goals across a broad spectrum of asset classes ranging from passive equities and fixed income to active and alternative investments.

Before joining UBS, Sofia was the Managing Director for the LifeRisks business at RMS, the leading global catastrophe risk modelling firm. At RMS, Sofia led a team of actuaries and consultants helping global insurers manage their longevity and mortality risks.

Sofia graduated with a Master in Finance and Banking from Strasbourg Business School and a Master in Management Research from the University of Strasbourg. Sofia holds the Investment Management Certificate delivered by the UK CFA society.

Amlan is a partner in the Investment Team with the remit of using his Global Macro Research and past client franchise to help support LCP’s international and sovereign clients.

In his previous 25 years, he has served a wide range of global institutional clients (pension funds, insurance companies, SWFs, asset managers, central banks, government treasuries, hedge funds and private equity firms).

He is an experienced Global Macro-Finance Researcher specialising in Global Macroeconomics & Demographics. His book Demographics Unravelled published in January 2022 was mentioned by the FT as one of the best new books in Economics.

He is a Research Associate at LSE’s Research Centres – the Financial Markets Group and Systemic Risk Centre, as well as a Singapore FinTech Festival Ambassador and an elected Honorary Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.

Previously, he was Head of Global Macro Research and Senior MD at State Street Global Advisors and Chief Retirement Strategist, MD and Head of Global Demographics & Pensions Research at Credit Suisse Investment Bank.

As a global EM strategist, he developed global risk & allocation models as an expert on Financial Architecture during the Asian & Russian crises.

He spent a decade in academia with a distinguished teaching career in the US and UK. He was a UK ESRC Research Fellow, Ponders Fellow, a Boston University Doctoral Scholar and a Government of India National Scholar.

He has a PhD and MA in Financial Economics from the University of Iowa, an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and an undergraduate Economics with an Honours degree from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi.

Bobby is a Senior Pensions leader, who has over 25 years of experience advising both trustees and employers of Occupational Defined Benefit (DB) and Defined Contribution (DC) schemes.

Bobby is a qualified Actuary and a council member of AIMSE. He is a past Chair of the Association of Consulting Actuaries Investment Sub-Committee and has also served on the Finance and Investment Board of the Institute of Actuaries. 

He is a past winner of the MallowStreet Most Influential Investment Advisor Award, and has also twice won the industry Battle of the Bands, as a Bass player. 

Bobby is also a regular speaker on pensions issues at various conferences, and has participated as a judge for a number of industry awards. He has held leadership roles in areas including ESG, professional standards and governance, asset liability modelling and liability driven investment.

Scott Anderson joined the Environment Agency Pension Fund (EAPF) in 2024 as Investment Manager.

In his role, Scott has particular emphasis on private market investments, but also holds responsibilities across public market portfolios. The EAPF has a target of achieving Net Zero across the portfolio by 2045, and, especially within private markets side, seeks to make environmentally and socially impactful investments.

Before joining the EAPF, Scott worked in healthcare/life sciences private equity for Ampersand Capital Partners, a specialist mid-market growth equity firm focused on investments in North America and Europe. Scott was part of the European investment team based in Amsterdam, where he had a distinct focus on investing in innovative, outsourced service providers (CDMOs and CROs) serving cutting edge biotherapeutics (cell and gene therapy, oncolytic virus, and viral vector vaccines).

Prior to Ampersand, Scott worked in the healthcare industry for GSK and Adaptimmune Therapeutics.

Scott holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of Aberdeen.

Oliver joined Foresight from Société Générale where he structured and arranged leveraged finance transactions for private equity backed LBOs.

Prior to this, Oliver spent several years with Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi where he was a credit research analyst.

Oliver graduated from the University of Nottingham with a degree in Industrial Economics.

He has also passed all three levels of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Program.

Oliver is Lead Researcher at ClearGlass Analytics, a data analytics company in Institutional Investment helping Asset Owners and their Advisors to assess the Value for Money delivered by Asset Managers. 

He joined in 2021 and has responsibility for market analysis, value for money benchmarking and industry trends. 

Oliver is a Doctoral Candidate starting in 2022 at the University of Leeds, researching “Pricing Dynamics in Institutional Asset Management”, focusing on uncovering fee trends and paradigms amongst asset owners/managers/advisors, in public and private markets. 

Sally is Chair at Brunel Pension Partnership and at the Development Bank of Wales, as well as non-executive director at insurers Pension Insurance Corporation and Royal & Sun Alliance. 

Her non-executive portfolio has included roles at the Nuclear Liabilities Fund, NEST Corporation and the Lloyds Bank pension schemes and as Chair of the first local government pensions pool, Local Pensions Partnership Investments (LPPI) Limited.  She was CEO of the BP Pension Scheme in the interesting years of 2007-14 after twenty years with Aon Hewitt working as a pensions consultant and in investment research and innovation.

Jamie Broderick is a Board member at the Impact Investing Institute, an independent, non-profit UK organisation that aims to accelerate the growth and improve the effectiveness of the impact investing market.  The Institute is supported by the UK’s Government Inclusive Economy Unit, the City of London Corporation, and a number of financial services organisations in the UK.

Jamie was head of UBS Wealth Management in the UK from 2013-2017. Jamie joined UBS after nineteen years at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, latterly as Chief Executive of its European operations. He joined J.P. Morgan in New York in 1993 and moved to London in 1996. He started his financial services career at Wellington Management Company, an independent asset management partnership in Boston.

He studied Arabic Linguistics and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard College and continued those studies in a Ph.D. program at the University of Chicago.

Stephen leads the DC Team’s focus on DC investment strategy design which means much of his time is spent looking at the evolving area of private markets.

He is actively involved in a number of industry organisations and taskforces which share the same ambition of improving member outcomes. This includes working with the DCIF’s Advisory Committee, the Treasury’s Productive Finance Working Group which concluded in 2022, development of the Mansion House Compact and TPR private market guidance and now the FCA’s VFM Investment Performance Industry Working Group. 

Stephen’s clients include schemes of all sizes including large single sponsor arrangements as well as several Master Trust arrangements. Over the years, many of his clients have been pushing the boundaries of DC investment design, through illiquid holdings or new approaches to DC investment strategy design, leading to two innovation awards and more recently, Scheme of the Year, from Professional Pensions. 

Ian is the Deputy Chief Investment Officer of the British Business Bank (BBB), a government-owned economic development bank. Set up in 2014 following the economic crisis, its core mission is to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the UK, and to enable the transition to a net zero economy, by improving access to finance for smaller businesses. 

Prior to this, Ian was the first team member of BBB’s commercial subsidiary, British Patent Capital, where he oversaw fund investments before becoming responsible for its Direct and Co-Investment activity.

Ian started his career in accountancy, subsequently moving into financial modelling at the Royal Bank of Scotland. He then joined a start-up before joining the forerunner organisation of BBB, Capital for Enterprise Ltd, in 2009.

Andy enjoys a portfolio career as a trustee and Non Executive Director. In the world of pensions, he is Chair of Trustees of the Nat West DC Plan, a NED at Capital Cranfield, and a member of the Investment and Funding Committee of the Lloyds Banking Group DB pension schemes.

Until 2019, Andy spent 30 years at Aon as an actuarial and Investment consultant, was a member of the Global Retirement & Investment Leadership and CEO of Aon Hewitt Ltd in the UK. He also sat on the Aon Global Operating Committee.

In his spare time, Andy enjoys skiing and scrambling with his family and has recently passed his private pilots license.  He is also looking forward to more success supporting Wales on the rugby pitch.

Craig has been investing in climate tech companies over the past 13 years at World Fund and SET Ventures, one of Europe’s longest-running climate funds.

He has pioneered ESG and Impact in the venture community after creating a leading ESG framework in 2012, as well as co-designing a model which links impact to fund performance and compensation, which is now used by over 50 funds. 

Craig is also an advisor to the EU Commission on Energy. 

Paddy is Assistant Executive Director at Greater Manchester Pension Fund with responsibility for Property, Local Investments and GLIL sitting on the Investment Committee.

The GLIL partnership is the first of its type in the LGPS and has an initial mandate to invest £1275m into direct infrastructure in the UK. The partners are looking to encourage collaboration within the LGPS on investment in infrastructure and believe that scale and appropriate governance structures can enhance returns.

Northern Pool has led the way in the LGPS investing in housing and property development in its local area with the twin aims of achieving commercial returns for the Fund whilst having a positive impact on the local economy.

Paddy has significant experience of investment in a wide range of assets including listed securities, infrastructure, private equity, and property and has previously worked at Merseyside Pension Fund.

Paddy is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and a graduate of Durham University.

Robert Gardner is a money expert, entrepreneur and financial activist on a mission to make money a force for good for people and the planet to create ‘financial wellbeing in a world worth living in’. 

In 2012, Rob co-founded RedSTART, a financial education charity which aims to plant the seeds for the financial freedom of younger people. He has also written a book, delivered a Tedx talk and appeared on BBC, Sky News and in newspapers discussing views around financial education for young people. 

In 2006, Rob shook up the UK pensions industry with the launch of Redington, now a leading investment consultancy whose mission is to create financial wellbeing for 100 million people in a way that protects the planet’s future. 

Having studied at the University of Oxford, Rob’s love of glaciers and passion for the planet’s prosperity have influenced his role in financial services. Responsible investment and using his position and expertise to drive better businesses for the earth and its people was a crucial part of his previous role as St. James’s Place’s (SJP) Director of Investments. In addition, Rob is a member of the World Economic Forum and sits on their retirement council.  

Rob is now the CEO & Co-Founder of Rebalance Earth, whose goal is to make money a force for good to help reverse climate change and biodiversity loss, by creating high-integrity biodiversity credits that puts a monetary value on nature, based on its ability to absorb carbon, protect and grow biodiversity and support local communities that preserve it. 

Hill is UK Head of Sustainable Investment in Mercer’s Global Sustainable Investment (SI) team. 

He provides advice to sustainable investment leaders on integrating sustainability issues throughout their investment strategy. Hill has extensive experience advising institutional investors on a range of areas including impact investing, climate change & net-zero, nature and biodiversity, sustainable investment strategies, stewardship and regulatory developments. 

Hill advises a number of ambitious investors on designing, implementing, managing and measuring impact portfolios, across listed and private markets. He is responsible for the creation and ongoing development of Mercer’s impact services delivered through the Impact Pathway.  

Hill holds a joint Honors degree in Economics and International Development from the University of Bath. He is a CFA Charterholder. 

Douglas Hansen-Luke is the Executive Chairman and Founder of Future Planet Capital, where he leads the Future Planet flagship fund and Global Growth strategies.

He spearheaded FPC’s investment and a $100m+ syndicate into Barinthus Bio (formerly Vaccitech), the Oxford spinout behind the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, which prevented the deaths of over 6 million individuals.

Of the 50 portfolio companies within Global Growth, Douglas has particularly investments into NeoVac, Nutri-San and Pragmatic Semiconductors.

With nearly 20 years of experience in emerging markets, Douglas has overseen the deployment and marketing of over $13bn across emerging asset classes. His career includes leadership roles at Robeco (CEO for ME, Africa & Central Asia), bfinance (Board Advisor and CEO for ME, Africa & Central Asia), ABN AMRO Asset Management (Far East, Global & Regional roles), and Bain & Company (Eastern Europe and UK privatisation in the 1990s).

Douglas advises global institutional investors on university venture and emerging asset classes. He has authored book chapters for the Financial Times and appeared as a speaker on the BBC’s Today programme, Bloomberg, and CNBC.

Chris is Chairman of the Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, a pooling vehicle set up by twelve LGPS pension funds with assets of over £40 billion.

He was one of the inaugural Trustees at Nest, a 9 million member DC scheme, and returned to its Board in 2018, where he chaired the Investment Committee. Chris was also corporate Chair at the Pension SuperFund, an initiative to consolidate private sector DB pension schemes.

Chris was a Board member for the Toronto-based International Centre for Pensions Management, and for the UK’s Investor Forum, a conduit for strategic dialogue between companies and investors, and an outcome of the Kay Review, on which Chris served.

Chris is an Actuary, a Past Chair of the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association and an Honorary Fellow of the CFA Society of the UK. He and his wife Pip have four mostly grown-up sons and in his spare time, Chris runs marathons slowly.

Veronica Humble leads NatWest Cushon’s investment function. Prior to this role she was Head of DC Investments at Legal and General Investment Management and held a number of roles across LGIM’s Investments and Distribution before that.

She started her career as a quantitative analyst in Phoenix Group. She has MSc in mathematics and a PhD in statistics.

Kerry is the Executive Director of Capital Markets at Accounting for Sustainability (A4S), where she is responsible for leading their Capital Markets programme to accelerate awareness and action towards a global sustainable financial system.  

This includes running the A4S Asset Owners Network for pension fund chairs, supporting their commitments to embed sustainability into their strategic and investment decisions; convening senior finance to address specific challenges faced by the financial sector; and leading on guidance to scale up adoption of sustainable action by pension scheme trustees and finance within the banking and insurance sectors.

Having worked on numerous sustainability initiatives of His Majesty King Charles III, Kerry first joined A4S in 2006 and returned in 2017, to drive support for and adoption across a global CFO community on the recommendations of the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). 

Denise Le Gal is the Chair of Brightwell Pensions, a company providing services for defined benefit (DB) pension schemes. It is the primary service provider to the £37bn BT Pensions Scheme, one of the largest private sector pension schemes in the UK. 

As Chair, Denise leads the Board and ensures it meets its collective responsibilities. 

Denise brings a wealth of experience to Brightwell, having previously served as the founding Chair of Brunel Pension Partnership, Chair of the LGA’s Local Government Pension Committee (LGPC) and as Board Member on the LGPS Scheme Advisory Board (SAB) from inception to May 2019. She has also served as Co- Chair of the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF).

In addition to her role at Brightwell, Denise is the Chair of the JPM Chase UK Retirement Plan.

Denise grew up on a farm in Canada and has a BA from Carleton University. She left Canada in 1985 to complete an MBA at INSEAD and subsequently pursued a career in banking at Salomon Brothers, Chase Manhattan and IBJ.

James joined Foresight in 2007 from Deloitte’s Strategy Consulting team.

James has 19 years of experience and is a member of the Investment Committee and the Executive Committee.

Alongside Matt Smith, James manages the Private Equity Team. James is responsible for originating, negotiating and managing growth and buyout investments in a variety of sectors.

James holds a Master’s degree in Natural Sciences and Management studies from Cambridge University as well as the CIMA Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting.

Neil leads the £6bn+ Surrey Pension Fund, with near 130,000 members and over 500 employers. Surrey is one of the 11 LGPS partner funds that make up the Border to Coast asset pool. 

Neil believes excellence in service delivery is best achieved through an integrated pension service with equal emphasis on all elements of the business, and a laser focus on the customer. 

The Surrey Fund has received pension industry acknowledgement for its outstanding approach to risk management, governance, responsible investing and most recently, administration.

Neil is a member of the PLSA Policy Board, and its Local Authority Committee. He is also the Independent Chair of the Local Pension Board for the London Borough of Hounslow, and an Independent Advisor to the Local Pension Board of the South Yorkshire Pension Authority. 

He is the father of twin boys who are both off doing far more interesting things than he ever did at university. In his spare time, he supports Queens Park Rangers and three putts.

Ian is a highly experienced pensions investment executive.

He has been the Chief Investment Officer at Lloyds Banking Group Pensions, overseeing some £40bn of assets across both DB and DC sections. He joined Lloyds from Aviva, where he carried out a similar role.

Prior to that, he was the CIO of the Pension Protection Fund. Ian is also a member of the actuarial profession’s Finance and Investment Board, while also being Chairman of EPFIF’s Pension Fund Investment Advisory Committee.

Steph took up the role of Head of Pension Scheme Executive for M&G in July 2024, assuming responsibility for the company’s three staff pension schemes.

She previously spent 19 years at Lloyds Banking Group in a number of pensions roles, ultimately taking responsibility for all member facing activity and strategic change as Head of Pensions Operations. Working on the Lloyds schemes provided the opportunity for Steph to build a broad experience, including the challenge of GMP equalisation through the court case and subsequent implementation. 

Steph’s primary focus is on the member experience within pension schemes, which she views as becoming ever more critical with the shift to DC pensions and the need for members to understand their retirement savings and options. 

Having spent over 20 years’ working with institutional asset owners and managers, Jignasa is currently part of Carne’s business development team, focusing on structuring investment solutions across a range of institutional clients. This includes working with clients on the AMX platform and in developing Long Term Asset Fund (LTAF) solutions at Carne. 

Having started her career at Mercer Investment Consulting, Jignasa specialised in manager research and working with institutional clients to advise on broader manager portfolios. During her subsequent role at Willis Towers Watson, Jignasa worked with both delegated and advisory clients, leading on both manager selection and portfolio construction, in both their Sydney and London offices.  

Jignasa is a member of the Board of Directors of Carne’s UK regulated management company, and is a CFA charterholder. 

Roland is a member of the Treasury’s pensions investment team.

Since joining the department in 2008 he has worked in a series of financial services-related roles covering EU regulations, tax and capital markets policy. Prior to joining the civil service he worked in a retail financial derivatives business.

Duncan Sankey is Head of Credit Research at Cheyne Capital, having joined Cheyne as a senior analyst in 2003. Duncan has overall responsibility for Cheyne’s credit research efforts, and sits on Cheyne’s ESG Forum and its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. He regularly presents Cheyne’s view on industry issues in thought-leadership articles for financial publications. 

Duncan has 37 years of experience in credit, including running sell-side research at Nomura and Greenwich NatWest, prior to which he was a senior analyst for Moody’s Investors’ Service in London and New York; he began his career with Morgan Guaranty.  

Duncan graduated from St. Edmund Hall, Oxford, where he was awarded an MA in Medieval and Modern Languages. Duncan also has an MSc in Corporate Governance and Ethics from Birkbeck, University of London, where, having subsequently become a governor, he now chairs the Investment Committee and is a member of the Audit and Digital Committees. 

Duncan was a member of the London Centre for Corporate Governance and Ethics and formerly sat on the Education and Examinations Committee of CFA UK.  He co-authored “Opening Credit: A Practitioner’s Guide to Credit Investment.” 

Hugh is currently an independent investment advisor and pension scheme trustee. From 2005-2023 he was the Chief Investment Officer of the British Steel Pension Fund and CEO of the Scheme’s in house asset manager, where he had overall responsibility for the management of the Scheme’s investment portfolio (peaking at £15.6bn), reporting directly to the Scheme Chairman.

He sat on the advisory committees for a number of the Scheme’s outsourced investments. He is a long serving member of the advisory committee of the UK Pension Fund Investment Forum.

Hugh has 40 years’ experience in financial services, having previously headed Swiss Re’s UK asset management operation, prior to which he held senior treasury roles in global reinsurance, investment banking and technology companies.  

Hugh is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales and a Fellow of the Association of Corporate Treasurers where he has served as a member of the Education Committee. He is a member of the CFA Society of the UK and an alumnus of London Business School. He holds a degree in Mathematical Statistics & Operational Research from Exeter University where he was sponsored by British Steel. 

Hugh was awarded Chief Investment Officer of the Year 2019 at the Institutional Investor European Peer-to-Peer Awards and Chief Investment Officer of the Year 2018 at the Institutional Investor Institute UK & Ireland Peer-to-Peer Awards. 

British Steel Pension Fund was awarded the following by IPE (Investment & Pensions Europe): 2016 – Joint Best Long Term Investment Strategy & Best In-House Investment Team; 2015 – Best European Pension Fund, Best In-House Investment Team & Best UK Pension Fund; 2014 – Best In-House Investment Team & Best UK Pension Fund; 2013 – Best Long Term Investment Strategy; 2012 – Best In-House Investment Team; 2011 – Joint Best In-House Investment Team/ Best Pension Fund Owned Asset Manager; 2008 – Best European Corporate Pension Fund & Best UK Pension Fund. 

Ruston has 40 years experience in the pension fund and investment industry, led industry initiatives supporting customers and government – and has worked for charities for over 15 years.

He was the former Group Pensions, Insurable Risk and a People Director at Tesco, set up and was the CEO of Tesco Pension Investment Ltd – FCA approved in house investment manager. Previously he was the PLC Company Secretary for PZ Cussons plc where he was also responsible for group pensions, insurable risk, legal and property.

Ruston is now the Chair of the Tesco Pension Fund (DB and DC) and former Chair of the FCA approved Tesco Pension Investment Ltd, Independent Trustee and Chair of the Funding and Investment Committee for the BAE Pension Fund, Non Exec Chair of JP Morgan Asset Management Ltd (UK and EMEA), former Non Exec Chair of Smart Pension Ltd (award winning FinTech) remaining a Senior Advisor, Non Exec Chair of the Asset Management Exchange ICAV, Non Exec Chair of Guiide (FinTech), Non Exec Chair of the Pensions Management Institute, Governor of the Pensions Policy Institute and Chair of GroceryAid, an industry charity. Also sits on the Genomic Development Board for Sarcoma UK.

Ruston was on the DC Patient Capital Steering Committee and the Bank of England, Treasury and FCA’s Steering Group on Investment in Productive Finance and now sits on the Expert Panel for the British Venture Capital Association. He has also served on the Advisory Board for the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute and established and chaired the MBA Alumni for the Manchester Metropolitan University.

He was a former Chair of the PLSA, Co Chair of the DWP’s 2017 Auto Enrolment Review Board, led the Simpler Annual Statement initiative (now a regulatory requirement), chaired the cross regulator and industry ‘Standardised Assumptions Group’, led the Members’ Costs and Charges Initiative and co-leads the Lifetime Savings Initiative. Also a former Trustee Board Director of two Master Trusts.

He has served over 16 years with UK charities which includes GroceryAid which he now chairs, the Genomic Development Board for Sarcoma UK and the National Council for Palliative Care – and has completed a number of challenges to raise money for charitable purposes. MBA with distinction. A Fellow of the Pensions Management Institute, a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

He has also been recognised for a number of industry awards including Lifetime Achievement Award for the Pension Industry, Pensions Personality of the Year, Good Fellow Award from Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, Trustee of the Year, Pensions Manager of the Year, Innovation Initiative of the Year, DC Champion of the Year.

Mark Tennant is a Trustee of the Country Landowners Pension Fund, a Trustee of the Royal Hospital Chelsea and a Non-Executive Director of the Unit Trust of India International. He also leads a charity devoted to stopping young offenders from reoffending. 

He was until recently the Chairman of Centrica Pension Funds, and Chairman of Scottish Land and Estates, after spending 28 years with J.P. Morgan Chase as a Senior Adviser, and CFO of the Global Custody Division. 

Prior to that, Mark was at Hill Samuel, Fidelity and Hambros Bank, and served as the Conservative Party candidate against Gordon Brown in 1992 and against Winnie Ewing for the European seat of the Highland and Islands in 1994. 

In the late 80’s, Mark served as the Treasurer for the Conservative Party for Scotland, and the Treasurer for the Better Together Campaign under Alistair Darling in 2014. He also served seven years in the Scots Guards, spent a year nursing in India, and is an Officer of the Queen’s Bodyguard in Scotland. 

Away from work, his main interests are history, travel and Scottish music, particularly the Highland Bagpipe, which he plays. 

In addition to his role at M&G, Mark is a Member of the Independent Governance Committee at Zurich Insurance; Executive Chairman of the UBS (UK) Pension & Life Assurance Scheme Investment Committee; and a Member of the Investment & Funding and DC Committees at Lloyds Banking Group Pensions. He was previously the Chief Investment Officer of HSBC Bank Pension Trust (UK) Limited, who he joined in 2011.

Prior to this, he held a number of senior investment roles at Prudential/M&G. These included UK Equity Fund Manager, Head of Equity Research, Director of Collective Investments, and Investment & Strategy Director for Prudential Europe. 

Luke is the outgoing Chief Investment Officer of the Greater London Authority, and CEO of London Treasury, the GLA’s regulated asset management subsidiary.

His work in local impact investment including VC, housing and infrastructure together with allocating assets for London Treasury’s £4bn collective investment vehicle bring him into frequent contact with pension fund investors and their asset managers. 

He is a former Chief Finance & Risk Officer of the London Pensions Fund Authority, and has worked extensively in  private equity, most recently as a NED in businesses seeking to consolidate DB pensions. 

In February, he becomes the Bursar of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and will be moving to a non-executive role at London Treasury.