Industry view – PLSA Kate Hadley is director of events at the PLSA


GOING DIGITAL FOR THE PLSA’S 2021 INVESTMENT CONFERENCE


It’s hard to believe that just 12 months ago we all gathered as an industry in Edinburgh for what would be – to date – one of the last face-to-face conferences in the UK. Last March we boarded planes, trains and automobiles to travel, on mass, to Scot- land for our annual investment confer- ence where we heard from a superb range of expert speakers while also taking the opportunity to network with friends and colleagues.


As always, discussions were plentiful, in- sightful and diverse. Yet, I would make a fair wager that few people would predict the year that would lie ahead for us, and that words like furlough, lockdown and pandemic would become everyday topics of conversation.


In the 12 months since then, we have been through unthinkable change and disruption. But, as an industry, we have adapted. Now is the time to look to the future. That’s why this year we have taken for- ward the lessons we have learnt in 2020 – thanks to feedback we have received from


our members for what they want from a digital event – to give delegates the best possible experience we can. The culmination of this is our first ever digital investment conference (running from Tuesday 9 to Thursday 11 March). So what can be expected from this year’s event? Well, our investment conference is where chief investment officers, trustees, in- vestment board members, pension man- agers, finance professionals and their ad- visers gain insight on the major trends and events affecting UK investors and markets. Our aim is to bring the whole of the £2trn UK pensions investment chain together. What could happen beyond Brexit? What could happen beyond a hard economic winter or beyond another geopolitical ad- justment? Could this year bring renewed chaos and complexity, or does it present a new opportunity?


These are all key issues and this year’s in- vestment conference will focus on how pension schemes can continue to con- front those long-term investment chal- lenges in a new world where security for members, new opportunities for returns and ESG factors are more important than ever before.


A themed programme of keynote speech- es, intimate roundtable discussions and educational sessions built around key themes and hot topics cover every invest- ment angle available. From factors influ- encing markets, investment strategy and individual asset classes to regulatory changes and climate-aware investing; there is a plethora of subjects to speak about and for delegates to debate on. A


new digital conference platform will offer a fantastic experience for attendees, us- ing AI capabilities to match delegates with topics of interest and people. With all that in mind, we are looking for- ward to welcoming everyone to our digi- tal investment conference. With top polit- ical, industry and journalistic expert speakers – including the Minister for Pensions, Guy Opperman MP, the head of pension investments for Scottish Wid- ows, Maria Nazarova-Doyle, the presi- dent of the CBI, Lord Karan Bilimoria, and journalist and broadcaster Robert Peston – this year’s event is sure to be an informative and enjoyable few days. For more information about the PLSA Investment Conference 2021 visit www.plsa.co.uk.


Publisher portfolio Verlag Office 5.08 – 5th floor Fleet House 8 –12 New Bridge Street London EC4V 6AL +44 (0)20 7822 8522 london@portfolio-verlag.com


Editor Mark Dunne m.dunne@portfolio-institutional.co.uk


Deputy editor Mona Dohle


m.dohle@portfolio-institutional.co.uk


Acting deputy editor Andrew Holt


a.holt@portfolio-institutional.co.uk 12 | portfolio institutional | March 2021 | issue 101


Publisher John Waterson


j.waterson@portfolio-institutional.co.uk


Head of sales Clarissa Huber


c.huber@portfolio-institutional.co.uk


Marketing manager Tabitha Tebbatt


t.tebbatt@portfolio-institutional.co.uk


Head of roundtables Mary Brocklebank m.brocklebank@portfolio-institutional.co.uk


Sales and marketing executive Silvia Silvestri


s.silvestri@portfolio-institutional.co.uk


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