London Specialist Regional Roadshow | Accumulation and Investment | 2023

Discuss a number of key priorities and processes advisers are implementing for consumer duty.

After a 40 year period of globalization, falling interest rates and benign inflation we are at an inflection point in the world economy and financial markets. With inflation high, growth weakening and structural imbalances in labour markets, Central Banks have a difficult task in combatting inflation whilst maintaining economic growth – raise rates to fast / high will damage the real economy, cause unemployment to rise and damage corporate earnings, leave rates to low and they risk inflation becoming embedded in the system and risking higher rates in the future. In an increasingly challenging global market environment, real assets can offer what many investors are looking for: relatively stable and predictable earnings from fixed physical assets, diversification from bonds and equities, the potential for income growth and inflation protection. In this session, Foresight will highlight the case for real assets and how investors now have access to a wide variety of investment vehicles and an unprecedented supply of opportunities.

• Demonstrate how Real Assets can provide shelter for investors in an uncertain economic environment

• Understand how the monopolistic nature of some types of real assets can provide steady earnings growth for asset owners.

• Highlight how investors can access illiquid real assets through securitised investment vehicles.

This session will focus on the investment outlook for Fixed Income, after a challenging period for the asset class, and equip advisers with tools to help assess Fixed Income funds. The session will cover effective portfolio management, looking at both credit sectors and issuers, as well as interest rate markets, with examples to bring these concepts to life.

Taking an innovative approach, Vanguard welcomes you, the audience, to decide on the day which topics they cover. Prepared to talk to a wide range of subjects, the speakers are specialists who will talk to whatever is of most interest to the advisers in the room. Topics include: The Value/Growth switch; Does active work?; Can ESG be indexed?; What returns do Vanguard think you can expect?; Does understanding physical climate risk improve investor returns?; Did 2021 performance kill ESG?; How to pick an active manager.

• Describe the importance of balance in helping clients to achieve their investment goals.

• Understand how an assessment of the physical risks of climate change impact on a portfolio.

• Explain why deep research into ESG can create balanced outcomes for investors.

• Describe Vanguard’s framework for selecting an active manager and how it splits into drivers and outcomes of outperformance.

• Gain an understanding of the key risks facing the global economy and financial markets in 2023, as well as Vanguard’s expectations for asset returns over the next decade.

A portfolio masterclass with Square Mile’s Chief Investment Officer, Mark Harries, aimed at both advisory portfolio management and for those engaged in due diligence on prospective MPS providers. The session will focus upon the practical aspects of portfolio construction, from Strategic and Tactical Asset Allocation, to working with risk profiling tools and fund selection techniques. The presentation will also cover the systems and governance required to meet today’s regulatory environment as well as the implications of The New Consumer Duty on advisory portfolio management.

Learn about developments in technology to aid the financial planning process.

Creating a balanced portfolio is at the heart of any Investment. A fundamental component of this strategy is creating an asset allocation based on exposure across global geographic marketplaces, from US to Emerging Markets to Europe to Asia. Keith Balmer, Director and portfolio manager within Columbia Threadneedle Investments Multi-Asset team will investigate different themes within global geographical exposure and discuss how he sees these influencing portfolios in the future. The aim of the presentation is to give advisors a better understanding of what are the key drivers of returns within their client portfolios and how this may affect returns over different potential future scenarios. Keith will discuss what the overriding characteristics of each of the global geographical regions are. Highlighting key themes, identifying the different exposures and risks that these characteristics might create but also the opportunities that these might bring to a portfolio. Answering some questions such as:

• Which regions are more exposed to Growth or Value stocks and what could this mean in a world of changing interest rates and inflation?
• Which sectors are driving performance of these markets and how large an influence do they have on overall performance?
• How concentrated are these markets, from a sector perspective and also at a company level?
• Given this knowledge, what does it mean for global investment portfolios with today’s market outlook.