Investment Uncut: PLSA 2025

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PLSA conference day 1

Today we cover day 1 of the conference, with interviews from:

• Laura Myers – Head of DC at LCP and PLSA Board member – What to look forward to at this year’s conference.
• Ed Bussey – CEO at Oxford Science Enterprises - Investing in the UK's High Growth Science and Tech Ecosystem.
• David Rosenberg – Head of Liquid Performing Credit at Oaktree Capital Management - Multi-Asset Credit: Finding Relative Value in an Uncertain World.
• Tim Dougall and Matthew Webb - Head of Delegated Solutions and Head of Endgame Solutions respectively at Legal and General - Engaging with Surplus: How Well-Funded Schemes Should Approach their Endgame.
• Ped Phrompechrut – CIO at Future Growth Capital - Boosting British Pensions and Building a Better Britain.

What do you want listeners to take away from your talk at the PLSA?

• Laura – My top tip for a conference newbie is to plan ahead and personalise your agenda. Give yourself some time as there is a lot going on.
• Ed – 1) We have one of the most exciting asset classes to invest in in the UK on our doorstep right now. The rest of the world sees it and we really want to get the UK pension industry behind it.  2) We’re at a geopolitical moment in time where there is a critical need for everybody to get behind the UK building sovereign capabilities in several really critical sectors.
• David – In today’s environment, you don’t need to take the same level of risk you used to take to generate the returns you need. Right now, equities are very dependent on growth, which is harder to come by when rates are higher. Whereas the ability to lock into a high single digit contractual return, and take a lot of noise out of the picture in doing so, is attractive for a lot of portfolios.
• Tim & Matthew – Firstly, for Trustees and Sponsors to retain flexibility. Secondly, to think about the governance arrangements around end-game.
• Ped – It’s about generating better retirement outcomes and maximising that pot at the end of the retirement journey. Importantly, we can do that whilst also investing in the future that we’ll all experience. Pension savers are not just investors, but also end users of everything that we build.

PLSA conference day 2 (part 1)

Today we cover day 2 of the conference, with interviews from:

• Shalin Bhagwan - Chief Actuary at the Pension Protection Fund - Could DB Schemes Invest More in Productive Assets?
• James Coke - Head of Institutional UK Real Estate at Columbia Threadneedle - Unloved, Undervalued and Misunderstood: The Productive Finance Asset No-one is Talking About.
• Paul Morton – CEO at G2M Group - Why the UK's Existing Housing Infrastructure is a Trillion-pound Opportunity.
• Gregg McClymont – Executive Director at IFM Investors - Open For Business: Private Markets and UK Growth.

What do you want listeners to take away from your talk at the PLSA?

• Shalin – It’s important to understand that not all parts of the DB market are well catered for. Let’s not forget there are hundreds of smaller scheme that need help as well in facilitating an appropriate end-game in a cost effective way.
• James – Real estate has been through challenges, but we’re out the other side of that and investors should take a fresh look at their allocations. 
• Paul – Have an awareness of the opportunity in the private rental sector and the changes coming. It’s relatively new as an asset class in the UK for institutional investors and, as a country, we have a huge focus on supply, but it’s important to remember that supply is also impacted by stock leaving the market (not just what’s built).
• Gregg – It’s important to understand that from the government’s point of view, pensions are part of the story, but not the whole the story! The government is focussed on so many things on a daily basis, which means that, whilst the government pays attention to pension fund capital, it does so in a fleeting way and it can make decisions with imperfect information. As an industry we need to be aware of that risk and be prepared to argue and lobby for what we believe is the right outcome for pension scheme members.

PLSA conference day 2 (part 2)

Today we continue to cover day 2 of the conference, with interviews from:

• John Clements and Leandros Kalisperas – Partner at LCP and CIO and the British Business Bank respectively - How Asset Owners Can Engage Effectively with Fossil Fuel Companies
• Stephen Budge – Partner at LCP - Solved: The Challenges of Investing in Venture Capital
• Barnaby Low - Strategic Client Portfolio Manager at Charles Stanley - Going for Growth: Priorities for Trustees and Boards

What do you want listeners to take away from your talk at the PLSA?

• John – What we have found valuable is getting different perspectives from people. Going to different specialists who have a totally different way of looking at the world was really helpful to come up with something that was better.
• Leandros – My key takeaway for fellow allocators and CIOs is to have the courage to think about portfolio construction differently.
• Stephen – A lot of work has been done to remove the barriers and issues from investing in Venture Capital Investments. If Trustees believe that this is the right asset class, they shouldn’t be held back from being able to invest in these. Venture Capital, private equity more generally is something that DC schemes should be thinking about.
• Barnaby – There’s lots of different themes trustees are currently discussing. But it’s really important that trustees and sponsors think carefully about their specific scheme circumstances and make sure they choose a long-term objective that actually works for their scheme and is also achievable.

PLSA conference day 3

Today we cover day 3 of the conference, with interviews from:

• Professor Mike Berners-Lee - Climate Researcher and Author - The Future's Bright: What the Green Transition Means for Investors
• Karen Ward - Chief Market Strategist EMEA at JP Morgan Asset Management - The Global Economy: Stabilising Investments in Times of Instability
• Pav Sharma - UK ETF Distribution at JP Morgan Asset Management - Active ETFs: What’s All the Noise About?
• Zuhair Mohammed – Head of Investment at LCP – Reflections on the conference and key takeaways

What do you want listeners to take away from your talk at the PLSA?

• Mike – My first takeaway is we’re accelerating into a very serious crisis and we need to face the reality of where we’re heading and how ineffective our actions have been to date. My second takeaway is the interpretation of fiduciary duty to include more than financial gain is a must win battle.
• Karen – We are now in a structurally different world compared to the last 10/20 years, which was disinflationary because of increasing globalisation.  We’re not going back to that pre-pandemic world! So instead, let’s look forward, think about what that world could look like, and create a portfolio that will make the best of the new world we’re in.
• Pav – Two words: Choice and flexibility. That’s what active ETFs offer and investors can use these to improve their portfolios.
• Zuhair – This time with the world changing the way it does business around the global there seems to be greater uniform views about what’s going to happen. The main conclusion seems to be that the US tariff will not make America great again. I don’t believe inflation is as benign as some do, that naturally hit on to short term interest rate and the expectations in the markets. We have to get inflation protection into portfolio and get diversification.