The IPE Conference & Awards comprises in-depth and highly topical debate sessions, featuring inspiring keynotes and practical panels. With typically 300 top executives from pension providers in attendance, the event brings together influential decision-makers from across Europe.
Monday 02 December
4:30 PM - 6:00 PM | The IPE Investor Forum creates an informal environment where investors can share investment strategy experiences and best practices with peers. We aim to bring together around 15-20 investors to keep the discussion as productive as possible and the meeting is held under the Chatham House Rule. |
Tuesday 03 December
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM | Registration, Coffee and Networking |
9:00 AM - 9:30 AM | Investors will have much to contend with in the near and mid-term, as many shifts are underway, including value creation’s shift to private markets, emerging markets adopting investor-friendly reforms and a general move from risk to uncertainty. At the same time, the manager selection process is undergoing a major makeover. How can pension investors use this information to their advantage? |
9:50 AM - 11:30 AM | PLENARY CONFERENCE SESSIONS |
Half the world’s population voted in 2024, making it the year with the most elections in the history of democracy. With new leadership in the EU, US, Taiwan and the UK, a world unsettled by wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and many other areas of apparent geographical and ideological volatility, investors will want to pay close attention to risks as they emerge. Fredrik Reinfeldt - Former Prime Minister, Sweden Michal Smetana - Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University and Director, Peace Research Center Prague Moderated by Liam Kennedy - Editorial Director, IPE |
Panel discussion Laurent Clavel - Global Head of Multi-Asset, AXA Investment Managers Vincent Mortier - Group Chief Investment Officer, Amundi Moderated by Venilia Amorim - Editor, IPE.com |
Click the session title for full synopsis |
Amundi Asset Management |
AXA Investment Managers |
LGIM |
Lumera |
Mercer |
Northern Trust Asset Management |
Solas Capital | Solas Capital |
12:25 PM - 1:25 PM | Lunch and Networking |
12:25 PM - 1:25 PM | The Trust, which offers financial support to young researchers in the pensions industry, hosts its annual research showcase lunch |
1:25 PM - 2:10 PM | PLENARY CONFERENCE SESSION |
Leaders of Europe’s largest pension funds join a discussion about where they will be investing their money in 2025 Yolanda Blanch - Chair, Pensions Caixa 30 Niklas Ekvall - Chief Executive Officer, AP4 (Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund) Moderated by Liam Kennedy - Editorial Director, IPE |
Click the session title for full synopsis |
Bloomberg |
Federated Hermes |
Franklin Templeton Investments |
Ninety One |
Prudential Financial, Inc (PFI) |
Royal London Asset Management |
Theta Capital Management |
Xtrackers by DWS |
3:05 PM - 3:35 PM | Coffee and Networking Break |
3:35 PM - 4:20 PM | AFTERNOON FORUMS |
Forum Two The nascent interest-rate easing cycle, combined with the upcoming developments in banking regulation, will drive the supply of private credit further. Appetite for this asset class keeps growing among institutional investors, but how can they ensure they are making the right investment choices and protect their portfolios from both idiosyncratic and systemic risk? Pascal Böni - Professor of Finance & Private Markets, Tilburg University Christoph Gort - Managing Partner, SIGLO Capital Advisors AG Tatiana Lazareva - Executive Director, Franklin Templeton BSP-Alcentra Moderated by Carlo Svaluto Moreolo - Deputy Editor, IPE |
Forum Three Whether or not they have set net-zero targets, many asset owners want their responsible investment approaches to make a difference in the real economy. The dominant narrative has been that asset owners must not divest but instead roll up their sleeves and push carbon-intensive companies to change. But CO2 is accumulating in the atmosphere faster than ever before, according to the World Meteorological Organisation. There has been a wave of fossil fuel divestment in the past year, and investor groups are increasingly discussing engagement with sovereigns, and lobbying policymakers as a way of driving the change that is still outstanding. Do we need to talk about and do engagement differently? Arthur Dessaix - Chief Sustainability Officer and Investment Manager, CPEG Lindsey Stewart - Director of Stewardship Research and Policy, Morningstar Sustainalytics Jakob Thomä - Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Theia Finance Labs Moderated by Susanna Rust - Deputy News Editor, IPE |
4:20 PM - 5:30 PM | PLENARY CONFERENCE SESSIONS |
An interdisciplinary session on current and future challenges for institutional investors, discussing the topics of future of work, changes in demography, immigration and longevity. Phillip Brown - Emeritus Professor, Cardiff University and Programme Director, Digital Futures of Work Parag Khanna - Founder, AlphaGeo and Author, Move: Where People are Going for a Better Future, Anna Rotkirch - Research Professor, Population Research Institute, Väestöliitto - Family Federation of Finland Moderated by Joseph Mariathasan - Contributing Editor, IPE |
6:30 PM - 11:00 PM | IPE EUROPEAN PENSION FUND AWARDS 2024 Join us at the elegant Žofín Palace for a drinks reception followed by the Awards Dinner & Ceremony where we reveal the winners and highly commended pension funds of this year’s IPE European Pension Fund Awards. |
Wednesday 04 December
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM | Young Professionals Roundtable An opportunity for young industry specialists up to the age of 40 from the investment community across Europe to exchange ideas on a range of topics, including how a younger perspective provides a diversity of thought and encourages long-termism, why our industry suits younger people and how some of today’s most pressing challenges, including the climate and biodiversity emergencies, are calling out for new thinking. |