Focuscongres 2019
14 March 2019
Hotel Gooiland, Hilversum
Pension funds in the eye of the storm: the winds of change are blowing from every direction: Brexit, the end of the cycle, deepening trade wars, the end of quantitative easing. How can pension funds navigate the storm without losing control?
Programme
Workshop
11:30-12:15 Workshop: ‘Winter is coming’: How to winterize your portfolio
Spring is almost here, but many analysts are forecasting a cold spell in the markets. A few even quote the show Game of Thrones and state that: ‘Winter is coming’. We discuss how pension funds can winterize their portfolios.
Spring is almost here, but many analysts are forecasting a cold spell in the markets. A few even quote the show Game of Thrones and state that: ‘Winter is coming’. We discuss how pension funds can winterize their portfolios.
Speaker: Koye Somefun, Head of QUANT Research Team, BNP Paribas Asset Managment
12:00-13:00 Registration and lunch
Plenary session
13:00 Opening by Mariska van der Westen, publisher Pensioen Pro
13:05-13:30 Presentation Governance in a world out of control
Pension fund trustees aim to be in control at all times, as required by law. But how to achieve this in a world that often seems to be ‘out of control’? A look at the dilemmas and possible solutions from a trustee perspective.
Speaker: Hedwig Peters, external board member and Chairwoman of Kring van Pensioenspecialisten
13:30-13:55 Presentation Sailing into the wind
Trade tensions, Brexit, climate change, the end of the cycle: investors are dealing with strong headwinds. Which of these issues will turn out to be temporary blips and which are structural trends? Which policies should pension funds adopt to remain in control both in the short and the long term
Speaker: Hans Fortuyn, Portfolio Manager & Delegated CIO, BMO Global Asset Management
13:55-14:30 Presentation / interview: Trimming sails: practical lessons
Speaker: Edith Siermann, Head of Fixed Income Solutions & Responsible Investing, NN Investment Partners
Break-out Sessions
14:30-15:30
Please select one of the following three sessions:
- Stream A: The ‘Real’ Risk
As central banks gradually begin to raise interest rates, sooner or later inflation will rear its head. Pension schemes are especially vulnerable. We look at ways schemes can hedge inflation risks ahead of the curve.
With Jeroen van Hessen, co-founder of the Dutch Mortgage Funding Company and Munt Hypotheken
- Stream B: Risk Management Tools
Good governance in restive markets above all requires effective risk analysis and solid risk management. We look at the latest insights and tools in risk management. One risk area deserving special attention is currencies: How can pension funds best hedge currency risks in times of rising trade tensions?
Political Uncertainty, Multi-Asset Correlations And Portfolio Risk
With ever-changing political uncertainty, correlations between asset classes are at least as important for risk
management as volatility. We examine the interplay of geopolitical risk and inflation concerns and what each
of these means for FX allocation and hedging.
Speaker: Christoph Schon, Executive Director, Applied Research for EMEA, Axioma
- Stream C: Climate out of control
How can smaller and mid-size pension funds incorporate climate risk in their investment portfolios?
Decarbonisation
A risk or an opportunity?
Speaker: Helma Verkouw, Director Client Relations Northern Europe, Russell Investments
Making Climate Change an Investment Objective
Speaker: Hanneke Veringa, Country Manager the Netherlands, AXA Investment Managers
15:30-15:50 Break: Refreshment & Networking Break
15:50-16:20 Presentation Are we merely facing a typical business cycle winter or are we facing a perfect storm?
Due to irrational human behaviour, economic developments are more difficult to predict than the weather. Why is that? How does one deal with this uncertainty? And what does that mean for a pension fund’s investment strategy?
Speakers: Pim van Diepen, Director Business Development, Cardano and Stefan Lundbergh, Director, Cardano Insights
16:20-16:50 Presentation Choosing the future
Macro-economic and geopolitical uncertainties abound and financial markets are bracing for the end of the cycle. And closer to home it is unclear where the pensions industry will stand 1, 2 or 10 years from now, while labour market developments are uncertain. Even so trustees must chart a course for the future, for their pension fund and its participants. What are the options and how can trustees choose the best way forward?
Speaker: Jacqueline Lommen, Senior DC Pensions Strategist - Northern Europe, State Street Global Advisors
16:50-17:15 Panel Trustee boards in control
Today pension schemes are more vulnerable to a market crash than during the last crisis and on top of that schemes are dealing with additional pressures ranging from fading public support in collective pensions and ever-mounting regulatory demands. Given these conditions, how can trustee boards remain ‘in control’ – now and in the future?
Panel members: Jim Schuyt, chairman for the employer, pension fund Woningcorporaties; Karin Merkus, trustee and chairman of investment committee, PMT; Margreet Teunissen, chairman of the board of trustees, non-executive trustee, De Nationale APF; Otto Hulst, trustee, pension fund KAS BANK
Moderator: André de Vos, editor in chief for print and events, Pensioen Pro
Moderator: André de Vos, editor in chief for print and events, Pensioen Pro
17:15 – 18:00 Networking drinks with the Jazz Centrale
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