Those aged 40 and younger may request attendance at our Future Leaders Roundtable. Attendees will participate in a moderated conversation focused on career-building within the institutional real estate investment sector.

The current geopolitical scenario sees much of the world in conflict, the weakening of long-held alliances and the formation of new, potentially dangerous ones. 
Will this global destabilisation continue, or have we reached a plateau?  What are some emerging scenarios – and potential solutions – to our geopolitical turmoil?  

The war and disruption to the Strait of Hormuz have triggered a significant oil shock and led to meaningful downgrades to global growth.  The duration of disruption to shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz is the critical known unknown for the global economic outlook, along with how quickly energy production can recover. Trade protectionism and policy uncertainty are likely to persist, although their impact is being partly offset by AI-related investment, strong equity-market wealth effects and expansionary fiscal policy in some countries, particularly the US. Will this combination of AI-driven wealth effects, looser policy and limited tariff drag allow the US to continue outperforming despite the increase in inflation? And does China’s chronic overcapacity — alongside its move into increasingly complex products — mean further headwinds for Europe, especially given the EU’s limited progress in de-risking its supply chains?

How and where should real estate investors build exposures globally to benefit most from market recoveries across different regions today? 

The era of cheap capital and globalisation-driven returns is over. As higher rates, geopolitical uncertainty and constrained supply reshape the investment landscape, real estate performance will increasingly depend on active asset management rather than passive yield compression. How should investors reposition their portfolios — and their strategies — to generate returns in a cycle defined by cash flow growth, supply constraints and rising costs? 

Introduction by:  Maurizio Veloccia - Councillor, Roma Capitale

Much of the developed world is in urgent need of housing, particularly that which is affordable. Amid rising costs, changing labour markets and political pressure, how can institutional real estate investors help to meet housing market needs while ensuring their own financial targets are met?  

As more pension schemes move from defined benefit to defined contribution-style systems, and retail and insurance inflows into property investment increase, we examine how changing capital sources may impact the institutional real estate sector.

• The future of institutional allocations 
• The rise of DC pension capital 
• Opening up private markets to retail investors 

AI is rapidly transforming industries and jobs and could lead to vast changes within economies. While it is certain to have an impact on work, determining the specifics around those changes has been far more complicated. One of the world’s leading experts on AI and the future of work discusses potential outcomes, and we’ll tease out the implications that are most important for institutional real estate investors.