ALFI London Conference

David Rees, Senior Economist at Schroders will walk us through the key global macro trends and the ‘regime shift’ we are seeing in many areas such as monetary and fiscal policy, global demographics, political world order, and the response to climate change. He will also look at some of the implications of these trends for asset allocation.

Supervisory authorities play a crucial role in maintaining and promoting a welcome sense of order. Mhairi Jackson from the FCA and Marco Zwick from the CSSF will talk about the expectations of the institutions they represent, share their priorities for 2024, discuss opportunities and hot topics of significant focus for both regulators.

CEOs from companies across the broader asset management industry introduce us to their business. They will discuss and compare how they have changed their business model to take advantage of significant market trends and regulatory developments. In addition, they will share how the role of technology has evolved in their business and how they have adapted their hiring and people development practices over time.  

We are dependent on nature for everything that we do and everything that we have. We are intrinsically connected with the natural world in ways which remain a mystery to us. This is why we yearn for contact with nature. And yet Britain is one of the most nature-depleted country in the world. Now, new markets are starting to grow up in recognition of the things nature does for us, from flood mitigation and water storage to carbon sequestration and the pollination of crops. Consequently a new asset class is emerging in nature restoration, offering a way for us to finance the recovery of nature not just here, but everywhere.

Justina Deveikyte, the lead author of several Cerulli reports, will provide figures illustrating the future of private assets in retail investors’ portfolios.
Justina will present the current allocation trends to private assets across different client segments, the new distribution opportunities arising from tech platforms, the current recommended allocations to private assets and anticipated changes, as well as the types of products and strategies that are most in demand.

The Taxonomy Regulation and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation including their respective regulatory technical standards entered into force in 2021 and 2022. While these regulations apply to financial market participants in the EU, their impact can be felt globally, especially by asset managers.
Both regulations have brought significant changes to the way asset managers operate, with a strong emphasis on transparency. This has led to a noticeable increase in demand from investors for funds that incorporate ESG aspects into their investment strategies. Additional clarifications and guidance are being issued together with a number of relevant consultations relating to the EU Taxonomy and SFDR, while the availability of reliable and comprehensive data is a significant challenge and the fear of being accused of greenwashing or green-bleaching is on the rise.