FUTURE
CONFERENCES
Purpose
This conference is targeted at a broad range of institutional investors including the investment teams, finance directors and investment committees of charities, foundations and endowments. It will focus on topical investment opportunities and/or specific aims such as impact investing.
Programme
09.00
Registration
09.30
Session One: Geo political and geo economic update:
Principal and Head of Manager Research Team
Barnett Waddingham
Geopolitical update
Follow the green and purple brick road.
Mark will discuss what has changed and what hasn’t changed across geopolitics, economics and markets, and what investors should consider when setting and implementing strategy as a result.
CEO
Impact Investing Institute
Foundation investment practices: We’re not in Kansas anymore
A vision to transform the future of capital markets by strengthening the alignment between mission-driven objectives and investment capital.
10.40
Tea/Coffee
11.00
Session Two: What are the key elements of stewardship and how can you move from transformational strategies?
Portfolio Manager and Head of ESG, International Equity Team
Morgan Stanley Investment Management
Stewards, not Scarecrows: A guide to Quality Active Ownership
Marte Borhaug, Head of ESG and Portfolio Manager, Morgan Stanley International Equity team, will provide a framework to assessing good investment stewardship. Getting behind the why, how and what of investment stewardship enables asset owners to identify the genuine stewards from the scarecrows. She will bring to life a number of real world case studies including nature-related risks and physical climate change, illustrating how to combine top-down data analysis with bottom-up scrutiny of companies, in order to design, execute and track effective engagement programmes
Head of Affordable Housing
Octopus Capital
There’s no place like home: Social Infrastructure Real Estate’s role in social transformation
Jack Burnham, Head of Affordable Housing at Octopus Capital, will lead a discussion on the need for investment in the UK’s social infrastructure. He’ll explore how real estate can help foster social change and highlight what Octopus is doing to drive positive transformation through impactful investments.
Investment Stewardship Director
Guy's & St Thomas' Foundation
The true potential of stewardship
Investor engagement is hailed as an important lever for long-term value creation—but is it living up to its potential? In this session, Matt will explore what effective stewardship looks like. Matt will argue that real value comes from a clear articulation of what an investor is trying to achieve via stewardship, a flexible—not dogmatic—approach, and a broader understanding of stewardship beyond just sustainability.
Chairman
Sussex Community Foundation
The Community Foundation Charity Model – Addressing the Challenges of the Great Wealth Transfer to Inheritors with Philanthropic Inclinations
This session will explore The Great Wealth Transfer and its implications, examining how generational views of philanthropy are shifting and what today’s donors are seeking. It will delve into the concept of place-based giving and the origins and evolution of the Community Foundation model, including the role of donor-advised funds. Drawing on case studies from Sussex Community Foundation and insights from UKCF, we will consider the national perspective on community philanthropy. The session will also address how to measure philanthropic impact and engage with the broader debate, including both criticisms and defences of modern philanthropy.
12.45
Lunch
13.30
Keynote Session: Long term returns projections and how these may be affected by current changes in focus and policy and if we can draw any parallels from the past to help you along the Yellow Brick Road.
14.15
Refreshments
14;30
Session Three: Are the charitable and endowment models fit for purpose in uncertain times? How can you develop them to adapt quickly and easily? We will look at various models and review their efficacy.
The following will share their models and strategies with you:
Chair of Trustees
D'Oyly Carte Charitable Trust
Crisis? What Crisis? Evolution not Revolution
This session will provide an overview of charity models, exploring the various types and how they differ in structure and function. It will delve into the operational principles behind these models, highlighting the rationale for their approaches. The session will also examine governance frameworks within the charitable sector, discussing best practices and common challenges in ensuring accountability and effective oversight.
Strategy Manager
Imperial College Endowment
Features of a Non-Traditional Endowment model: Insights from Imperial's journey
This session offers a case study in building a distinctive portfolio, exploring Imperial College London's journey from the endowment's relatively recent starting point in 2005. It will examine the key drivers of growth—including investment returns, capital additions, and strategic consolidation—and how these have shaped the endowment’s evolution. The talk will also reflect on the historical role of philanthropy at Imperial and how its role is being redefined for the decade ahead. Finally, it will highlight how key policies have developed over time, in order to support long-term capital stewardship.
Trustee: Chair of Investment Committee
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Building a Resilient Investment Portfolio: Navigating Tomorrow’s Markets: Why Mission Alignment is your New Alpha
Anita will talk about how endowments can build resilient investment portfolios that not only deliver competitive returns but also align with institutional mission and values. It addresses the growing importance of integrating environmental and social considerations into investment strategies to manage emerging systemic risks such as climate change, inequality, and governance failures. Amid shifting market dynamics and evolving regulatory landscapes, Anita hopes to outline how mission-aligned investing can unlock long-term value, enhance institutional credibility, and meet fiduciary responsibilities.
15;45
Session Four: Charity Investment Governance Principles
Consultant, charity investment governance, foundations and networks,
responsible and impact investing
Charity Investment Governance Principles
Learn how the Principles were developed, and how they can be used by the trustees, staff and investment committees of charities, foundations and endowments.
16;15
Close of conference followed by drinks reception
Cost
The conference is by invitation only for pension funds and other institutional investors and we welcome new attendees from these investors. Therefore if you are not already receiving an invitation please contact us. A limited number of Complimentary invitations are available to genuine pension fund representatives (executives and trustees) and other approved institutional investors. However, to ensure we have room for as many funds as possible, we have to limit free places to 3 attendees per approved organisation thereafter a reduced rate fee is payable per delegate. Furthermore, SPS always reserves the right of admission (free or paid) and our decision is final.
Venue
Farmers and Fletchers in the City
3 Cloth St,
London
EC1A 7LD
Tel: 020 7600 2064
Farmers and Fletchers is 1 minute from Barbican tube station, 5 minutes from St.Paul’s tube station
and very convenient for the new Farringdon Crossrail link.
Media Partners
