The New World at the Summit
Pardon the Interruption
This article is just an example of the content available to mallowstreet members.
On average over 150 pieces of new content are published from across the industry per month on mallowstreet. Members get access to the latest developments, industry views and a range of in-depth research.
All the content on mallowstreet is accredited for CPD by the PMI and is available to trustees for free.
This week we hosted our fourth mallowstreet Digital Summit of 2021. With the re-opening of the economy delayed due to the challenges of the delta strain, we paused to take stock of where we are and what lessons can be taken from the past months. This need to step back, take stock, analyse and discuss is fundamental to finding the marginal gains as well as the leapfrog opportunities that help everyone get closer to achieving their ultimate goal: that pension funds can meet their respective obligations, paying pensions on time and in full.
The theme of the Summit was ‘The New World’, and took place against a global backdrop that is hopeful, yet highly uncertain. Although vaccine rates in the UK are high, and it has just been confirmed that 19th July will see the end of current restrictions, it also is the start of a new approach – learning to live with the virus. This is an immensely positive outlook but one that is also fraught with uncertainty. And that’s the point: there is always massive uncertainty. The challenge and the opportunity is to keep thinking about how we ensure we are as well positioned as possible for the next unknown.
To help us better understand the current investment environment, we invited four world class asset managers to share their insights, in dedicated investment masterclasses:
- Absolute Return Bonds – the Reality (Artemis Investment Management)
- Low Dependency Portfolios: Integrating Credit and LDI (BMO Global Asset Management)
- Direct Lending: Searching for the Sweet Spot (Franklin Templeton & Benefit Street Partners)
- Cashflow Driven Investing (PIMCO)
Our keynote presenters expanded our minds and shared their insights into some of the monumental problems the world faces, as well as how these might play out in the future. We left the summit with a clearer understanding of what our peers are thinking and doing, and how others are approaching similar challenges.
To apply what everyone learned in the keynotes and the investment masterclasses, we worked through a bespoke case study which tells the story of the SkyBlue Pension Fund – a large, reasonably well-funded defined benefit pension fund of a UK-based commercial airline. We looked through the lenses of risk, return, ESG, covenant and governance as we tackled key questions for the fund, and as a result took away critical thinking for the pension funds we run and advise.
It was a fantastic day and a half. For those who attended, what were your main takeaways? How has your thinking evolved, and what are you doing differently today that you were not doing earlier this week?
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on mallowstreet.com
