Agenda

Revitalizing Private Equity: Innovation, diversity, and strategic decision-making

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Registration and coffee
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Welcome remarks
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Keynote: The UK’s political and economic landscape - The investment backdrop
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Interview: Mansion House reforms: Two years on - progress, impact, and future directions
  • Understanding LGPS investment priorities and constraints
  • Key reports and data needed by pension schemes for daily decision-making
  • Balancing traditional and alternative investments in reporting
  • Navigating increased regulations in both the PE and pension sectors

Interviewed
Michael Moore, CEO, BVCA

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Panel: Investment Committees: Decision making best practices
  • IC composition: All senior partners vs. a select group
  • Limited Partner interest in IC composition to foster investor confidence
  • Decision-making process: democratic or hierarchical? Unanimity or majority?
  • Balancing diverse expertise and perspectives in decision-making
  • Role of the IC Chair- importance of tenure and rotation of IC members

Speakers
Bill Priestley, Managing Partner, Epiris
Merrick McKay, Head of Private Equity, GPMS
Aidan Robson, Partner, Endless
Joao Rosa, Founding Partner, Limerston

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Networking break
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Interview: The journey of a successful emerging manager- avoiding the pitfalls

Interviewer
Carolina Espinal, Managing Director, HarbourVest

Interviewed
David Menton, Managing Partner, Synova

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Fireside chat: Linking diversity to success
  • Has the awareness of gender diversity increased at the executive level? Has something changed?
  • How to recognise diversity as a competitive advantage
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Panel: Best practices for talent, development and effective succession
  • How to identify key positions and assess required skills
  • How to evaluate potential successors (both internal and external)
  • Developing leadership capabilities in potential successors
  • Consider co-leadership models for smoother transitions
  • Addressing LP concerns about succession planning during due diligence

Moderator Claire Madden, Managing Partner, Connection Capital

Speakers
Gemma Braithwaite, Partner, Head of IR, All Seas Capital
Imogen Richards, Partner, Pantheon

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Networking lunch
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Keynote: Carry on investing - half a year on, how has the UK's new tax treatment of PE changed the landscape?
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Panel: NAV loans and preferred equity- taboo, or to-do?
  • How justified are LP concerns with the use of NAV loans
  • Is the use of NAV loans for portfolio enhancement a good use case?
  • Impact on returns and liquidity: interests between GPs and LPs At what point does NAV loan pricing become prohibitively high?
  • What are the expectations of standardised practices and disclosures as the market evolves?
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Networking break
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Fireside chat: Practical use of AI in PE investing
  • How to enhance risk management strategies with AI-driven forecasts
  • AI-powered screening of potential investment targets
  • Streamlining IC workflows with AI-powered tools

Speakers
Neil Macdougall, Chair, Sophora

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Panel: Continuation vehicle: A new driver in PE fund management
  • Increasing use of GP-led secondary transactions and continuation vehicles to manage liquidity and maximise value
  • Investor expectations focused on cash returns, especially as funds mature
  • Pressure on fund managers to deliver returns for ageing funds
  • The SEC's Adviser-Led secondaries rule and its impact on GP-led secondary transactions
  • Emphasis on transparency, conflict management. Fair values or best values?

Speakers
Lorenzo Levi, Managing Director and Operating Partner, CDPQ
Charlotte Morris, Partner, Pantheon
Paul Newsome, Partner, Head of Portfolio Management, Unigestion
William Thompson, Principal, Harbour Vest

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Closing remarks and networking drinks