Programme

 Time

Acacia 

Birch

Conservatory

Maple

09:35 - 10:15

Baillie Gifford

Frostrow Capital

Henderson Global Investors

Martin Currie

10:20 - 11:00

Martin Currie

Baillie Gifford

Frostrow Capital

Henderson Global Investors

11:20 - 12:00

Henderson Global Investors

Martin Currie

Baillie Gifford

Frostrow Capital

12:05 - 12:45

Frostrow Capital

Henderson Global Investors

Martin Currie

Baillie Gifford

13:50 - 14:30

Renaissance Asset Managers

Polar Capital

BlackRock

Aberdeen Asset Management

14:35 - 15:15

Aberdeen Asset Management

Renaissance Asset Managers

Polar Capital

BlackRock

15:30 - 16:10

BlackRock

Aberdeen Asset Management

Renaissance Asset Managers

Polar Capital 

16:15 - 16:55

Polar Capital

BlackRock

Aberdeen Asset Management

Renaissance Asset Managers

Speaker

Boardroom Session Topic

Keynote Address:

Politics, Economics and the Markets

Peter Lilley brings three decades experience in government, business and financial markets to ask -

Can the Coalition:

- Tackle the deficit

- Restore growth

- Cope with the Euro crisis

- Prevent another banking crisis?

The Rt Hon Peter Lilley, MP, Conservative MP for Hitchin & Harpenden

Aberdeen Asset Management

Private Equity - Extracting Maximum Value from an Opaque Universe

Alex Barr, head of Private Equity investments at Aberdeen, will discuss the challenges asset managers face in building best-in-class fund of fund investment platforms in this extraordinarily dynamic asset class. Alex will outline Aberdeen's systematic approach to covering the investable universe and the importance of looking at smaller, often overlooked managers. He will also address the role that investment thematics and top-down thinking can play in supporting bottom-up fund selection processes. Finally, Alex will look at the outlook for Private Equity as Sovereign Debt concerns give rise to renewed and possibly prolonged bouts of volatility in equity markets.

Alex Barr, Head of Private Equity Investments, Aberdeen Private Equity Fund

Baillie Gifford

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust

An optimist's perspective on the outlook for long term investors in global equities.

Tom Slater, CFA, Deputy Fund Manager, Long Term Global Growth

BlackRock

Take a Closer Look at Greater Europe

Vincent will provide an insight on the recent equity market volatility, covering the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and its implications for equity investors in the Greater Europe region. He will also discuss the recent downgrades to growth forecasts in Europe and share his thoughts on where to find attractive investment opportunities in a lower-growth environment.

Vincent Devlin, Managing Director, European Equity Style Diversified Team

Frostrow Capital

Investing in the Biotech Sector

• Investing successfully in biotech requires a mix of scientific and financial skills to evaluate and compare competing companies and their products.
• The sector has matured in the last decade. Both the number of profitable companies and the number of new discoveries coming to market has increased dramatically.
• Biotech is at the forefront of discovery and innovation in the healthcare sector.
• Large pharma companies have been aggressively acquiring biotech companies in order to supplement their product pipelines. M&A activity is set to continue.
• Earnings growth in the sector is high, yet despite improvement this year, company valuations are still close to their all-time lows.

Geoff Hsu, Portfolio Manager, The Biotech Growth Trust plc

Henderson Global Investors

Income Growth Investing for Investment Trusts

• A look at stock selection for an income and growth portfolio using value investing principles allied to a conservative philosophy and taking into consideration macro views.
• An outline of the current balance of City of London Investment Trust's portfolio between defensive, resource, financial and cyclical sectors.
• How an investment trust can vary its pay out ratio and build up revenue reserves to achieve a long-term record of consistent dividend increases.

Job Curtis, Portfolio Manager, The City of London Investment Trust plc

Martin Currie

Going Global

In 2011 the boards of Martin Currie Global Portfolio Trust and Securities Trust of Scotland made changes to their mandates. Following overwhelming endorsement from shareholders and advisers, both investment trusts now have fully global portfolio. Tom Walker, the manager of Martin Currie Global Portfolio Trust, will share his outlook for investors seeking growth from global equity markets. And Alan Porter, the new manager of Securities Trust of Scotland, will discuss the opportunities for diversifying income globally.

Alan Porter, Portfolio Manager,  Securities Trust of Scotland

Tom Walker, Portfolio Manager, Martin Currie Global Portfolio Trust

Polar Capital

The New Technology Cycle

Ben Rogoff believes that the new technology cycle is best understood as the sector moving towards a mass production model. This view supports a bias towards small and mid-cap growth companies in the technology sector, particularly those unencumbered by legacy exposure.  As such the recent underperformance of this group of stocks - a result of current market turbulence -represents an excellent entry point for longer-term investors especially because he believes the current environment is more likely to prove an echo of the previous crisis rather than a repeat performance.

Ben Rogoff, Director, Technology & Lead Manager, Polar Capital Technology Trust plc

Renaissance Asset Managers

At the Start of a Russian Infrastructure Super Cycle

Existing infrastructure in Russia is deficient due to decades of underinvestment by the Government. The Kremlin has finally recognized the need for and prioritized spending on upgrading and re-building Russia's infrastructure assets, such as roads, railways, airports and ports. Mr Putin announced plans to spend c. $1trn on infrastructure over the next five years, including joint private/public partnership schemes. This will represent the biggest infrastructure spending cycle in the history of Russia and could present great opportunities for private investors. Special events, such as the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2018 World Cup underpin such investments.

Takouhi Tchertchian, CFA, Portfolio Manager, Renaissance Infrastructure Russian Equities Fund