Categories
News & Thoughts

Impact Investment Academy 2020 – The full agenda

The agenda content was curated with input from financial advisers and planners to provide relevant insights from a broad range of speakers focused on the hottest investment topic of the year.

SDR Has Arrived!

Click here for latest updates.

  • Sustainability Impact TM
  • Sustainability Mixed Goals TM
  • Sustainability Focus TM
  • Sustainability Improvers TM

17th November 2020 / 9.30am – 4.30pm
Subject to final refinements

0930-1000                                     VIRTUAL ARRIVAL and networking

1000-1015 – Welcome and introduction
Speaker: Gavin Francis | Founder and Director, Worthstone

1015-1030 – Keynote An action driven attitude to money
A blockbuster call to act on impact from outside the world of financial planning
Speaker: Richard Curtis, Filmmaker and Co-Founder Make My Money Matter

1030-1045 – Investing in impact – are these the companies of the future?
A discussion of the opportunity and importance of impact investing in public markets, how these companies are exposed to secular growth and why impact needs to be quantifiable.
Speaker: Ingrid Kukuljan, Head of Impact Investing and Lead Portfolio Manager, Federated Hermes

1045-1105                               MID MORNING CORRIDOR CONVERSATIONS

1105-1130 – Adviser resources – The launch of Worthstone’s new methodology
An insight into Worthstone’s fund rating process and methodology.
Speaker: Gavin Francis | Founder and Director, Worthstone

1130-1200 – Keynote Responsible investing – What is it and how to make it real?
Even before the crisis, investors had been placing increasing emphasis on companies’ social as well as financial performance. But does responsible investing actually pay off, or do investors have to sacrifice financial returns to achieve social goals? With a particular emphasis on what it means to be a responsible investor in a time of crisis, this talk will draw on rigorous academic research, real-world examples, and practical frameworks.
Speaker: Alex Edmans, Professor of Finance, London Business School

1200-1215 – ‘Engagement’ does it really make a difference?
What is engagement, does it really have an effect on companies, and how can we tell what good quality engagement looks like?
Speaker: Vicki Bakhshi, Head of Responsible Investment, BMO Global Asset Management

1215-1230 – Impact by design
Has Covid adjusted the lens through which we evaluate the impact of an investment?
Speaker: Ben Constable-Maxwell, Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing, M&G Investments

1230-1235 – Impact on the ground – an investee story
These vignettes are the very essence of the Impact Investment Academy. 
Inspiring accounts from investee companies themselves demonstrate to us why examples of impact, which have been generated at grassroots level, provide such a sense of fulfilment for client and adviser alike.
Speakers: The impact agents themselves!

1235-1330                                       LUNCH AND NETWORKING

1330-1345 – Keynote – The impact on financial advisers of impending new ESG regulation
A view to the future Regulatory risk or business opportunity?
Speaker: Laura Houët, Partner and regulated funds specialist, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP

1345-1430 – Panel debate – Cutting through the spin – what challenges and opportunities does the tipping point of sustainable investing bring for the world of investment?
Chair: Ruth Sturkey (Client Director, Paradigm Norton)
Panelists include:
Mike Fox (Royal London Asset Management),
Pieter-Jan Hüsken (Triodos Investment Management),
Hamish Chamberlayne (Janus Henderson Investors),
Laura Houët (CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP)

1430-1445 – James Bond, Q and the value of impact investing
Breaking down the complexities around impact investing, how having the conversation about “sustainable investing” can deepen the relationship with your clients and be their James Bond!
Speaker: Seb Beloe, Partner and Head of Research, WHEB Asset Management

1445-1455                               REFRESHMENT BREAK

1455-1530 – Adviser resources – Launching a new, independent, peer-led Impact Portfolio Service
Overcoming the challenge, seizing the opportunity: everything a financial advice professional needs to properly and simply embed investing for a positive impact into their service to clients, with consistency, credibility and confidence. 
Speakers: David Crozier, Founder, Navigator Financial Planning and Michael Smith, Chartered Financial Planner and CEO, Chamberlyns

1530-1545 – The case for optimism – positive change in challenging times
Can you make a difference and in doing so deliver a positive financial return?
Speaker: Kate Fox, Partner and Investment Manager, Baillie Gifford

1545-1600                               MID AFTERNOON CORRIDOR CONVERSATIONS

1600-1605 – Impact on the ground – an investee story
These vignettes are the very essence of the Impact Investment Academy.
Inspiring accounts from investee companies themselves demonstrate to us why examples of impact, which have been generated at grassroots level, provide such a sense of fulfilment for client and adviser alike.
Speakers: The impact agents themselves!

1605-1625 – Keynote – The impact tide is rising – the zeitgeist shift
A perspective from one of the most widely respected financial journalists from the international press.
Speaker: Gillian Tett, Chair of Editorial Board (US), Financial Times and Co-Founder FT Moral Money

1625-1630         Closing statement from Gavin Francis | Founder and Director, Worthstone