Join us for the flagship Annual Investment Funds Conference 2026, hosted by London Stock Exchange in partnership with Deutsche Numis, Stephenson Harwood, Burson Buchanan, Guernsey Finance, as well as the AIC, CISI, Institutional Investor, PMI, and The Investor Forum.
Register your interest in joining us in person at the London Stock Exchange, or virtually via Spark Insights, on Friday 2 October 2026.
Dame Julia Hoggett DBE, CEO of the London Stock Exchange will deliver the opening address, following welcome remarks by Katya Gorbatiouk, Head of Investment Funds at the London Stock Exchange. Our keynote speakers – Tim Campbell, CEO, Baillie Gifford, and Dr Rebecca Harding, CEO of the Centre for Economic Security – will share insights on the economic imperatives shaping the agenda for the asset management industry.
What to expect: key themes and discussions
This year’s conference will focus on the areas of opportunity most critical to economic resilience and growth, and on the role of the active management industry in connecting these sectors with large pools of institutional and retail capital.
Recent industry, policy and legislative developments – including the Mansion House agreements, regulatory reform and the Pension Schemes Act – provide an important foundation for unlocking this potential in a challenging interest rate environment.
Against this backdrop, listed investment companies and trusts are well positioned to compete for new capital, scale and allocate to strategic areas of economic activity in the UK and globally, building on their 158-year history.
The 2026 Investment Funds Conference will focus on the topics front of mind for industry participants:
- Economic security in the spotlight – how do we build resilience by backing local innovation and industry?
- Investing in technologies and infrastructure of the future - quantum, fusion and defence
- Mobilising deeper pools of capital – what opportunities are emerging from regulatory, legislative and industry reforms to reach new capital at scale?
- Smaller companies with big ideas – backing innovation through public markets
- Competing for allocations – how can investment companies stand out alongside active ETFs, LTAFs and private funds in the era of high interest rates?
- Delivering performance and scale – what underpins returns and investor confidence across cycles?
Event Details
📅 Date: Friday, 2 October 2026
🕘 Time: 08:30 - 13:30 BST
📍 Venue: London Stock Exchange plc
🌐 Format: In person at the London Stock Exchange, or virtually via Spark Insights
✅ Eligible for CISI CPD credits
Agenda
08:30 - 09:00 Registration and Breakfast
09:00 - 09:05 Shaping the next chapter for investment companies
Katya Gorbatiouk, Head of Investment Funds, London Stock Exchange
09:05 - 09:15 Mobilising long-term capital through UK markets
Dame Julia Hoggett DBE, CEO, London Stock Exchange
09:15 - 09:40 Keynote Sessions
Economic security and sovereignty: imperatives reshaping the economies of the free world
- Dr Rebecca Harding, CEO of the Centre for Economic Security
The asset management agenda: investing for resilience and growth in an era of repriced risk
- Tim Campbell, CEO, Baillie Gifford
09:40 - 10:20 Panel 1: Economic security in the spotlight – how do we build resilience by backing local innovation and industry?
- Mark Boggett, CEO & General Partner, Seraphim Space
- Steven Marshall, Founder, Executive Chairman and Managing Partner, Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Management
- Olivia Markham, Managing Director, Blackrock; Portfolio Manager, BlackRock World Mining Trust
- Stephen Packwood, Partner, Schroders Greencoat
- Leandros Kalisperas, Chief Investment Officer, British Business Bank
Moderator: Chris Kinder, CEO, The Investor Forum
10:20 - 10:45 Fireside Chat: Investing in technologies and infrastructure of the future - quantum, fusion and defence
- David Gann CBE FREng, Chair, UK Fusion Energy (UKFE); Former Chair, UK Atomic Energy Authority
- Kirill Pyshkin, Managing Partner, Quantum Exponential
- Benn Mikula, Chief Executive, UK Resilience and Dynamism
Moderator: Alex Beveridge, Global Head of Private Markets and Head of Content EMEA, Institutional Investor
10:45 - 11:25 Panel 2: Mobilising deeper pools of capital – what opportunities are emerging from regulatory, legislative and industry reforms to reach new capital at scale?
- Ben Wilkinson, CEO, Molten Ventures Plc; Chair, Pensions & Private Capital Expert Panel - UK Private Capital
- Paul Forshaw, CEO, Future Growth Capital
- Stacey Parsons, Managing Director, RetailBook
- Mark Atkinson, Managing Director, Investments, Wealth & Retail, Willis Towers Watson
Moderator: Nathan Brown, Managing Director, Investment Banking, Deutsche Numis
11:25 - 11:50 Networking Break
11:50 - 12:10 Fireside Chat: Smaller companies with big ideas – backing innovation through public markets
- Katie Potts, Founder, Herald Investment Management
- Christian Pittard, Head of Closed End Funds and Managing Director, Corporate Finance, Aberdeen Group
Moderator: Annabel Brodie-Smith, Communications Director, The Association of Investment Companies (AIC)
12:10 - 12:50 Panel 3: Competing for allocations – how can investment companies stand out alongside active ETFs, LTAFs and private funds in the era of high interest rates?
- Simon Elliott, Head of Investment Trusts, JPMorgan Asset Management
- Kamal Warriach, Head of Fund Selection, Canaccord Wealth
- Chris Hunt, Managing Director and Head of Shareholder Relations, ICG
- Avni Thakrar-Neeliah, CFA, Head of Product Strategy and Market Structure, Schroders
- Hector McNeil, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, HANetf
Moderator: Alex Haynes, Partner, Stephenson Harwood
12:50 - 13:30 Panel 4: Delivering performance and scale – what drives investor confidence across market cycles?
- Robert Natzler, Deputy Fund Manager, The Schiehallion Fund
- Oliver Kenyon, Senior Director, Business & Corporate Development, RTW Investments
- Kevin Glover, Investment Director, Multi-Asset, Aberdeen
- Will Ellis, Head of Specialist Funds, Invesco
Moderator: Henry Wilson, Partner, Head of Investment Companies, Burson Buchanan
13:30 - 15:00 Lunch and Drinks
Register your interest
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