DETAILED OUTLINE
8.30am
REGISTRATION OPEN
Cargo Hall, South Wharf
9.00am
WELCOME
Tim Townsend
Partner & Private Wealth Adviser, Townsend Cobain Partners
9.15am
WHEN CONVICTION IS TESTED — THE ACTIVE ALLOCATION DILEMMA
Improving portfolio resilience and the role of active risk in a structurally shifting world
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Active management is under pressure. Fee scrutiny has intensified, passive strategies continue to gain share, and for many advisers, stepping back from active feels both logical and defensible. Yet the investment environment may be shifting in ways that make this a particularly consequential moment to get this call wrong.
At the institutional level, some of the world's most sophisticated investors are moving in the opposite direction – expanding their use of active risk, integrating private markets more deliberately, and evolving their portfolio around the assumption that the conditions that rewarded passive allocation may no longer persist. Geopolitical fragmentation, structural inflation and compressed return expectations from traditional asset classes are reshaping how leading allocators think about resilience.
However, institutional logic does not always translate cleanly into adviser practice. We face a different set of constraints - client time horizons, liquidity requirements, implementation complexity and the real cost of being wrong in a way that is visible to clients.
In this opening session, our speakers explore whether the pressures reshaping institutional portfolios demand a rethink of active management’s role – and how this should influence our investment philosophy.
Key Issues:
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Structural Headwinds – What are the structural shifts making traditional active management more challenging?
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Institutional Relevance – Are institutional approaches to portfolio construction relevant to how we build adviser portfolios?
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Portfolio Resilience – Beyond traditional diversification, what does genuine resilience require in a world of structural inflation and geopolitical fragmentation?
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Active Across Markets – How should advisers think about active exposure across both public and private markets?
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THOUGHT LEADER:
Brian Payne
Chief Strategist, Private Markets & Alternatives, BCA Research
Alice Berriman
Senior Consultant, Frontier Advisors
Tim Farrelly
Co-CIO, Delta Portfolios
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IDEA EXCHANGE - Table Discussion
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Where are you feeling the most pressure in your active allocations today, and do you read it as cyclical or something more structural?
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When you hear the institutional case for expanding active risk, where does it resonate in your own portfolios?
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Over the next three to five years, where do you see the strongest case for active management being rewarded — and what would change your mind?
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10.15am
MORNING TEA
10.35am
PRIVATE CREDIT — THE ALLOCATION QUESTIONS THAT MATTER NOW
Where to play, how value is created and what it means for portfolios
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Private credit has grown rapidly as banks retrenched and investors sought income. As the asset class matures, however, competition is increasing and the opportunity set is fragmenting.
From sponsor-backed direct lending to asset-backed finance and special situations, across domestic and global markets, each segment offers distinct risk-return dynamics. Higher rates and tighter liquidity are also testing underwriting discipline and increasing dispersion.
In this environment, the question is not only how much to allocate, but where to play and how returns are generated. What differentiates genuine alpha from commoditised yield? How do managers build sourcing advantages and protect capital? And how should advisers structure private credit exposure within diversified portfolios?
Key Issues:
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Segments & Strategy – How different forms of private credit vary in risk and return.
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Alpha vs Beta – What truly drives excess returns in private credit.
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Competitive Advantage – How managers source, underwrite and structure deals to protect downside.
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Portfolio Role – How to size and position private credit as dispersion increases.
THOUGHT LEADERS:
Frank Danieli
Managing Director & Group Executive, Head of Global Credit Solutions, MA Financial Group
Milwood Hobbs, Jr.
Oaktree Capital Management (Represented by Brookfield)
IDEA EXCHANGE - Table Discussion
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Where do you see the most attractive segments within private credit today?
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How do you distinguish genuine alpha from commoditised yield?
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How are you determining appropriate exposure and risk budgets for private credit in
portfolios?
11.40am
MARKET STRUCTURE — IS CONCENTRATION A PROBLEM FOR INVESTORS?
From benchmark dominance to manager selection
Global equity markets have grown increasingly concentrated. A small number of mega-cap companies now account for a disproportionate share of index returns, passive flows have reinforced benchmark dominance, and many active managers have struggled to keep pace.
The natural response has been to allocate passively, with the intention of reducing the risk of underperforming the benchmark. But dispersion persists across and within markets, and for investors willing to look beyond the index, the opportunity set may be broader than the headlines suggest.
Do concentrated markets demand a different approach to active management? And how should managers be selected when conviction means accepting short-term underperformance?
Key Issues:
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Active vs Passive Tension — Are recent outcomes exposing the limits of active management — or the limits of how investors are using it?
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Manager Selection — What separates genuinely active, high-conviction managers from those simply tracking the benchmark with higher fees?
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Behavioural Risk — How do short-term performance pressures and benchmarking lead to poor decision-making — including hiring and firing managers at the wrong time?
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Portfolio Implications — How should investors think about tracking error, concentration, and the role of active strategies within their portfolios?
THOUGHT LEADERS:
Hollie Briggs
Head of Global Product Management, Loomis, Sayles & Company
(Represented by Natixis Investment Managers)
Doug Tynan
Co-Founder & Chief Investment Officer, GCQ Funds Management
IDEA EXCHANGE - Table Discussion
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Does today's market environment strengthen or weaken your conviction in active management?
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When you look at your active managers, how do you know they're actually being active?
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If current market dynamics persist (high concentration, continued passive flows), what are the implications for how you structure your equity allocation?
12.40pm
LUNCH
1.45pm
BEYOND THE LEADERS — WHERE IS GROWTH BEING UNDER APPRECIATED?
Emerging global opportunities and the portfolio case for broadening exposure
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While the longer-term performance of large-cap indices has been compelling, looking beneath the surface reveals a broader universe of companies evolving that are strengthening competitive positions, improving margins and entering new growth phases without yet commanding widespread attention.
For advisers managing diversified portfolios, the question is not whether to own established leaders, but how and when to allocate to emerging sources of growth. Where may expectations be too low? How should these opportunities complement existing exposures? And what level of conviction is required before adjusting portfolio weights?
This session explores whether the current market environment creates a compelling case to broaden focus beyond established leaders, and considers the practical implications for portfolio construction and allocation decisions.
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Key Issues:
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Underappreciated Growth – Where are fundamentals strengthening without yet being fully
reflected in market expectations? -
Quality of Growth – How can advisers distinguish durable improvement in earnings and
returns on capital from cyclical rebound or narrative-driven optimism? -
Allocation Discipline – How should emerging growth opportunities complement established
large-cap exposures within diversified portfolios? -
Risk & Conviction – What level of evidence is required before increasing exposure, and how
should position sizing reflect both upside potential and downside risk?
THOUGHT LEADERS:
Alex Turner
Senior Portfolio Manager, ClariVest Asset Management (Represented by Warakirri Asset Management)
Ned Bell
Chief Investment Officer, Bell Asset Management
IDEA EXCHANGE - Table Discussion
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How are current market conditions influencing your approach to portfolio breadth and manager selection? Which areas of the AI value chain offer compelling, undercrowded opportunities?
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Where do you see the most compelling areas of emerging growth that merit increased allocation?
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In an environment of greater volatility and dispersion, how are you managing portfolio weights and risk budgets?
2.50pm
3.55pm
FROM INSIGHT TO IMPLEMENTATION — REFINING PORTFOLIOS IN PRACTICE
Testing asset allocation convictions in a changing market environment
As markets evolve and opportunity sets expand, even well-constructed portfolios warrant re-examination.
This session invites delegates to step into an investment committee mindset and workshop their current view of the world. How have recent shifts in market structure, liquidity, growth dynamics and private markets influenced positioning? Where does conviction sit today — and where has it shifted?
The focus is on refining core allocation views, ensuring portfolios reflect deliberate positioning rather than inherited assumptions.
Workshop Focus:
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Core Assumption – What structural view anchors your current allocation?
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Conviction vs Exposure – Does portfolio exposure align with your highest conviction ideas?
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Capital Decision – If you redeployed 5% today, where would it move, and why?
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THOUGHT LEADER:
Damien Hennessy
Investment Director | Portfolio Strategy & Asset Allocation, Zenith Investment Partners
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AFTERNOON TEA
4.15pm
AI, HYPE vs REALITY — WHAT SHOULD ADVICE BUSINESSES BE DOING RIGHT NOW?
From experimentation to implementation in advice businesses
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Advice businesses are entering a new phase of technological change – where the question is no longer whether AI will reshape the industry, but how quickly and how effectively firms can integrate these tools into their day-to-day operations.
While the potential is clear, so too is the uncertainty. Many firms are experimenting, but few have translated this into meaningful gains in productivity, client engagement, or investment outcomes.
This session moves beyond the hype, focusing on where AI is already delivering value, where the real risks lie, and the practical steps advisers should be taking now to embed these tools into their businesses in a disciplined and effective way, drawing on early lessons from firms already implementing AI in practice.
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Key Issues:
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AI in Practice – Where it is already improving efficiency, research, and client outcomes.
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From FOMO to Focus – Avoiding rushed adoption and identifying the highest-value use cases.
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Team Enablement – How to guide, train, and govern teams using AI tools effectively.
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Client Proposition – How technology reshapes advice delivery and client expectations.
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THOUGHT LEADER:
Jason Entwistle
Director Strategic Development, HUB24
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IDEA EXCHANGE - Table Discussion
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Where are you currently seeing the most practical benefits from AI in your business?
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What are the biggest risks or barriers to adopting AI more broadly across your team?
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What would a “best-in-class” advice business look like in 3–5 years if AI is implemented well?