DETAILED OUTLINE
8.30am
REGISTRATION OPEN
Great Room, W Melbourne
9.00am
WELCOME
Tim Townsend
Partner & Private Wealth Adviser, Townsend Cobain Partners
James Weir
Director & Private Wealth Adviser, Steward Wealth
9.15am
OUTPACING THE ASX
Opportunities, Challenges, and the Road Ahead for Australian Private Equity
Private equity has grown rapidly in Australia, but questions remain about its role, outlook, and risks. Can it continue to outperform listed markets like the ASX200? Is the slowdown in IPO activity creating challenges for exits? And how are sentiment and deal flow evolving in the current environment?
Our opening session will explore whether Australia truly “needs” private equity capital, and the opportunities and challenges this creates for managers deploying it locally. We’ll also examine trends in institutional demand — and what opportunities this may open up for advisers seeking to build client exposure to the asset class.
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Key Issues:
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Outlook & Returns – Can private equity in Australia outperform listed markets like the ASX200, and what factors will drive returns?
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Capital & Deal Flow – How much dry powder is building, what does deal flow look like, and is sentiment improving or weakening?
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Investor Demand Trends – Are institutional investors likely to increase allocations further, and what is driving their appetite?
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Liquidity Considerations – How should investors evaluate liquidity mechanisms on unlisted assets, and what are the risks of treating private equity as liquid?
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THOUGHT LEADER:
Cameron Brownjohn OAM
CEO, Federation Asset Management
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WORKSHOP EXCHANGE - Workshop Discussion
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Outlook & Returns: Do you believe private equity in Australia can sustainably outperform listed markets like the ASX200? What will be the main drivers of performance over the next 5 years?
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Capital & Deal Flow: With significant dry powder in the system, do you think this is supporting or constraining deal activity? How are you seeing sentiment in today’s market?
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Liquidity & Access: How should investors think about liquidity when considering unlisted assets? Do liquidity mechanisms in private equity funds add comfort — or additional risk?
10.15am
MORNING TEA
10.35am
BOOM, BACKLASH… OR JUST THE BEGINNING?
Exploring the Private Debt Opportunity Set in Australia
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Private debt has become one of the fastest-growing asset classes in Australia — but also one of the most debated. Headlines have highlighted risks, fund blow-ups, and concerns over transparency, leaving many advisers wondering if the growth is justified and if investors are piling in at the wrong time.
This session will cut through the noise. We’ll examine how the market has developed, whether the risks are as great as suggested, and how advisers can be deliberate and thoughtful in constructing allocations. We’ll break down the key drivers of private credit returns, and explore how advisers can assess whether a manager’s performance is both sustainable and appropriate for the level of risk being taken.
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Key Issues:
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Boom or Backlash? – Is the rapid growth of Australian private debt justified, and are the risks as great as the headlines suggest?
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Beyond Property Lending – Why a domestic allocation doesn’t need to be dominated by property debt, and where else opportunities may lie.
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Borrower Sentiment & the Economy – What current SME borrowing demand signals about credit conditions and the macro outlook.
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Understanding Returns – The drivers of private credit returns, and the key questions advisers should ask managers about their return profile.
THOUGHT LEADERS:
Brett Craig
Director of Private Credit, Aura Group
(Represented by Montgomery Investment Management)
IDEA EXCHANGE - Workshop Discussion
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Benchmarks & Comparisons: What benchmarks justify tilting to private debt over other income alternatives?
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Evolving Allocations: How do you expect your Australian private debt allocation to evolve over time, and where might you refine it?
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Manager Due Diligence: What are the most important questions to ask a manager about their return profile and risk controls?
11.40am
BANKING ON PARTNERSHIPS
Exploring the Rise of Parallel Lending in Global Private Debt
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Global private debt markets are growing rapidly, fuelled by strong institutional demand and large capital flows into the biggest segments of the market. But advisers don’t need to follow the same path. Instead of deploying capital into the largest strategies, there is an opportunity to be more selective — focusing on areas that offer attractive risk-adjusted returns.
One such opportunity is parallel lending, a niche within private credit that has been gaining traction as an alternative source of capital. In this session, we’ll explore the growth of parallel lending, its role alongside traditional bank lending, and why Europe in particular presents a unique opportunity set.
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Key Issues:
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Capital Flows & Concentration – How institutional demand is driving rapid growth in private debt, and what risks may come from large flows into the biggest strategies.
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Parallel Lending with Banks – What parallel lending is, how co-lending alongside banks works in practice, and why it is gaining traction.
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Regional Perspectives – Why certain markets, particularly Europe, provide fertile ground for parallel lending.
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Underwriting & Liquidity Discipline – What to look for (seniority, leverage, covenants) and how to assess liquidity features without diluting the private-market premium.
THOUGHT LEADERS:
Aris Allegos
Head of Australia, Muzinich & Co
IDEA EXCHANGE - Workshop Discussion
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Opportunities in Private Debt: What types of opportunities are you seeing in global private debt markets, and what do you look for when making an allocation?
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Underwriting & Liquidity: How should advisers assess underwriting discipline and liquidity in private debt?
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Parallel Lending: What are the pros and cons of co-lending alongside banks? Does it change your view of risk or diversification?
12.40pm
LUNCH
1.45pm
FUEL FOR GROWTH
Private Equity’s Emerging Role as a Growth Partner
Companies are staying private for longer, reshaping how investors access growth and innovation. For founders, private equity is more than capital — it’s a strategic partner that can help scale businesses, open new markets, and professionalise governance. For investors, it offers opportunities and challenges that differ markedly from listed markets.
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This session takes a closer look at how private equity creates value, and what it means to invest successfully in this evolving landscape. We’ll examine the importance of networks and relationships in sourcing opportunities, the risk/return profiles across different stages of growth, and how to align investment horizons with founders’ timelines. We’ll also consider what it takes to be a true ‘partner of choice’ for founders — and how advisers and allocators can position portfolios to capture sustainable, long-term returns.
Key Issues:
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Why Companies Stay Private Longer – Understanding the structural and strategic drivers behind companies staying private.
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Networks & Relationships – Why sourcing opportunities in private equity depends on trust, access, and reputation.
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Risk/Return Profiles – Key differences across venture, growth, and buyout strategies, and how late-stage growth offers attractive diversification.
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Liquidity & Timelines – Aligning investment horizons with founders’ needs and investor expectations.
THOUGHT LEADERS:
Campbell McComb
Managing Director & CEO, Pier 12 Capital
Adam Schwab
Co-Founder & CEO, Luxury Escapes
IDEA EXCHANGE - Workshop Discussion
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Private vs Public: Why do you think more companies are choosing to stay private for longer? What implications does this have for investors seeking growth exposure?
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Access & Sourcing: In your experience, how important are networks and relationships in accessing quality private equity opportunities? How do you evaluate the managers you trust with this?
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Portfolio Fit: How do you approach liquidity and timeline considerations when allocating to private equity? Where do you see the best balance of risk and return across venture, growth, and buyout strategies?
2.50pm
POWERING UP
Where Private Equity Meets the Infrastructure Opportunity
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Private equity is increasingly moving into infrastructure — not only across traditional assets like transport, utilities, and energy, but also into newer areas such as digital infrastructure, renewables, and the energy transition. For investors, this raises important questions: why are private equity firms targeting infrastructure now, and where are the most attractive opportunities emerging globally?
This session will explore how private equity creates value in infrastructure, from asset transformation to operational improvement, and why the trade-offs between listed and unlisted structures matter. We’ll also consider the growing role of evergreen solutions in providing long-term exposure, and the evolution of the secondaries market in delivering flexibility in an otherwise illiquid asset class.
Key Issues:
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Why PE in Infrastructure? – What’s driving private equity’s growing role in infrastructure and what makes it attractive today?
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Regional Opportunities – Where are the most compelling infrastructure opportunities emerging globally?
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Listed vs Unlisted – Comparing the characteristics of listed and unlisted infrastructure, and the advantages of evergreen solutions.
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Secondaries Trends – How secondaries are shaping infrastructure allocations and offering liquidity options in an illiquid asset class.
THOUGHT LEADER:
Roberto Cagnati
Partner, CRO & Head of Portfolio Solutions, Partners Group
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IDEA EXCHANGE - Workshop Discussion
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Where’s the Value? Which areas of infrastructure — from traditional assets to newer segments like digital and renewables — offer the strongest opportunities today?
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Value Creation: Where do you see the greatest scope for private equity to add value in infrastructure — through operational improvement, strategic repositioning, or other levers?
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Unlisted vs Listed: What do you see as the key advantages or drawbacks of taking the illiquidity risk in unlisted infrastructure versus listed vehicles?
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3.55pm
AFTERNOON TEA
4.15pm
BRIDGING THE GAP
Making Private Markets Seamless for Advisers and Clients
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Advisers are increasingly looking to allocate to private markets, and more strategies are becoming accessible than ever before. But the question remains: can capital be deployed into this space as efficiently as it is for listed assets? Barriers such as execution, reporting, and ongoing monitoring have historically made private markets harder to include in client portfolios.
This session explores how the industry is tackling these barriers head-on, and how technology, research, and innovative structures are working to make private markets a more seamless inclusion in the advice process. We’ll consider how platforms are enabling access, how research frameworks help advisers identify high-quality opportunities, and how new structures are balancing accessibility with governance and client outcomes.
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Key Issues:
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Technology & Integration – How platforms are streamlining execution, reporting, and monitoring for private market allocations.
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Research & Due Diligence – Why deep research is critical to identifying premium private market strategies, and how advisers can leverage it.
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Structures & Access – How innovative structures are reducing traditional barriers of illiquidity and complexity.
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Future of Adviser Engagement – What growing adviser demand for private markets means for platforms, managers, and client portfolios.
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THOUGHT LEADER:
Paul Voges
Head of Investment Growth & Partnerships, HUB24
Jonathan Ng
Partner & Head of Investments, Reach Alternative Investments
Paul Newfield
Director of Sector Research, Frontier Advisors
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IDEA EXCHANGE - Workshop Discussion
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Access & Efficiency: What do you see as the biggest barriers to allocating to private markets as efficiently as listed assets?
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Client Engagement: How are you explaining private market allocations to clients, and what tools or reporting would make this easier?
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Structures & Solutions: - Which types of structures do you think best balance accessibility, governance, and client outcomes?