10:00am

Tuesday 23 March 

Chair of Day 1

Tom O'Gorman, IAPF Investment Committee

ESG is Becoming the New Normal - Implications for Investors  

Carlo M. Funk, Head of EMEA ESG Investment Strategy, State Street Global Advisors

Although it wasn’t obvious at first sight, the Covid-19 crisis has uncovered the importance of key ESG performance indicators for long-term value creation. In a study conducted by Responsible Investor mid last year, two thirds of participants said that the pandemic could prove a tipping point for ESG. This could be the boost that ESG investing needs to become truly mainstream. For their part, many investors are integrating ESG and climate considerations across their portfolios in response to changing attitudes and regulations. For 2021 there are some stand out points to consider:

• The significance of ESG criteria has become evident
• The concept of financial materiality and hence ESG performance becomes front and centre
• Investors join companies and governments to reach net zero
• Investors are re-evaluating ESG-related tracking error
• Stewardship and engagement: engage or divest?

The IORP II Directive & the Second Shareholders’ Rights Directive: Some ESG Considerations

Patrick O'Connor and Cathal Fehily, IAPF Investment Committee

• The ESG aspects of the IORP II Directive & the requirement to have an ESG policy
• The Pensions Authority’s publications to date on the IORP II Directive
• The requirements of the Second Shareholders’ Rights Directive for pension schemes

11:15am

Ends

10.00am

Wednesday 24 March 

Chair of Day 2

Liam Stack,  Chairperson of the IAPF Investment Committee

Residential Property Investment - a proven asset class internationally, now a compelling investment opportunity domestically 

Duncan Lyster, Head of Residential Property, Irish Life Investment Managers 

Anne Morash, GWL Realty Advisors 

In the last decade investment in the residential sector in Ireland has been professionalised.  The residential investment sector has become a core investment sector.  It has more than held its own with strong rental and capital value performance in recent years and particularly in the world with Covid 19 in 2020.  The sector has displayed its defensive diversification and solid income generative qualities.  Internationally real estate investors look to allocate about 25% of their capital into residential and allocations are typically much lower than that for many Irish Investors. 

• Performance in a challenging time – 2020
• What sets residential apart?
• How does residential score from an ESG perspective?

Financial Markets Overview

Chris Johns, Investment Committee, Acuvest

We will look at what is happening in financial markets and what trustees should be considering. How are equity markets performing, are there risk of bubbles, will bond yields continue to rise and what is the risk of inflation?

11:15am

Ends

10.00am

Thursday 25 March

Chair of Day 3

Noel Friel, IAPF Investment Committee

Preparing for the End Game – discussing LDI focussed solutions for less mature schemes, and CDI focussed solutions for more mature schemes. 

Patrick O’Sullivan, Senior Solutions Manager, Schroders

Pension schemes are increasingly allocating to LDI programmes in recognition of the need to manage market risks impacting on the funding position of pension promises.  In this talk we will discuss the strategies that pension funds can employ to manage funding risks – LDI focussed solutions for less mature schemes, and CDI focussed solutions for more mature schemes

Life expectancy: the impact of the pandemic and medical advances 

Aisling Kennedy, Independent non-executive director

The impact of the pandemic on mortality rates has been devastating over the course of 2020 and early 2021. You will likely have seen some stark headlines about the reduction in life expectancy (based on 2020 mortality rates). But the impact on future life expectancy is more complex and uncertain and will be overlaid by advances in technology and medicine, as well as wider economic and societal factors.  This presentation will look at the range of potential outcomes over the medium and longer term.

11:15am

Ends

10.00am

Friday 26 March

Chair of Day 4

Jerry Moriarty, CEO, IAPF

Building Tomorrow’s Office: Safe, Sustainable, Scalable 

Laura Coleman Director of Investor Relations, PineBridge Benson Elliot & Joseph De Leo Managing Partner and Investment Committee Member, PineBridge Benson Elliot

The abrupt move to remote work in 2020, brought on by Covid-19, has disrupted and accelerated the trend for change as companies re-evaluate how they will use the office in the future. PineBridge Benson Elliot, a pan-European real estate private equity specialist, will explore the trends they see in the market, what tenants are looking for and what this signals about the office of the future. Whilst the workplace will remain central to a company’s corporate culture, the ‘future office’ will need to serve a variety of different purposes for companies and workers alike, as new ways of working become the norm.

How to separate the fact from the fiction in your investment manager's story 

Claire Rudd and Maria Beaton, IAPF Investment Committee, with panelists Elma Fox, Trustee Manager and Director, Independent Trustee Limited and Deirdre Cantwell, Trustee, Acumen and Trust

Investments are becoming increasingly complex and so are the presentations from investment managers. Join us for a panel discussion exploring what you want to ask your investment manager and how to interpret the answers you get. If you have any questions you would like to submit please email these to Claire crudd@hri.ie or Maria maria.beaton@accenture.com

11:15am

Ends