7:00 – 7:45 AM:

Speaker rehearsal (Frontenac C)

7:00 – 8:00 AM:

Breakfast (Frontenac B)

8:00 – 8:30 AM:

Opening remarks and icebreaker (Frontenac C)

8:30 – 9:30 AM:

The world at a crossroads

In this keynote session, David McWilliams will review the big global issues on the economic, financial and political fronts and consider the implication of these big mega trends on the economy and markets.

Speaker: David McWilliams, economist, broadcaster, bestselling author

9:30 – 10:00 AM:

Exploring a new asset class: Aviation leasing

Aviation has just gone through the greatest shock in its history which continues to create opportunity. While pension funds may own traditional infrastructure assets such as buildings, bridges and toll roads, aircraft leasing is another asset class available to sophisticated investors. Over the last 20 years, aviation leasing has showed low correlation to public markets broadly and low correlations to airlines themselves. Long-term contracted cash flows backed by moveable hard assets make this an attractive alternative fixed income investment. This session will present the opportunities and return/risk profile of aviation leasing.

Speaker: James McManus, managing director, AB CarVal

10:00 – 10:30 AM:

We have been expecting you, Mr. Bond! Seven opportunities in global fixed income

Fixed income is back as an attractive asset class. This session will look at which macro factors are likely to drive fixed income going forward and discuss seven interesting opportunities in global fixed income.

Speaker: Benoit Anne, lead strategist, investment solutions group, MFS Investment Management

10:30 – 11:00 AM:

Networking break (Frontenac Foyer)

11:00 – 11:30 AM:

Transitioning to a new paradigm demands agility

There’s a new market regime today characterized by higher trend inflation, rates normalization, liquidity withdrawals, de-globalization and elevated volatility. These factors present the potential for non-U.S. equity markets to perform better relative to U.S. peers, especially as non-U.S. equity valuations still appear attractive on a relative basis and local currencies have room to appreciate. In this session, Justin Thomson will share unique investment opportunities across international equity markets and underscore the risk of being offside from a diversification standpoint as we potentially enter a new paradigm in equity markets.

Speaker: Justin Thomson, head of international equity and chief investment officer, T. Rowe Price

11:30 AM – 12:00 PM:

Regime shift: Investing in a new economic era

If you’re thinking about investing in the current evolving world, think about what you did over the last decade and do the opposite. A regime shift is underway, one that investors will need to understand in order to find the best opportunities and safeguard their portfolios. In this session, Mina Krishnan will dig into the secular forces that we expect will define the coming years as a new economic regime unfolds.

Speaker: Mina Krishnan, multi-asset portfolio manager, Schroders

12:00 – 1:00 PM:

Lunch (Wildflower Restaurant)

1:00 – 1:30 PM:

Divesting without sacrificing returns

Since 2014, Simon Fraser University has committed to responsible investing and to reduce 45% investment carbon footprint by 2025. In 2019, the university further announced it would divest its endowment portfolio of all fossil fuel assets by 2025 and increase its allocation to socially responsible investment funds. In this session, Jacky Shen will discuss how he’s working to achieve this mandate without sacrificing returns.

 Speaker: Jacky Shen, treasurer and director of investment, Simon Fraser University

1:30 – 2:00 PM:

Liquidity and private market allocations in times of stress

In light of the public markets’ correction in 2022 and the fact that private markets have not experienced a notable repricing, many pension plans went from an under allocation to an over allocation to private markets. Given the illiquidity nature of the private markets, managing the plan’s liquidity becomes top of mind to ensure the portfolio stays aligned with the strategic long-term asset allocation. This session will provide insights on liquidity management and the role of cash in today’s environment as well as providing an alternate solution to solve the under/over allocation to private markets.

Speaker: Rémi Tétreault, director, client solutions, Trans-Canada Capital

2:00 – 2:30 PM:

Considerations for investing in China and the new era of emerging markets

Global emerging markets have changed materially in the recent decades in terms of investment opportunities, risks and asset classes. The evolution of Chinese equities, specifically the China A-Shares market, offers attractive opportunities for global investors. These include large, fast growth, high liquidity, low correlation and high inefficiency. They also provide unique and broad exposure to several investible themes in the new economy of China, such as emerging consumer, innovations and energy transition. However, these opportunities also come with risks. Active management with a quality growth focus is an effective way to capture the best investment opportunities with favorable risk reward in China. In this session, Vivian Lin Thurston will provide a comprehensive and in-depth review of these topics related to China and EM investing.

Speaker: Vivian Lin Thurston, portfolio manager, emerging markets growth, William Blair

2:30 – 3:00 PM:

Networking break (Frontenac Foyer)

3:00 – 3:30 PM:

Secondary private equity: Tailwind in the current environment

This session will provide a secondary market update and examine how several factors, including overcommitment, re-up pressures and slowing distributions, are creating an attractive environment for secondary market participants.

 Speaker: Simon Oak, principal, Lexington Partners

3:30 – 4:00 PM:

Blueprint for better pensions: Sustainable innovations in the Canadian pension model

Valuable and sustainable lifetime pensions are more important than ever, but what is the best way to deliver better pensions? In this session, Derek Dobson will explore the unique attributes of the Canadian pension model and opportunities to deliver more value that better serve the retirement needs of Canadians.

Speaker: Derek Dobson, chief executive officer and plan manager, CAAT Pension Plan

6:00 – 9:30 PM:

Cocktails and dinner reception (Bearfoot Bistro)