Investing in the 21st Century Brain

‘Investment’ in the brain can be viewed in two ways: personal development and professional profit. We all have a personal interest in the brain, since it is the basis of our unique minds. The wonderful thing about being a human being is that although we are born with a full complement of brain cells, it is the growth of connections between the cells that accounts for the growth of the brain after birth. These connections reflect the unique sequence, a life-story, of individual experiences and interactions with the outside world: a phenomenon known as ‘plasticity’ that leads to the personalisation of the physical brain, amounting to a ‘mind’. Given the unprecedented challenges posed by the digital world to thinking, emotions and well-being, we need to devise the best ways for optimising fulfilment of each individual’s potential, as well evaluating the best possible investments arising from digital technologies and AI. The other significant factor for the well being of the 21st Century brain, and indeed in the opportunity for high return investment, is the increase in prevalence of Alzheimer’s Disease. The global market for AD treatment will more than double in value from $4.9 billion in 2013, to reach an estimated $13.3 billion in 2023. However, the challenge is to devise a treatment that tackles not the consequence of neurodegeneration i.e., amyloid plaques, but the actual cause. We shall explore a disruptive approach based on the pivotal mechanism of degeneration, leading to a possible pre-symptomatic lateral flow test for Alzheimer’s as well as a first-in-class therapeutic with proven efficacy in a living animal model. The combination of a presymptomatic screen coupled with an drug treatment that halted cell loss, would amount to an effective ‘cure’. This would surely be a great investment, both on a personal as well as a professional level!

Ninety One Global Macro Alternative

While the significant reset in equity and fixed income markets over 2022 has resulted in more appealing prospective returns from here, investors still face a challenging environment from both a structural and cyclical perspective. Alex Holroyd-Jones, Portfolio Manager at Ninety One, will describe how the recently launched Global Macro Alternative Fund is well placed to navigate these challenges through the use of flexibility, breadth and the combination of cyclical and structural perspectives. Alex will also explain the role this liquid alternatives strategy can play in portfolios over the long-term.

An introduction to Schroders Sustainable Bond Fund in amongst a broader sustainable asset allocation strategy

Introducing the framework to assess sovereigns on sustainability grounds.

UK Absolute Alpha: built for today’s market

Uncertainty prevails, monetary regime change is taking place alongside an increasingly challenging economic backdrop. A difficult and volatile environment for beta but one which presents a rich hunting ground for a long/short investor.

In this session, Richard Wingfield, Portfolio Manager on BlackRock’s UK Long/Short strategies, will discuss his latest market outlook, outline why he believes the next five years will look materially different to the last and why now is the time for Absolute Alpha, a product that benefits from dispersion designed to deliver positive returns regardless of market conditions.

Sustainable opportunities in Continental Europe

How emerging regulation and public sentiment in continental Europe offer exciting long term prospects for companies that provide solutions to sustainable challenges, as well as those that are on verifiable journey of transition or balance well the needs of all stakeholders.

M&G Asian Equity programme: stock picking, risk pricing and thinking like a business owner

The session will draw on David Perrett’s deep experience in Asian equity markets and showcase why a team focused coverage approach, institutional mindset and differentiated risk navigation lens make for a compelling proposition. He will explore the trade-off between stock picking and risk navigation and how the process translates into seeking long-term returns for clients. He will expand on the concept of “Added Value Shareholdership” and show how discipline in this area alongside thinking like a business owner, can lead to superior risk pricing. David will also comment on the investability of Chinese equities and highlight current areas of focus given continued valuation dislocations in this area.

Is the US still the land of opportunity?

Artemis’ Adrian Brass believes we are at the tail end of an economic cycle, with the delayed impact of financial tightening about to take its toll. At the same time, major government spending programs aimed at rebuilding, reshoring or decarbonising America, are just starting to benefit sectors from infrastructure and semiconductors through to defence and utilities. This combination of great uncertainty and divergent fundamentals Adrian believes present a fruitful environment for the conviction stock picker. In his presentation, Adrian explains why the Artemis US Extended Alpha fund is a differentiated offering both in terms of holdings and scope.

Redrawing the emerging markets complex

As more investors consider a standalone allocation to China - and its weighting in traditional indices continues to grow - EM ex China is emerging as its own unique asset class. What’s more, a rich pool of entrepreneurial talent, coupled with a strong demographic profile, provides compelling growth opportunities for the future.

In this session, portfolio managers Zoltan Palfi and Robert Pearce will introduce the Fidelity Sustainable Emerging Markets ex China strategy. Leveraging the insights of Fidelity’s large EM research team, they will discuss how they capture the most attractive opportunities across these diverse markets through a portfolio of 40-60 high growth companies, with strong sustainability characteristics.

Global Property Equities: Navigating the year ahead with durable income streams

2022 offered very few hiding places and property equities were no exception. In fact, listed real estate fared worse than most. Has this created an attractive entry point relative to historical valuations? Dependable income streams, paired with vastly improved debt structuring in the years post the Global Financial Crisis, may position REITs as favourable options in a period of cyclical weakness. Guy Barnard, Co-Head of Janus Henderson's Global Property Equities team discusses these attributes and which areas of the market are best placed to continue to deliver earnings and dividend growth, even as economies slow.