Australia breakfast seminars
Sydney & Melbourne | 10 & 13 March 2020
What duty does the investment industry have to society?
Is it enough to generate financial returns for clients, or are we obliged to recognise our role in major issues such as climate change?
What does it mean to invest sustainably?
Our 2020 Thinking Ahead Breakfast Seminars delivered a series of short presentations to present the ‘best of’ the Thinking Ahead Institute’s research. Topics included:
Spectator or participant? The investment industry and climate change
Climate change is not a side effect. It is a direct consequence of us treating the atmosphere as a costless sink for our waste. Climate science suggests we have 10 years to change the trajectory of carbon emissions. Will the investment industry passively spectate, or get involved? We issue a call to action.
The ‘why’ behind the ‘how’: purpose and value creation in the investment industry
Are purpose and value in the eye of the beholder, or can they be described objectively? We propose a broad-based and long-term definition, and explore some of the tools available to organisations to better define, measure and monitor value created.
The investment organisation of tomorrow
As the pace of external change accelerates, investment firms face disruption on multiple fronts. The implications are wide-ranging and fundamental affecting business models, people and operating models as well as investment models. We describe the practical steps firms can take to prepare for an uncertain future.
The total portfolio approach
Developments in the philosophy and execution of portfolio allocation at several leading global organisations are resulting in processes that are more tied to goals, more joined-up and more dynamic. We describe the advantages – and the challenges – of the total portfolio approach.
The reinvention of defined contribution
DC arrangements worldwide represent over $20tn, but there are weaknesses: goals are ill-defined and governance structures are frail. The system is changing in areas such as retirement income, member engagement and the emergence of multi-employer platforms. This session explores the drivers shaping DC’s future.