This session will introduce our newly launched paper in conjunction with Professional Pensions looking at the evolving role of investment governance for DB pension schemes. We will explore how the Fiduciary and Consultancy models can impact investment decision making, support with increasing regulatory demands, ensure cost transparency, and ultimately improve long term outcomes for scheme members.

The talk will highlight emerging trends, prominent risks and the practical considerations trustees face when selecting or reviewing their investment advisory framework. Attendees will gain a balanced, evidence based understanding of where different governance models deliver value and where the key differences truly matter, supporting more confident, informed governance decisions for their scheme’s future.

The conversation about insurer selection is undergoing a dramatic shift. Where discussions were once dominated by whether a scheme could afford buy-out, strong funding positions are now pushing qualitative judgement to the forefront. Trustees are increasingly conscious that insurer selection is a governance and moral one, determining who will be responsible for members long after their oversight has ended.

This session examines the qualitative considerations trustees are now prioritising beyond the premium, and how boards are navigating responsibility, judgement and long-term member outcomes in an increasingly irreversible decision-making environment.

This session will address:

• The qualitative factors trustees should assess before selecting an insurer
• How trustees evaluate long-term member outcomes they will no longer oversee
• What is lost at insurance and how that should inform pre-transaction decisions
• How trustees test insurer philosophy, run-off approach and service resilience
• How boards evidence and defend qualitative judgement as good governance

As DB schemes navigate the transition toward endgame, the search for low-volatility, cash-flow-generative assets has intensified. While private credit is now a staple in many portfolios, Working Capital Finance remains a less understood area by many trustees.

This practical discussion, based on actual implementation, will focus on what working capital finance actually means, how it is implemented in practice and the role the asset class can play in DB journey plans.

Key discussion and learning points:

• Understand the basics of working capital finance strategies.
• Explore the rationale for such strategies in DB journey plans and how short-dated, self-liquidating assets can help meet funding objectives as schemes de-risk.
• Discover how a trustee board gained comfort with manager underwriting, fraud prevention, and collateral management.

This session provides an overview of the latest legislative and market developments which are set to make 2026 a pivotal year for the superfund market. We will also explore how the market may evolve over the next few years and what this means for trustees and sponsors setting their endgame strategy today.  

We will share insights from having advised on the two Clara transfers of schemes with solvent sponsors where the covenant link has been severed [Wates and Videndum]. And also give our views on how these transactions have challenged some of the preconceptions of sponsors, trustees and even the Pensions Regulator.

We will conclude by exploring how the supply and demand factors might play out over the next few years to shape the superfund market and what the market might look like in 2030 as a result – with new entrants and new models and with shifting perspectives on superfunds as an endgame option for trustees and sponsors.

What may arguably be one of the hottest topics of endgame, let’s talk about run-on! The new endgame route that has been transforming the landscape, yet there are still many questions to be answered – what does a good fit looks like, and what kind of governance is needed for it to be successful?

This session will address those pressing information gaps, first understanding what scheme characteristics make for a strong run-on and what governance structures need to be in place to ensure its success. We’ll unpack how to create resilience and value in the run-on, ensuring the journey is comfortable for all stakeholders.

This session will address:

• The scheme characteristics that make for a well-suited run-on
• Assessing funding strength and covenant durability
• The governance structures needed for sustainable run-on
• The important considerations of surplus release – understanding and aligning member and sponsor interests
• Creating resilience and value in the run-on and how to evidence value creation over time