Professional Pensions Live 2026 - Programme

Welcome to PP LIVE. Please ensure you arrive with plenty of time to get settled and enjoy some refreshments before the opening remarks commence!

Welcome to Professional Pensions Live 2026.

Against a backdrop of continued geopolitical tension, shifting global power dynamics and an uncertain economic cycle, the investment landscape for pension schemes is being reshaped in real time. This opening session will bring an economist’s perspective on the key macro and geopolitical forces influencing markets, from interest rates and inflation to fiscal policy and global regime change. It will explore the risks and opportunities these trends present, and what they mean for pension scheme strategy in 2026 and beyond.

As sustainability and net-zero commitments become embedded across all industries, the key question for pensions is how meaningful progress is delivered in practice. This has created a growing need to rethink how sustainable investment is framed, applied and communicated.

This session explores the real role pension schemes play in the global push toward sustainability and net zero. It examines where pension funds can exert genuine influence through capital allocation and stewardship, where responsibility sits elsewhere, and how ESG goals are being translated into real investment and business decisions.

Rising funding levels, the Defined Benefit (DB) Funding Code and the 2025 Pension Schemes Bill are creating more complex endgame decisions for trustees. You may be considering running on for surplus, investing for greater certainty, or managing risk outside the insurance market.

This session explores how an insurer-style investment approach, including Cashflow Driven Investment (CDI), can support low dependency and run-on strategies. It also looks at the limitations of traditional risk measures, such as volatility and Value at Risk (VaR), and introduces alternative approaches focused on long-term outcomes and dynamic discount rates.

Join us to gain practical insights to support informed, confident investment decisions that balance risk, return and scheme objectives.

Time for the morning networking break. Grab a coffee & refreshment, network with your industry peers and explore the exhibition hall.

Time for the afternoon networking break. Grab a coffee & refreshment, network with your industry peers and explore the exhibition hall.

The pensions industry is undergoing extensive change, and navigating the next phase will require clear thinking amid shifting regulation, evolving endgame strategies, consolidation and rising expectations around governance and member outcomes.

This panel may not have a crystal ball, but it does bring together our pension prophets — an expert group of industry leaders discussing the emerging pressures, opportunities and longer-term shifts facing schemes, trustees and the wider industry. They will explore the themes most likely to shape the industry’s future, and the changes anticipated in how pensions are designed, governed and delivered.

We are delighted to welcome Sir Richard Shirreff former NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe and one of the UK’s foremost geo-strategic thinkers as our Closing Keynote Speaker.

In a world marked by geopolitical instability, Sir Richard brings a front-line perspective on how global power dynamics are shifting and why they matter. Drawing on decades of experience at the heart of international defence, he will explore how great-power rivalry, fragile alliances and escalating security risks are reshaping the global landscape. For a powerful big-picture close to PP Live, we will be reminded why understanding geopolitics is no longer optional, but essential, for long-term decision-making.

Thank you for joining us for another fantastic year of Professional Pensions Live. Safe travels!

Thank you for joining and please join us for a drink!