09:00 – Registration & Networking Breakfast
Warm-Up & Early Networking
09:30 – Welcome & Opening Remarks, Introducing The Starting Line-Up
Anna Macdonald, Investment Strategy Director, Hargreaves Lansdown
09:40 – Kick-Off, The Macro Map for 2026
Johnny Hughes, Investment Director, M&G Investments
10:00 – Manager’s Playbook, Scaling a Modern Investment Proposition
Rory McPherson, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director, Magnus Discretionary Fund Management
10:20 – Tactical Innovation, Fund Design in the Age of AI
Panel Discussion featuring:
11:00 – Half-Time Oranges and Networking
11:20 – From Kick-Off to Mass Adoption, Institutional Crypto Takes the Field
Fiona King, Managing Director, Brava Finance
11:40 – Group Stage, Emerging Markets
Michael Bourke, Fund Manager, Global Emerging Markets, M&G Investments
12:00 – Group Stage: Emerging Markets, Enduring Income, A High Dividend Strategy for Today’s Investors
Rahul Sharma, Portfolio Manager, Executive Director, Cullen Capital Management
12:20 – Closing Remarks, Final Whistle, Key Takeaways for 2026
12:30 – Networking Lunch, The Fan Zone
Anna Macdonald is Investment Strategy Director at Hargreaves Lansdown. She has spent the bulk of her career investing in UK Equities, at Henderson Investors and Amati Global Investors.
She also led investment research at Adam and Company. She is a frequent commentator on the BBC, Reuters, Bloomberg and LBC and a trustee of the think tank Enlighten, as well as a NED for Landbay.
Johnny is Head of the Global Equity & Multi Asset Investment Specialists and an Investment Director for the Global Equity funds.
Johnny joined M&G in January 2024 and has over 20 years’ financial markets experience. Johnny started his career in 2000 at investment bank Merrill Lynch before joining UBS in 2010 as a Managing Director running their Global Equity Sales and Multi-Asset Sales teams. He also led the Content distribution team. Johnny has an MA in Economics from the University of Cambridge and an MBA from Imperial College, London.
Rory is the Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director of Magnus. He is responsible for the construction and implementation or our investment process, management of the model portfolios and overall business growth.
Rory has previously grown and run award-winning Multi-Asset Funds (at Russell Investments) and more recently served as Head of Investment Strategy at Punter Southall Wealth.
Oliver is Managing Director of HyYield, a dynamic marketplace transforming how industrial metals, sustainable aviation fuels, and feedstock commodities are traded. He leads the development of robust transparency, compliance, and risk-aware trading protocols, using AI-enhanced insights and structured rulebooks. Oliver’s work bridges finance, operations, and technology to support efficient global commodity flows and stronger defences against fraud and market manipulation.
Alex is a Fund Manager at Heptagon Capital, having joined in January 2011. His primary responsibility is managing the Heptagon Future Trends strategy. Along with regular thematic articles, Alex also produces the Future Trends blog and writes Heptagon’s monthly View From The Top macro commentary. Alex started his finance career in 1997. Prior to joining Heptagon, he held senior roles at J.P. Morgan and Friedman Billings and Ramsey, after earlier positions at Hoare Govett and Credit Suisse, where he became a top-ranked analyst. Alex has a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Worcester College, University of Oxford and a Master’s in English Literature from Queen Mary College, University of London. Alex also has an Honours Diploma in Wine and is a published novelist.
Will joined Brooks Macdonald as Chief Investment Officer in April 2026. He previously spent over 20 years at Barclays, holding roles such as CIO of Barclays Investment Solutions, CIO of Barclays Wealth & Investments and, most recently, head of multi-asset wealth. Will brings 20 years of experience in global portfolios, equities, sector allocations, investment strategies, and investment management for high and ultra-high net worth individuals.
Fiona has over 25 years of experience in the Asset Management industry, with 20 years in Traditional Finance focused on alternative investments, hedge funds etc and more recently, nearly 6 years in Digital Assets. She is currently Managing Director at Brava Finance, which is a Digital asset Manager focused on digital yields, where she heads up Institutional clients.
Previously she worked at Laser Digital, the Digital Asset Manager owned by Nomura, as Global Head of Sales. Fiona has also worked at Rothschilds as Director and Head of Global Sales for their UCITS Alternative Platform. She comes with a wealth of experience and is passionate about Digital Assets and Blockchain technology.
Michael Bourke was appointed fund manager of the M&G Global Emerging Markets Fund in October 2018. Michael joined M&G in 2015 and before this, spent 10 years as an emerging markets equities analyst and portfolio manager for Legg Mason and FPP Asset Management. He previously worked at Deutsche Bank in roles related to equity derivatives trading. Michael has a BSc in Computer Science and Accounting from the University of Manchester and an MSc in International Banking and Finance from Heriot Watt University.
Rahul has been in the investment business for more than 20 years. He joined Schafer Cullen in 2000 as a Research Analyst and became a Co-Portfolio Manager on the International, Emerging, and Global Equity strategies in 2001. Prior to joining Schafer Cullen, he worked in small business management.
Mr. Sharma received his B.A. in Mathematics from the College of William and Mary in 1994.
