Two AIC seminars in London and Birmingham are putting alternative assets centre stage
The AIC is often asked by advisers and wealth managers to run more training on alternative assets. Interest has only increased in recent years, following the suspensions of several open-ended property funds after the EU referendum and of course the events of recent weeks, which have focused attention on which fund structures are right for which assets.
In response to this demand, the AIC is running two seminars in the autumn focusing on property, private equity, infrastructure and debt. The free training events are aimed at advisers and wealth managers who wish to understand more about these asset classes and how to access them using closed-ended investment companies. Just over a third of investment company assets (£65 billion) are invested in property, infrastructure, private equity and less liquid forms of debt. Over the past ten years, the majority of new funds raised by investment companies through IPOs and secondaries has been in these sectors and others that invest in illiquid assets, such as leasing and royalties.
While advisers and wealth managers recognise these trends, they quite rightly want to get a better understanding of the risks of these asset classes as well as the benefits. These seminars will explain how managers of closed-ended funds seek to cherry-pick the very best opportunities in illiquid asset classes.
Hosted by Nick Britton, Head of Intermediary Communications, the seminars will be held in Birmingham on 18 September and in London on 10 October. A portfolio manager representing each of the four alternative asset classes (debt, infrastructure, private equity and property) will speak at each seminar.
The seminars are designed to provide at least 2 hours 15 minutes of structured CPD and are endorsed by the CISI. Their learning objectives are as follows:
• Identify some of the main opportunities and risks presented by four alternative asset classes (direct property, private equity, infrastructure and illiquid debt) and the roles they might play in portfolios • Explain how closed-ended investment companies access these asset classes • Understand the specific strategies of four portfolio managers investing in these asset classes
The BIRMINGHAM seminar will be held on Wednesday 18 September 2019, from 11.30 to 14.30, at the Marriott Forest of Arden, Maxstoke Lane, Meriden CV7 7HR. The guest speakers are: Jason Baggaley (Standard Life Investments Property Income), Phil Kent (GCP Infrastructure Investments), Andrew Lebus (Pantheon International) and Pietro Nicholls (RM Secured Direct Lending).
The LONDON seminar will be held on Thursday 10 October 2019, from 09.00 to 12.00, at the ICAEW, One Moorgate Lane, London, EC2R 6EA. The guest speakers are: Ron Miao (Hadrian’s Wall Secured Investments), Emma Osborne (ICG Enterprise), Chris Tanner (John Laing Environmental Assets) and Steve Windsor (Supermarket Income REIT).
Spotlight readers who wish to reserve a free place at one of the seminars can book via the AIC website, or by contacting Debra Gibbons on 020 7282 5572 or by email.
Online training on property and private equity investment companies is also available on the AIC’s website within Learning Zone, the organisation’s e-learning portal. A further course on infrastructure investment companies will be released soon.
All of the AIC’s online training is free of charge and accredited by professional bodies, the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI) and the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII).