The South West Wealth Forum, The Royal Crescent, Bath: A premium event for the UK’s top fund selectors in the South West and 10 leading asset managers.
Taking place on Thursday the 16th to Friday 17th October at the beautiful Royal Crescent Hotel, Bath, The Wealth Forum South West will bring together investment experts from 10 top asset managers with fund selectors, wealth managers and researchers for a day and a half of informative and insightful presentations.
Agenda
Day 1- Thursday 16th October
9:00- 10.00
Breakfast and Registration
10:00- 10:50
Welcome and Keynote
10:50- 11:00
Coffee Break
11:00-12:55
Fund Manager Presentations
13:00- 14:00
Lunch
14:05- 15:20
Fund Manager Presentations
15:20- 15:35
Coffee Break
15:35- 16:50
Fund Manager Presentations
17:00- 19:00
Check-in and free time
19:00- 19:30
Networking Drinks
19:30- 21:00
Dinner
Day 2- Friday 17th October
7:45- 9:00
Breakfast
9:00- 10:55
Fund Manager Presentations
11:00- 12:00
Refreshments and Departure
Content & Speakers
Guests will hear from 6 top fund manager speakers from a range of leading asset managers. All are experts, thought leaders, and industry innovators who will be sharing their insights and knowledge at the event.
Keynote Speakers
Geopolitical Update
Chairman, China Affairs
Sir Sebastian Wood
Schroders
Sir Sebastian Wood served as Britain’s Ambassador to Germany from September 2015 to September 2020. Before his posting to Berlin, he served as British Ambassador to China from 2010 to 2015. Sebastian joined the Diplomatic Service in 1983. After a posting to the British Embassy in Bangkok, he learned Mandarin at the beginning of the 90s before serving as a First Secretary in the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group in Hong Kong from 1992 to 1996 in the run-up to the handover of Hong Kong. He was Political Counsellor in Washington from 2001 to 2005 following US foreign policy in Asia. From 2005 to 2008 he was Asia-Pacific Director at the FCO (now Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) before undertaking a one year secondment to Rolls-Royce from 2008 to 2009. Before joining the Diplomatic Service Sebastian studied Mathematics and Philosophy at Magdalen College, Oxford.
Global Emerging Markets Equities
Emerging market equities: a world of undervalued, investment opportunities
Investment Director
Gabriel Sacks
Aberdeen
Gabriel is an Investment Director on the Global Emerging Markets equities team at Aberdeen. Gabriel joined the company in 2008 and is based in London but previously spent 5 years in Singapore from 2018 to 2023, where he was (and continues to be) focused primarily on Asian smaller companies. Gabriel is currently lead manager of the ‘abrdn Asia Focus’ investment trust and a pod member of the Global Emerging Markets (GEM) Income strategy and the GEM Smaller Companies strategy. During his time in Singapore, Gabriel was the lead manager of the Asian Smaller Companies fund (until December 2022 just prior to his return to London) and was a pod member of a number of other dedicated Asian and GEM strategies. Gabriel graduated with an MA (Hons) in Land Economy from Selwyn College, Cambridge University and is a CFA charterholder.
Emerging Markets Debt
The opportunity in Emerging Markets debt and the need for active management in this space.
Senior investment specialist – emerging markets
Priyank Shah
Amundi Investment Solutions
Priyank joined Amundi in 2021 and is based in Amundi’s London office. In his current role, he is part of the EMD investment team that represents the company’s range of EM Fixed Income investment capabilities, strategies and market views to clients globally.
WS Canlife North American Fund
US
The North American Fund seeks to generate returns from a wide range of stocks, sectors, countries, styles and economic sensitivities to target positive risk adjusted outcomes. This helps with our aim to generate consistent incremental returns over time whilst seeking to avoid significant drawdowns. This can compound into better returns than many funds which often have overt stylistic bias.
Senior Fund Manager, Global Equities
Bimal Patel
Canada Life Asset Management
Bimal joined Canada Life Asset Management's equities team in September 2013. He is co-manager of the WS Canlife Global Equity Fund, WS Canlife North American Fund and WS Canlife Asia Pacific Fund and segregated mandates following similar strategies. He is also works with the multi-asset team to manage the WS Canlife Diversified Monthly Income Fund. Bimal holds a BSc in Mathematics with Economics from the London School of Economics and is a CFA Charterholder.
M&G Global Dividend Fund
Head of Income Team
Stuart Rhodes
M&G Investments
Stuart joined M&G in 2004 as a global equity analyst, with a particular focus on US equities. He has managed the M&G Global Dividend Strategy since its launch and currently leads the income team, which oversees approximately $10 billion in global and regional strategies.
Asia (ex-Japan) Equities
With expectations still at depressed levels for Asia, we believe that even a modest improvement has the potential to deliver a significant re-rating and outperformance versus world equities. The environment exists for this to happen, and we feel that many investors risk missing the opportunity if allocations to the region do not increase.
Managing Director, Discretionary Equities
Nick Wilcox
Man Group
Nick Wilcox is a Managing Director for discretionary equities at Man Group. He is responsible for coordinating business development, product development, marketing and client service efforts across discretionary equity strategies. Nick joined Man Group in 2024. He was previously at JP Morgan for 19 years, where he served as APAC Head of Investment Specialists based in Hong Kong. In this role, he led a team of client portfolio managers, and acted as a client facing spokesperson focusing on global equities. He holds a bachelor’s degree in management science from the University of Southampton.
Global Bond markets
Nedgroup Investments Global Strategic Bond fund
Co-Portfolio Manager of the Nedgroup Investments Global Strategic Bond fund
David Roberts
NedGroup Investments
This year may well have delivered some of the maddest moments in markets I’ve seen in over 30 years,” says David Roberts, co-manager of the Nedgroup Investments Strategic Bond Fund. In this timely and thought-provoking session, David will challenge common myths around bond investing and offer a clear-eyed perspective on what truly matters for investors navigating turbulent markets. Drawing on recent volatility, he’ll explore how uncertainty can be harnessed to uncover opportunity and build portfolio resilience.
Global Bonds
Portfolio Manager
Charlie Watford
Pimco
Mr. Watford is an executive vice president and portfolio manager in the London office, focusing on high yield and multi-sector credit opportunities. He is a member of the diversified income, high yield, and credit research teams. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2007, Mr. Watford was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company and an investment banking analyst at Morgan Stanley. He has 21 years of investment experience and holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds a master's degree in chemistry from the University of Oxford.
Value's vindication: Why the best returns lie ahead
After a decade in which value strategies significantly trailed growth, many observers declared the end of value investing. Yet just five years on, value has staged a powerful recovery across key regions, proving that reports of its demise were premature. Redwheel’s Value and Income team will demonstrate that 2010–2020 was the exception rather than the rule, why value remains a vital component of a balanced portfolio, and why some of the strongest opportunities for returns may still lie ahead.
Portfolio Manager, Redwheel Value and Income Strateg
Ian Lance
Redwheel
Ian joined Redwheel in August 2010 to build the Redwheel UK Value and Income Team together with Nick Purves. He started working with Nick at Schroders in 2007 before joining Redwheel in August 2010. Whilst at Schroders he was a senior portfolio manager managing the Institutional Specialist Value Funds, the Schroder Income Fund and Income Maximiser Fund together with Nick.
Quality Growth: Patience is Powerful
At Seilern we are patient, long-term public equity investors focused on high quality growth companies. We take our time finding businesses with superior, durable earnings growth and low or no debt. We are intellectually tenacious and immerse ourselves in analysis and debate to build insights into the best investment opportunities. We are independent and independently minded and not afraid to go against the consensus to get the right answers. Few companies get through our rigorous investment process which means our portfolios are high-conviction and contain just 17-25 stocks.
Research Analyst & Portfolio Manager
Michael Faherty, CFA
Seilern Funds
Michael is a Research Analyst and Portfolio Manager at Seilern Investment Management Ltd (SIM). As a member of the Investment Team, he is responsible for conducting fundamental research for companies within the Seilern Universe, as well as prospective additions. He joined SIM in 2016. Prior to that, he worked in the US Equity team at J.P. Morgan Asset Management and at J.P. Morgan Chase as a graduate analyst. Michael holds a Law degree from University College Cork and a Masters degree in Finance from Trinity College Dublin. He is a CFA charterholder.
Wellington Credit Total Return Fund
Actively managed long-only cash and bond fund seeking long-term total returns by investing primarily in a global portfolio of US Dollar-denominated treasury, corporate, high yield and emerging markets fixed income instruments.
Investment Director
Paul Skinner
Wellington Management
As an investment director in Investment Product and Fund Strategies, Paul works closely with fixed income investors to help ensure the integrity of their investment approaches. This includes meeting regularly with investment teams and overseeing portfolio positioning, performance, and risk exposures as well as developing new products and client solutions and managing business issues such as capacity, fees, and guidelines. He also meets with clients, prospects, and consultants to communicate our investment philosophy, strategy, positioning, and performance.
Chairman
Editor
Julian Marr
Wealthwise
Location
The Royal Crescent Hotel, BA1 2LS
For Sat Navs use: BA1 2LS
Frequently asked questions
We’ve addressed some frequently asked questions below to help clarify any details you may need. If you have any additional inquiries or require further assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Sam, who will be more than happy to assist you with any specific concerns or queries.
Is there a cost to attend the event?
There is no cost for delegate attendees
Is accommodation included?
Accommodation for delegates is provided for the night of Thursday, ensuring a comfortable stay during the event.
Is there any transport to the event included?
The venue is easily accessible from Bath railway station, with convenient shuttle services available for delegates. To ensure smooth transportation, please inform Sam of your expected arrival time, and she will be happy to assist in coordinating your shuttle or provide any additional support you may need.
Contact us
To register as a delegate or information on attending the event, please contact Phillippa Coats. For information on future sponsorship, other events or the website please contact Sam on the details below.
