Workshops
Workshops
Artemis Funds (Lux) – US Smaller Companies
Olivia Micklem will discuss the team’s portfolio process, which focuses on the inherent uncertainties in markets, industries and economies to identify companies that have attractive upside returns, with a clear understanding of downside risks.
Workshop Objective: To highlight, using concrete stock examples, the attractive opportunities in the US smaller companies market and how investors can take advantage of them.
Company Profile: Artemis is a leading UK-based fund manager, offering a range of funds which invest in the UK, Europe, the US and around the world. As a dedicated, active investment house, we specialise in investment management for both retail and institutional investors.
Speakers
Olivia Micklem
Fund Manager
Olivia co-manages Artemis’ US Smaller Companies strategy with Cormac Weldon. She studied English Language and Literature at Oxford University, graduating in 2006. She joined Threadneedle as a graduate in 2007, working in distribution for four years before joining its US Equity team as an analyst, covering Consumer Staples. She joined Artemis in 2014 as an analyst, covering Consumer Staples and Healthcare, and became a co-manager of the US Smaller Companies strategy in September 2022.
Representatives
Thomas Eckert
Head of Sales, Switzerland
Thomas is Artemis’ Head of Sales in Switzerland. With over 20 years of experience in financial services, he has spent most of his career in banking, mainly with UBS and Julius Baer in different sales roles. Moving into asset management in June 2018, he was covering German-speaking wholesale clients at Legg Mason before joining Artemis in June 2021. Thomas has a MAS in Banking and Finance from the FHNW in Switzerland.
An Overview of HVPE and a View from Private Markets from HarbourVest
Speakers
Richard Hickman
Managing Director
Richard is responsible for the day-to-day management of HVPE. Richard works closely with HarbourVest’s investment team to manage HVPE’s asset allocation and exposures in line with the strategic direction set by the HVPE Board. Richard joined HarbourVest in 2014 after seven years with 3i plc. His experience also includes working as a manager in Deloitte’s finance and operations management team in London.
Representatives
Stephanie Hocking
Head of Investor Relations and Communications HVPE
Prior to joining HVPE, Stephanie was a Director, Investors Relations and Sales at abrdn, and a Vice President at Allianz Global Investors. Stephanie holds the Investment Management Certificate (IMC).
Do you have the temperament to be a contrarian value equity investor?
The recent bout of market volatility underscores the need to diversify investors’ equity exposure. In this session, we share how our contrarian value approach has unlocked opportunities since 1993 by:
1. Identifying undervalued companies with long-term growth prospects.
2. Maintaining an absolute return mindset focused on capital preservation.
3. Building a high-conviction portfolio of global names across varied sectors.
As investors prepare for falling rates and an economic slowdown, we will discuss the growing relevance of contrarian value investing, while staying clear of value traps.
Workshop Objective: A successful and enduring value-focused strategy starts with the best ideas not the index.
Company Profile: Nedgroup Investments is a global asset manager with over $20 billion in assets under management. At Nedgroup Investments, we believe that everyone should benefit from the difference that the best boutiques bring. As an investment-led company, we are dedicated to finding exceptional fund managers and providing the right conditions for them to excel. We cultivate decades-long relationships to enable managers and teams to thrive in the long term, offering our clients greater choice, better access, and deeper alignment with their investments.
We champion boutiques. We select excellence. We partner for decades.
Speakers
Nisha Thakrar, CFA
Product Specialist
Nisha Thakrar has been a Product Specialist at Nedgroup Investments since 2023. She has over two decades of experience working with investors across multiple asset classes. Nisha was previously with Capital Group, where she was most recently an investment specialist for the multi-asset solutions business. She holds a MEng (Hons) degree in Electronic Engineering with Computer Science from University College London. She also holds both the Investment Management Certificate and the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Representatives
Laetitia de Pastre
Client Solutions Lead
The best of both worlds - finding consistency in uncertain markets
The Royal London Global Bond Opportunities Fund invests in a broad spectrum of fixed income opportunities, encompassing investment grade, sub-investment grade and unrated bonds. The fund is diversified and unconstrained by a benchmark, and seeks to identify and exploit long-established inefficiencies in credit markets in order to provide consistent returns.
With bond yields currently higher than they were at the start of the year, and interest rate cuts now closer, we believe that overall government bond yields look attractive. Credit spreads remain at relatively tight levels, but in our view, continue to compensate credit investors for the risk of default. With exposure to both investment grade and high yield, and a focus on bonds with strong covenants and security, we believe this approach can provide a higher yield without taking the degree of risk generally associated with high yield funds.
Workshop Objective:
We will discuss:
• The current market backdrop and its impact on investors
• Our unique approach to fixed income investing
• The opportunities offered by the Royal London Global Bond Opportunities Fund
Speakers
Rachid Semaoune
Senior Fund Manager
Rachid joined Royal London Asset Management in February 2015 as a Credit Fund Manager within the Fixed Income team. Rachid joined from UBS Asset Management where he spent three years managing investment grade credit portfolios. Prior to this he was a deputy credit fund manager at Old Mutual Asset Management. Rachid began his investment career in 2001 at Gulf International Bank where he worked as a credit analyst and deputy fund manager. Rachid studied for a PhD in Physics at Imperial College London and holds a Postgraduate Degree in Laser Physics from the Université Paris 13.
Representatives
John Parkin
International Business Development Manager
John joined RLAM in 2022 and is responsible for developing client relationships and distribution in continental Europe. He has 16 years’ experience in financial services, and joined from Western Asset, where he headed the Wholesale Channel for UK & Europe. Prior to this, John worked at Aegon Asset Management, and helped to develop the European distribution capability where he was latterly Country Head for Switzerland.
Head of Wholesale
Phil Reid
Phil is Head of Wholesale at RLAM. Prior to this he spent nine years at HSBC Global Asset Management where he was most recently Head of UK Wholesale. In addition, Phil had responsibility for the EMEA distribution of the ETF proposition.Prior to his roles at HSBC, Phil was Sales Director at Close Asset Management and has 20 years’ experience in the financial sector.
When and How to Invest in Megatrends?
The AI revolution is just getting started, presenting exciting opportunities for investors. At WisdomTree, we anticipate several groundbreaking developments in AI technology that will move markets over the next 6-12 months. How can investors capitalise on this emerging megatrend?
Megatrends offer long-term growth opportunities, but knowing when and how to invest in themes like AI is challenging.
Join WisdomTree for a discussion on our outlook for thematic investing, highlighting 7 must-watch trends in AI. The discussion will include:
• The drivers behind a more favourable macroeconomic backdrop for AI and related themes
• Our 7 predictions on key technological developments in AI and their potential implications for investors
• The value proposition for the WisdomTree Artificial Intelligence UCITS ETF and our multi-thematic solution, the WisdomTree Megatrends UCITS ETF
Workshop Objective: The aim of this session is to discuss WisdomTree’s outlook for thematic investing, focusing on the 7 most important trends in AI, and to explore WisdomTree’s unique AI and multi-thematic ETFs.
Company Profile: WisdomTree was founded in 2006 with a passion for creating better ways to invest, being the first investment manager to weight by dividends. Since 2014, our European business has grown in terms of product set and AUM. In April 2018, we completed the acquisition of ETF Securities' exchange-traded commodities, currencies and short-and-leveraged business, including the world’s first gold ETP. Today we are the biggest independent ETP provider globally and offer one of the most innovative ranges of ETPs, covering commodities, FX, equities, fixed income, cryptocurrency and liquid alternatives.
Speakers
Mobeen Tahir
Director, Macroeconomics and Thematic Research
Mobeen is a member of WisdomTree’s research team where he focuses on a wide range of asset classes to offer strategic and tactical insights on global markets and investment products.
Before joining WisdomTree in 2018, Mobeen worked at Willis Towers Watson as an investment consultant.
Mobeen has a BSc (Hons) in Accounting and Financial Management from Loughborough University and an MSc in Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics. He is also a CFA Charterholder.
Representatives
Johannes Kammann
Director, German Speaking Region
Johannes Kammann joined WisdomTree in 2015 and is Director of Sales in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.He began his career as a consultant on hedging strategies, advising in on interest rates and currency derivatives with Finance Active in Paris. Johannes then moved into sales with Commerzbank in Frankfurt and worked on the distribution of their mutual funds.
Johannes holds a master’s degree in finance from University Panthéon-Sorbonne in Paris.
Anita Kozina
Senior Associate, German Speaking Region
Anita Kozina joined WisdomTree in 2021 and covers clients in Germany, Austria and German speaking Switzerland. Before joining WisdomTree, Anita was an Account Manager at ICIS, a global commodity intelligence service. She started her career at Tradeweb, a leading electronic marketplace operator.
Anita holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Mannheim, Germany and a Master of Arts in Business Psychology from Kingston University, London.