Markets and geopolitics are shifting quickly in 2026. Equities have hit record highs, gold has swung sharply, and doubts persist over the durability of the ‘AI bubble’. You are helping your clients to navigate a very different investment landscape from that of the last decade. WealthSelect Portfolio Managers, Stuart Clark and Helen Bradshaw, will examine the forces reshaping the global landscape and what they mean for portfolio construction. They will explore whether traditional investment principles remain fit for purpose, and outline how to maintain a disciplined, long-term approach when unpredictability becomes the norm.

By the end of this session, attendees will understand:

• The forces driving current market and geopolitical volatility.
• How this environment differs from the past decade and its implications for portfolio construction.
• How we’re navigating conditions within the WealthSelect portfolios - managing both challenges and opportunities.

Darwin observed that survival doesn’t belong to the strongest — it belongs to those that adapt. Today’s investment environment is shifting rapidly: geopolitics, economic transitions, and technological change are constantly reshaping markets. In this world, investment approaches built on fixed assumptions risk becoming outdated. In this session, AJ Bell Investments will explore why adaptability is becoming a critical investment advantage. Discover how our MPS combines experienced human judgement with powerful technology to stay flexible, challenge old assumptions, and respond to change. In an industry facing constant disruption, advisers should ask: is your MPS provider built to evolve — or built for yesterday’s markets?

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the current drivers of market change, including geopolitics, economic transitions and technological shifts.
• Explain how an MPS that combines experienced human judgement with technology supports better decision making and flexibility.
• Understand the benefits of a MPS provider that is “built to evolve”.
  

Markets rise. Markets fall. Headlines panic. Clients call. Whilst uncertainty can be uncomfortable, it’s also where opportunity lives. In this session, Mike Coop, Chief Investment Officer at Morningstar, shares how to construct robust portfolios; designed not just to withstand market downturns, but how they should continue to reach your clients goals.

This session will cover:

· How to build portfolios to withstand a range of outcomes.

· Real world examples of how the team’s turned volatility into opportunity.

· Helping clients stay invested when emotions run high.

Walk away with ideas to strengthen client conversations and communicate how Morningstar’s portfolios are built to perform, whatever the headlines say. Because the goal isn’t just to survive volatility, it’s to work with it.

By the end of this session, attendees will be able to:

· Understand how market volatility creates opportunities and why it should be viewed as a strategic advantage rather than a threat.

· Develop stronger client communication skills to help investors stay calm, remain invested, and understand how Morningstar’s portfolios are built to perform through booms and busts.

· Learn how to construct robust, resilient portfolios that can withstand a wide range of market conditions and continue to deliver on your clients expectations.

Most retail portfolios are constructed with the blinkered view that bonds are boring – but they don’t have to be. Whilst many DFMs have focused on government and corporate bonds to diversify and dampen volatility from their main return driver (equities), institutional investors view credit differently. They utilise a broader toolkit to access alternative areas – such as asset-backed securities – to allow credit to complement equities better by adding additional yield, alternative risk drivers, and enhanced downside protection. All of which can improve client outcomes in the more traditional wealth space. 

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this session, you will be able to explain, state or describe, the different types of credit available to investors, the opportunities and potential risks, and how they can be utilised in portfolio construction

In a rapidly expanding MPS market, strong foundations matter more than ever. Legal & General’s Model Portfolio Service is built on the strength of one of the UK’s most established multi asset franchises, taking institutional focused asset allocation, fund selection and risk management to deliver robust and repeatable outcomes. In this presentation, we will cover why robust governance, discipline in asset allocation and the choice of the right investment partner is critical to delivering consistently strong client outcomes.

The modern financial adviser faces a structural paradox: outsourcing portfolio management to a MPS creates scale and consistency but externalising this core function can inadvertently outsource the firm's investment narrative and dilute the perceived value of your stewardship. In this session, we will explore how advisers might look to AI within a well-designed investment proposition to access the benefits of MPS and satisfy the demands of Consumer Duty while delivering a unique and compelling value proposition.