Please note: programme is subject to change
Programme
Register and fuel for an exciting day ahead with coffee and pastry in hand - gain first access to the exhibition hub - start making valuable connections and reacquaint with friends and familiar faces.
A warm welcome and look at the day ahead with the editor of Professional Adviser.
Keith Richards - the 2026 winner of Professional Adviser's Outstanding Contribution to the Advice Industry - gets straight to the heart of where the advice profession is heading.
We discuss what ‘good’ really looks like in 2026? How firms can move beyond compliance to achieve genuine cultural change. How you attract new talent into the profession to serve an increasingly diverse client base. And, in an era of AI-driven automation, how advisers can protect the human empathy that remains their greatest competitive advantage.
By the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
- Identify practical strategies that leverage regulatory frameworks as a catalyst for cultural change and enhance long-term client outcomes and firm reputation.
- Formulate a roadmap for broadening a firm’s reach to underserved and diverse client demographics.
- Evaluate the strategic integration of technology without eroding the high-touch trust-based human relationships.
Many advisers can sense that the world is changing rapidly. Yet most portfolios still reflect old assumptions. Clients expect confidence, but few advisers feel comfortable predicting what comes next.
This talk explores those conflicts.
Rather than offering forecasts, it challenges advisers to reframe the problem and focus instead on the hallmarks of durability in investing. By examining proven tools for organisational survival (design, incentives alignment and mindset), it offers a more robust way to guide clients through the current environment of exceptional change and uncertainty.
By the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
- Explain the limitations of forecasting in investment advice: articulate why reliance on prediction can increase investment risk, and how alternative approaches may improve long-term outcomes.
- Use valuation discipline to support better client decision-making: apply valuation frameworks to mitigate the behavioural risks associated with investor greed and fear.
- Position advice within a long-term stewardship framework: demonstrate how reframing the adviser’s role around long-term stewardship can help clients remain invested and achieve more sustainable outcomes.
With a blend of audience engagement and expert panel insight – we will benchmark where the industry stands on AI in 2026, how it is expected to reshape the advice landscape in the future, and we learn how leading adopters are building AI strategies, to drive record profitability, that are technologically advanced and human centred.
By the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
- Identify practical use cases for AI and automation beyond meeting notes, from client segmentation to compliance.
- Learn how to assess tech providers and avoid common pitfalls in an immature and fast-moving market.
- Understand the regulatory landscape around AI use, including risk management and data governance.
- Explore how to embed AI into your business model without losing the personal touch that clients value.
Be part of the buzz and engage with fellow attendees over a cup of coffee in the exhibition hub - discuss your challenges with exhibitors to find out how they can help and catch up on latest news and updates.
Stream 1
Stream Chair: Katrina Lloyd, Editor-in-Chief, Professional Adviser, Investment Week, and COVER
After an extraordinary period in which AI linked names dominated market attention, we are now beginning to see early signs of rotation—where leadership is broadening out and new beneficiaries of the AI build out are emerging. This next phase is less about hype and more about fundamentals, as AI diffuses into financial services, healthcare, infrastructure and industrial supply chains, where productivity and investment impacts are becoming tangible.
In this environment, quality active management plays a crucial role in separating genuine structural winners from companies whose fortunes were lifted mainly by AI related enthusiasm. Our internal research highlights how firms across financials and healthcare are already embedding AI directly into processes, workflows, and product development, creating new and investible long term growth drivers.
At the same time, our multi asset positioning is grounded in a rigorous, repeatable investment process focused on risk first, strong balance sheets, durable business models, and alignment with structural trends rather than short term narratives. This framework is designed to help portfolios remain resilient through shifting market regimes.
Put simply, as leadership evolves beyond early AI winners, active multi asset portfolios are well placed to manage risk, identify emerging opportunities and guide clients through the next phase of market recalibration.
By the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
- Why active management matters during periods of rotation — explain how leadership changes create both risks and opportunities, and how a risk aware, fundamentals driven process supports more stable long term outcomes.
- How AI’s real economy impact is reshaping market drivers — describe the shift from early AI linked performance to broader adoption across sectors such as financial services, healthcare and scientific tools, and why this requires discriminating stock selection.
- How our process strengthened portfolio positioning — outline how reviewing every holding through this lens improved clarity, conviction and risk alignment, and how advisers can communicate these decisions to clients.
In 2026, markets and geopolitics are shifting at remarkable speed. Equity markets have seen record highs, gold has surged and retreated, and questions continue to surface around the durability of the so called “AI bubble”. Against this backdrop, investors are navigating a world that feels very different from the last decade. In this session, Marcus Brookes, Chief Investment Officer at Quilter, will examine the forces reshaping the global landscape and what they mean for investment decision making. He 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 be able to:
- Understand the key geopolitical and market factors driving current volatility and how these differ from the environment of the past 10–20 years.
- Recognise the potential risks and opportunities arising from themes such as elevated equity markets, commodity swings and rapid technological change.
- Apply a clear, principles based investment approach suited to navigating uncertainty and supporting long term client outcomes
As the financial advice landscape shifts from investment selection to holistic financial planning, Managed Portfolio Services (MPS) have become the engine room of the modern advisory firm. However, the "one-size-fits-all" approach is rapidly disappearing.
Our panel of experts will dissect the current MPS ecosystem to evaluate the merits and trade-offs of the different solutions and discuss how these best align with the operational scalability of your business and needs of your clients. We will explore how current regulation is re-shaping the investment proposition, and we will analyse the key drivers shaping these managed services to predict where MPS is headed next.
By the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
- Analyse the structural differences between MPS types to determine the best fit for your firm’s DNA.
- Map your investment proposition against current regulatory expectations to ensure robust compliance.
- Identify emerging trends, such as ESG integration and tech-driven personalization, to future-proof your client offerings.
Stream 2
Stream Chair: Jenna Brown, Deputy Editor, Professional Adviser
The advisory sector is undergoing significant change in 2026, driven by regulatory reform, shifting adviser demographics, and evolving client expectations. Regulators are increasing their focus on consumer protection, product governance and demonstrating greater transparency. At the same time, for some, succession planning continues to be a priority as many advisors’ approach retirement, creating pressure on firms to put structured, future proofed plans in place to protect client continuity and business value. Despite these challenges, 2026 presents opportunities. Changing market conditions, demographic trends, wealth transfer and the pace of technology development can open the door for firms to differentiate through operational efficiency and stronger client engagement. Vanguard can support advisors through delivery of investment solutions, practice management expertise, and tools designed to help firms scale effectively and deliver improved outcome.
By the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
- Analyse adviser challenges by identifying core drivers, risks, and operational implications,
- Understand how these insights can be applied to inform day to day business practice, long term planning and effective client engagement strategies.
- Describe how Vanguard’s investment solutions, and practice management can support address advisers’ evolving needs by aligning challenges with appropriate resources.
This session explores how wealth advisers can demonstrate and evidence value amid evolving consumer expectations and regulatory change. We’ll combine fresh insights from our Meaning of Value research with the Advice Guidance Boundary Review (AGBR) and the Targeted Support (TS) framework, showing how clearer rules, greater transparency and improved client understanding can strengthen adviser propositions. We’ll highlight the human impact of advice in a tech enabled world, why a better supported and financially resilient society increases demand for guidance, and how previous ambiguity created provider inertia that AGBR and TS now aim to resolve.
The era of "pensions as the ultimate IHT wrapper" is ending. With the government confirmed to bring unused pension pots into the taxable estate by April 2027, and a new £2.5 million cap on 100% Business Property Relief (BPR) arriving in April 2026, financial advisers face a fundamental shift in how they must structure client wealth.
This panel brings together experts to explore the current IHT environment, the behavioural dynamics behind client decisions, and the practical strategies advisers can use to deliver clarity, confidence, and meaningful long term outcomes.
By the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
- Understand how the 2026–2027 reforms are reshaping core estate planning.
- Implement practical, client ready strategies to mitigate emerging IHT risks.
- Support clients to make informed decisions on intergenerational planning.