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.
  

The need for robust portfolios is never more acute than during times of uncertainty and volatility. This investment approach leans on it’s 900+ strong research and investment team to create portfolios designed to withstand a range of outcomes to deliver more predictable returns for your clients. Hear how this investment approach gives your clients the confidence they need to keep calm and stay invested.

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.
  

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.

Too often sidelined as a standalone product, protection is a vital pillar of comprehensive financial advice—yet many clients remain underinsured and unaware of its strategic value. In a landscape shaped by Consumer Duty, vulnerability awareness, and intergenerational planning, advisers must reframe protection as a proactive tool for financial resilience. This session explores how to integrate protection meaningfully into wealth conversations, ensuring clients are safeguarded across life stages.

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

• Learn how to position protection as a core component of long-term financial wellbeing, not just a transactional sale.
• Discover techniques to embed protection into cashflow modelling, estate planning, and vulnerability support.
• Explore how to tailor protection conversations to different client segments, from young families to business owners.
• Understand how to meet Consumer Duty expectations by evidencing fair value and suitability in protection advice.
  

This talk will focus on the inclusion of private market assets in a client portfolio to enhance portfolio diversification and long-term returns. Offering you an understanding of who these funds are appropriate for, ways to educate clients on the suitability of private markets, and the products and platforms that provide best access.

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

• Provide clients with an overview of private market asset classes, characteristics and benefits.
• Explore the different routes to access and incorporate private markets in client portfolios.
• Ensure you can engage and educate clients on their suitability.
  

Clients are increasingly turning to AI tools to find financial advice—so how do you show up in their search? This session explores how firms can optimise visibility, credibility, and digital presence in an AI-driven discovery landscape.

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

• Learn how AI tools like ChatGPT and Copilot are influencing client search behaviour. 
• Discover how to optimise your firm’s online footprint for AI and search engines. 
• Understand how to manage digital reputation through reviews, content, and compliance.
• Explore how to future-proof marketing strategies for AI-enhanced client journeys.

The UK financial advice sector faces a talent crisis driven by an ageing workforce and the disappearance of traditional entry points. For small and medium-sized firms, the fear of investing time and resources in new talent only to see them leave is a major barrier to addressing the skills gap and succession planning. As the advice profession evolves, firms face mounting pressure to attract fresh talent, equip them with relevant skills, and foster long-term career engagement. In this panel discussion we speak to the very best in the businesses and learn their secrets for creating a culture and workplace that reflect the future of financial planning, and where the where the next generation of advisers will thrive.

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

• Discover proven outreach strategies to engage students, career-changers, and access diverse and non-traditional talent pools.
• Learn how to design training pathways that blend technical competence with emotional intelligence and client-centricity.
• Explore retention techniques that align with Gen Z and millennial values, including flexibility, purpose, and progression.
• Understand how to embed inclusive culture and mentorship to future-proof your firm’s talent pipeline.
  

Retirement is no longer a fixed destination—it’s a dynamic phase shaped by longer lifespans, evolving client goals, and shifting regulatory landscapes. Advisers must navigate complex decumulation strategies, rising client expectations, and the emotional dimensions of later life. This session explores how to deliver retirement planning that’s holistic, adaptable, and aligned with modern realities.

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

• Learn how to structure flexible retirement income strategies that balance sustainability, tax efficiency, and client lifestyle.
• Explore how to incorporate longevity risk, health costs, and changing family dynamics into retirement planning.
• Understand how to use behavioural insights to support confident decision-making in the decumulation phase.
• Discover ways to align retirement advice with Consumer Duty by evidencing value, suitability, and client understanding.
  

As more clients enter retirement, firms are recognising that accumulation focused CIPs no longer provide the stability, risk control, or income framework needed during decumulation. This seminar explores why 2026 marks the shift toward Centralised Retirement Propositions (CRPs) - purpose built to manage sequencing risk, income volatility, and longevity challenges. We’ll show how trend following strategies help protect retirement portfolios from deep drawdowns by adapting to market conditions, thereby reducing the biggest threat to sustainable withdrawals. We also examine how investment journey smoothing - through risk managed approaches and diversified return sources - creates steadier performance, improves client confidence, and supports more predictable income planning. Attendees will leave with a clear view of how CRPs, enhanced by trend following and smoothing techniques, create a more resilient, compliant, and client friendly retirement experience - far beyond what a traditional CIP can deliver.

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

• Understand why decumulation requires a purpose-built CRP framework and how trend-following strategies help mitigate sequencing risk.
• Learn how smoothing techniques can stabilise the retirement investment journey, improve behavioural outcomes and support sustainable withdrawals.
• Explore how combining CRPs, trend following, and smoothing can create a more robust, compliant, and client friendly retirement proposition than a traditional CIP.

When approaching retirement a persons wealth is likely at, or close, to its peak. At this time, financial objectives likely pivot from growth to income, or to passing that wealth on to future generations. Our presentation will begin by articulating the risks that a client faces as they begin their retirement journey. Encouragingly, many advisers now consider natural income solutions a cornerstone to their CRP, and our presentation will begin by reminding us why. But is natural income confined only to the role of generating income to spend, or are there other ways in which this type of income solution can be used? And are all income funds created equally? As the title suggests, we will share some innovative ways which may challenge a perception that income funds are only to be found in a CRP, and that they may have a much wider role to play in helping to meet the varying needs that customers face throughout their financial journey. We’ll then conclude our session with a practical checklist, helping you to identify income funds that are fit for purpose.

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

• Explain key risks when planning for retirement and how natural income can help.
• Consider alternative roles that a natural income solution can play.
• Describe how to perform robust due diligence on an income fund.
  

Retirement planning is no longer just about drawing an income. It’s about balancing three competing risks: longevity (outliving the pot), sequencing (markets falling early while withdrawals begin), and inflation (protecting spending power). In this session, David Rolland (Investment Specialist) shares a practical framework for building a resilient “regular retirement income” using a flexible, multi-asset, global approach. We compare annuities and drawdown through the lens of income reliability versus capital flexibility, show why stabilising income can matter more than stabilising capital, and explore how diversification and dividend growth can help support real income over time.

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

• Identify the three key decumulation risks (longevity, sequencing, inflation) and select a practical mitigation action for each during the session.
• Evaluate retirement income approaches using a simple trade-off framework (income reliability, inflation resilience, capital flexibility) and explain the preferred option for a given client scenario during the session.
• Explain two ways a global approach can support a growing retirement income and identify one practical implication for portfolio construction.
  

Our survey says: advisers who start estate planning conversations earlier unlock more strategies, build deeper relationships and deliver better client outcomes.

In a rapidly evolving estate planning landscape following the Autumn 2024 Budget, starting sooner has never mattered more. Join this session to reveal the top answers on where advisers are getting stuck - plus, we'll discover how the right estate planning strategies and intergenerational engagement can move clients into action.

Estate planning is no longer just about tax efficiency—it’s about helping clients shape meaningful legacies, navigate family dynamics, and protect wealth across generations. With rising complexity in regulation, client expectations, and intergenerational needs, advisers must deliver estate planning that’s both technically robust and emotionally intelligent. This session explores how to integrate estate planning into holistic advice that resonates with today’s clients.

In an era of economic recalibration and market volatility, technical competence is no longer the sole differentiator for high-net-worth clients. To provide truly "actionable insights" and "smarter outcomes," advisers must master the behavioural psychology that drives client decision-making. This session demonstrates how firm owners can embed behavioural finance into their service models to increase "wallet-share," manage client anxiety, and future-proof relationships through intergenerational transitions.

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

• Learn practical techniques to identify and "nudge" clients away from common traps like loss aversion and recency bias during market shifts.
• Discover how to use behavioural profiling tools to move beyond standard risk appetites and uncover deeper financial values.
• Gain strategies for managing the psychological friction often found in intergenerational planning and inheritance conversations.
• Understand how applying behavioural insights supports Consumer Duty requirements by demonstrating a deep understanding of client needs and vulnerabilities.

Social media offers powerful reach—but also regulatory risk. This session explores how firms can market confidently and compliantly, using digital channels to engage clients without crossing the line.

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

• Understand the FCA’s expectations around financial promotions and digital content. 
• Learn how to create compliant, engaging content across LinkedIn, Instagram, and beyond.
• Discover how firms are using influencers, video, and storytelling to build trust.
• Explore how to train teams and embed compliance into your marketing workflow.
  

Supporting vulnerable clients is no longer optional—it’s a regulatory imperative and a moral responsibility. From health and financial shocks to cognitive decline and bereavement, vulnerability can affect anyone, often unexpectedly. This session explores how advice firms can identify, engage, and support vulnerable clients with empathy, professionalism, and compliance, ensuring fair outcomes and lasting trust.

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

• Learn how to spot signs of vulnerability and embed proactive identification into your client journey.
• Discover practical tools and techniques to tailor advice and communication for vulnerable clients.
• Understand how to document and evidence fair treatment in line with Consumer Duty expectations.
• Explore how to build a firm-wide culture of empathy, inclusion, and psychological safety.