Room151’s 5th LGPS Investment Forum

Aoifinn joined London CIV from US-based wealth management firm Moneta, where she was CIO. She has extensive experience in senior investment roles including as head of investment for Ireland at Hermes Fund Managers, and CIO for the Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago. Recent experience also includes independent adviser roles to four local authority pension funds in the UK, as well as other investment committee positions.

Originally from Ireland, Aoifinn spent her early career working in London as an investment banking associate at Goldman Sachs International and a specialist consultant at Cambridge Associates Limited. She also founded Clontarf Capital, a pan-alternatives research and consulting firm.

Aoifinn is a licensed attorney, who has been a member of the New York Bar since 1996. She earned her law degrees from Trinity College Dublin and Oxford University. She also earned her MBA from INSEAD in France and MSc in Applied Neuroscience from Kings College London.

Aoifinn also hosts and produces The Fiftyfaces Podcast, which showcases diversity and inclusion within the investments industry and other professions.

Jim McMahon was appointed Minister of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 6 July 2024. He was elected as the MP for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton in July 2024.

Paul leads the Schroders Capital’s UK Institutional Team, where he has a particular focus working with Local Authority Pension Pools and underlying Partner Funds.  

Prior to joining Schroders in April 2021, Paul worked at BMO Global Asset Management, Nordea Investment Management and Amundi Asset Management over the previous 20 years, where he was again responsible for the UK Institutional Business with a focus on LGPS and  UK Corporates. Paul has been involved in LGPS industry groups including the Investment Management Association LGPS Pool working group. 

Paul was awarded an MA in Economics and Politics from Aberdeen University, holds the Investment Management Certificate and is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers.

Iain leads Hymans Robertson’s investment consulting advice to LGPS funds. In this role, Iain covers the vast array of challenges clients face, including investment strategy, pooling and responsible investment. Iain’s experience spans over a decade, including time spent working within the LGPS as an inhouse investment manager at Greater Manchester Pension Fund.

Iain loves building strong relationships with his clients and prides himself on his ability to communicate clearly, taking the endless complexity and jargon within the investment world and distilling it into easily understandable language for his clients.

Henrietta Pacquement is a senior portfolio manager and the head of both the Global Fixed Income team and the Sustainability team at Allspring Global Investments. She is responsible for the portfolio management of the climate transition credit strategies and the Global and European investment-grade strategies. She also leads the Sustainability team, delivering value for investors by tackling environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks; climate and decarbonization; positive impacts; and investment stewardship. Henrietta joined Allspring from its predecessor firm, Wells Fargo Asset Management (WFAM). Prior to her current role, she served as head of the European investment-grade business for the Global Fixed Income team in London. Before that, she was a portfolio manager, and earlier she served as a quantitative analyst. Prior to joining WFAM, Henrietta was a quantitative analyst at Barclays Global Investors. She also served in a similar role at AXA Investment Management, where she began her investment industry career in 2001. Henrietta earned a master’s degree in astrophysics from Cambridge University. She has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) designation.

Phil Triggs has been Tri-Borough Director of Treasury and Pensions for Westminster City Council, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham since December 2017, having worked in similar roles at Surrey County Council from 2012, Warwickshire County Council from 2003 and Buckinghamshire County Council from 1999.

He has worked in local government finance over his entire career, previously specialising in revenues collection and rating valuation at Havant Borough Council and qualifying as a Chartered Accountant at Chichester District Council.

He is a keen cyclist and marathon runner (has completed the six World Majors).

Jo has worked in the public sector since 1999, firstly in Further Education, then in Local Government; 16 years as Pension Fund Manager for the Isle of Wight Council, before transferring in April 2024 to Head of Pension Fund for the Royal County of Berkshire Pension Fund. A strong advocate for the smaller fund, and now for those who aren’t quite 100% funded, Jo is passionate about the success of the LGPS for members, employers and funds.

Erick joined Muzinich in 2015.  His responsibilities cover macro and fixed income markets strategy and product management as well as client relationships across institutions, global distribution platforms and global private banks.  Erick joined Muzinich from JP Morgan AM, where he spent nearly 4 years as a Senior Client Portfolio Manager.  Prior to that he spent over four years as Head of Fixed Income Product Management of Fidelity Worldwide Investment and before that was Global Head of Capital Market Research at Credit Agricole CIB for eight years.  Erick started his career in finance as a European economist as HSBC and UBS with a particular focus on the eurozone preparation and creation.  Erick has an MBA in Finance – Marketing from the ESLSCA Business School and a degree in Economics from the Universite Pantheon-Assas.

Piers Hillier is Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at Jupiter Asset Management, with overall
responsibility for investment strategy and the leadership and development of the firm’s
investment teams. He is a member of the Jupiter Asset Management Board and its Strategy and
Management Committee.

Piers has over 30 years of experience in the industry and previously served as CIO at Royal
London Asset Management and LV= Asset Management, and held senior leadership roles in
equities at Kames Capital, WestLB Mellon Asset Management, Deutsche Asset Management
and Schroders.

He has also held board positions across Europe and Asia. Piers is a Chartered Accountant
(ACA), a CFA Charterholder, a Chartered Director (IoD), and an alumnus of Oxford University
and Bristol University

Seth Meyer is Global Head of Client Portfolio Management at Janus Henderson Investors, a position he has held since 2024. In this role, Seth leads the global equity and fixed income client portfolio manager (CPM)teams where he is responsible for driving the commercial strategy of the asset classes. Additionally, he has been a portfolio manager on the US Fixed Income Team since 2015. Seth was promoted from an analyst to assistant portfolio manager in 2012. He became head of fixed income strategy in 2022. Seth joined Janus in 2004 as a product manager covering a variety of equity and fixed income strategies before becoming a credit analyst in 2005. Prior to Janus, he was a consultant relations manager at Oppenheimer Funds. Seth received his bachelor of science degree in business administration with a concentration in finance from the University of Colorado. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and has 26 years of financial

Dr. Beck-Friis is a senior vice president and economist in the London office, focusing on Europe. He helps craft the firm’s economic and monetary policy outlook and contributes to quarterly economic forums. He is also a member of the research group of the European portfolio committee. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2017, he worked at Goldman Sachs in New York and London. He has 12 years of macro research experience and holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Oxford. He received his undergraduate degree in mathematics and economics from the University of Edinburgh.

Prior to this role, he served as Deputy Fund Manager of HECF since September 2017. During this period the Fund almost tripled in size and affirmed its ESG leadership in the European Real Estate market. Simone Pozzato joined Hines from Grosvenor Fund Management, where he was Fund Manager for two separate accounts while being also responsible for transactions in the Nordics. He holds a MSc in Real Estate from Henley Business School (UK), a MSc and in Strategy and Management from Essec Business School (France/Singapore) and a MSc in Industrial Engineering from Politecnico of Turin (Italy).

Bruno Berretta is research lead at Clarion Partners Europe (CPE) with over 15 years of experience in economic and property market analysis. In his current role, Bruno supports the firm with investment decisions, fundraising, and provides valuable guidance to investors regarding market opportunities and risks. His expertise and thought leadership on themes and trends directly shape the firm’s strategy.
Prior to joining CPE, Bruno held research roles at esteemed organizations such as CBRE, Colliers, and Cushman and Wakefield. With a strong passion for data science, he has acquired proficiency in utilizing BI tools and techniques, including R Studio, to enhance the efficiency, incisiveness, and visual appeal of his research.
Bruno holds two master’s degrees in international economics from Paris Sorbonne and Paris Dauphine universities. He has lived, studied, and worked in four different countries and he is fluent in three languages: Italian, French, and English. Outside of his professional pursuits, Bruno is an enthusiastic football player and enjoys strumming the guitar during his free time.

Theodore (Teddy) Bunzel is the Head of Lazard Geopolitical Advisory (LGA), providing market-relevant geopolitical analysis. He has a background in international political, economic affairs, and financial services. Teddy previously worked at BlackRock, with roles in Corporate Strategy and policy management. He also worked for former U.S. National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski and at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and U.S. Treasury. Teddy holds degrees from Yale, Stanford Business School, and Johns Hopkins’ SAIS, and is on the Board of the American Ditchley foundation. Read Teddy’s full biography here.

Ronald Temple is the Chief Market Strategist for Lazard’s Financial Advisory and Asset Management businesses. In this role, Ron provides macroeconomic and market perspectives to Lazard’s investment teams on a firmwide basis and works closely with Lazard’s Geopolitical Advisory group to assess economic and market implications of key geopolitical issues globally. Ron also advises clients of Lazard’s Asset Management businesses regarding macroeconomic and market considerations that are important to achieving their objectives. Previously, Ron was the Head of US Equity and Co-Head of Multi-Asset Investing for Lazard Asset Management. In this role, Ron was responsible for overseeing the firm’s US equity strategies, Multi-Asset investing, as well as several global equity strategies. He was also a Portfolio Manager/Analyst on various US and global equity teams. Ron joined Lazard in 2001 as an equity analyst with ten years of global experience including fixed-income derivative trading, risk management, corporate finance and corporate strategy in roles at Deutsche Bank AG, Bank of America NT & SA, and Fleet Financial Group in London, New York, Singapore, San Francisco, and Boston. Ron has an MPP from Harvard University and graduated magna cum laude with a BA in Economics & Public Policy from Duke University. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, The Bretton Woods Committee, the Economic Club of New York, the CFA Society New York,and is the chair of Duke University’s Graduate School Board of Visitors.

Angus is Chief Executive Officer of Stafford Capital Partners and is responsible for all aspects of the business, working across strategy formulation, team development, relationship management and investment evaluation.

Prior to Stafford Angus worked as a direct investor in the private equity and venture capital markets. He started his career with Thompson Clive & Partners, a life sciences and technology private equity firm with investments in Europe and the US. He then co-founded Solon Ventures, a UK venture capital firm.

He received an MA in Law from Cambridge University.

Patrick O’Hara serves as the Director of Responsible Investment at LGPS Central, where he leads the team responsible for ESG integration and stewardship. His role involves overseeing the monitoring and due diligence of external managers’ responsible investment activities, as well as engaging with policymakers and investee companies on the pool’s core engagement themes.

Before joining LGPS Central at the beginning of 2021, Patrick headed up ESG integration in Public Markets at USS Investment Management. Prior to that, he was an ESG Analyst at Aviva Investors, where he developed extensive experience in ESG and risk analysis. Patrick’s ability to incorporate ESG risk factors into investment risk reporting has been a valuable asset to his roles.

With over 20 years of experience in the investment management industry, including more than a decade focused on ESG, Patrick’s expertise is increasingly vital as climate concerns and sustainable finance become central to investment decisions. He is responsible for overseeing the internal ESG metrics at LGPS Central, ensuring that the company invests responsibly while meeting client investment objectives.

Patrick holds a degree in Economics and Public Policy, as well as an MSc in Sustainable Development from Surrey University’s Centre for Environment and Sustainability.

Antti Ilmanen is a Principal and Global Co-head of the Portfolio Solutions Group at AQR Capital Management. In this role, he manages the team responsible for advising institutional investors and sovereign wealth funds and develops the firm’s broad investment ideas. Prior to joining AQR, Antti spent seven years as a senior portfolio manager at Brevan Howard and a decade in a variety of roles at Salomon Brothers/Citigroup. He began his career as a central bank portfolio manager in Finland. Over the years, he has advised many institutional investors, including Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation. Antti has published extensively in finance and investment journals and has received a Graham and Dodd award, the Harry M. Markowitz special distinction award, and multiple Bernstein Fabozzi/Jacobs Levy awards for his articles. He has written two books, Expected Returns (2011) and Investing Amid Low Expected Returns (2022). He also received the CFA Institute’s 2017 Leadership in Global Investment Award. Antti earned M.Sc. degrees in economics and law from the University of Helsinki and a Ph.D. in finance from the University of Chicago.

Leandros is the Chief Investment Officer of West Yorkshire Pension Fund (‘WYPF’), which has approximately £18bn of assets and 300,000 members. He leads a large investment team directly investing across public, private and alternatives markets, alongside the collaborative partnerships in infrastructure though GLIL and in private equity through NPEP. He was most recently Head of Portfolio Solutions at abrdn and Head of Credit at USS, and started his career in banking and alternatives firms.

Leandros has an MBA from INSEAD and an MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford

Neil leads the £5bn+ Surrey Pension Fund, with over 110,000 members and more than 300 employers. Surrey is part of the Border to Coast asset pool, nearly qualifying as the “Coast”.

The Surrey Fund has been acknowledged for outstanding approach to risk management and governance in recent years and continues to strive for new ways to innovate and collaborate. It has also been recognised for its excellence in sustainable investing, winning accolades at the Pensions Age Awards, the LAPF Awards and the Public Finance Awards.

Neil is a member of the PLSA Policy Board and Local Government Committee. He is also an independent member of the Local Pension Board at his old stamping ground, the London Borough of Hounslow.

He is the father of twin 18 year old boys and a long suffering supporter of Queens Park Rangers. The inability to watch them live during lockdown was a blessing.

Emmanuel is an experienced Investment professional who joins LPF from TPT Retirement Solutions, a pension fund consolidator where he has spent the past seven years as deputy CIO, managing multiple schemes across strategic portfolio construction, investment manager selection for all asset classes and reporting to stakeholders. Prior to TPT, Emmanuel spent over ten years at the in-house investment management arm of the National Grid UK pension scheme, latterly as head of alternative investments.

Emmanuel began his career in 1994 at Credit Lyonnais Securities with responsibilities for interest rate derivatives trading, moving on to similar roles at ANZ Investment Bank and subsequently HypoVereinsBank. Prior to joining the National Grid UK pension scheme Emmanuel worked at Gulf International Bank where he was responsible for managing a systematic investment programme.

Emmanuel holds a masters in engineering from École Centrale Paris and graduated from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris. He is also a CFA charterholder.

Richard is CIO at LPPI and has responsibility for management of all investment and client activity.

Richard has more than 20 years of investment experience. Prior to joining LPP in 2017, Richard was Head of Portfolio Advisory (EMEA) at Albourne Partners for six years where he advised European investors on alternative investments, portfolio construction and risk management. Earlier in his career, Richard was Head of Multi-Strategy at Old Mutual Asset Managers and prior to this an analyst at GNI Fund Management. Richard holds a degree and a master’s degree in Engineering from the University of Cambridge and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst.

Andrew is a client relationship manager. He joined Baillie Gifford in 2022. Andrew previously worked at the UK Ministry of Defence. He completed an MSc in Asian Politics at SOAS University of London and graduated with a BA(Hons) in History from the University of Cambridge.

Mr. Hulme serves as co-portfolio manager of the U.S. Balanced Convertible Strategy and portfolio manager for the Global Balanced Strategy. Prior to joining Advent in 2002, Mr. Hulme was a portfolio Manager at Van Eck Global Asset Management, where he co-managed global emerging market equity funds. He previously worked as an investment analyst at Peregrine Asset Management and was a Deputy Manager of the Financial Markets Group at PriceWaterhouse. Mr. Hulme is a graduate of Cambridge University and is an Associate of the UK Society of Investment Professionals. Mr. Hulme is also a member of the Association of Chartered Accountants, which is the U.K. equivalent of a Certified Public Accountant.

Mark Gayler is Head of Investments at Devon County Council. Mark heads up the investment team responsible for overseeing the £5 billion Devon Pension Fund, as well as undertaking treasury management for the council. Mark is a CIMA qualified accountant and has the CFA Certificate in Investment Management. Mark is also one of the Vice-Chairs of the Brunel Client Group.

Mark has over 30 years of experience within local government, working firstly for Essex County Council in an accountancy role until 2008 and subsequently for Devon County Council. Mark moved to the Investment Team in 2010, initially as Deputy Investment Manager, before taking up his current role in 2013.

Christian leads Heim Global Investor’s growth into the UK market, as well as leading on investment strategy, financing, sourcing, underwriting, deal execution, and governance in the UK Group business.

Before joining the Sponsor Group, Christian worked for 10 years at DTZ Investors, a pan-European Real Estate Investment Manager. During his time at DTZ Investors, Christian held numerous roles, concluding as Head of Residential. In this role, Christian was responsible for the launch of a GBP 1 billion co-mingled residential development fund. Christian was also responsible for establishing a residential operating platform and brand to manage the completed assets.

Christian holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Manchester, and a M.Sc. in Property Investment & Finance from London South Bank University

Nicholas leads the UK and Irish investment team at
Kartesia, investing across the Credit Opportunities, Senior and Impact
strategies and sits on Investment Committee. He has over 19 years of experience
in leveraged finance. Prior to joining Kartesia in February 2020, he was
Director, Structured Finance at Santander Bank where he was responsible for
leading transactions and helping to develop the UK franchise. Prior to this, he
was Associate Director, Acquisition Finance at Lloyds Banking Group and Senior
Analyst at Bank of Scotland where Nicholas started his career. Nicholas holds
an MSc (Distinction) in International Banking and Finance and a BSc in Politics
and International Relations from University of Southampton.

Michael is an investment manager at South Yorkshire Pensions Authority (SYPA), a Local Government Pension Scheme with c£10.5bn of AuM and part of the Border to Coast pool. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing the selection and performance of managers within the Authority’s UK impact portfolio, which consists of private market and alternative assets. Additionally, he conducts due diligence for investments made outside of the pool. Furthermore, he takes the lead on climate and stewardship reporting to advance SYPA’s ambitious target of achieving a net zero target for the investment portfolio. Having previously worked in the energy sector, and with a background in renewable energy, he has a keen interest in the energy transition and security of energy supply.

Michael is a CFA® Charterholder and holds a Bachelor of Engineering and a Master’s degree from Loughborough University in Renewable Energy Systems Technology.

Since 2022 Nick has led the £6 billion Avon Pension Fund, which serves c.140,000 members in the public sector across Bristol, Bath and surrounding areas.

Prior to joining the Avon Pension Fund, Nick advised private sector wealth platforms on their pensions & investment proposition. He was CIO of Aegon UK from 2013-21, focused on DC workplace pensions. And from 2001-13 Nick was Marketing Director for wealth & pensions platform Quilter.

Nick read PPE at Oxford University and gained an MBA from Columbia Business School, New York.

Alex leads the natural capital investment strategy. Alex joined Octopus Capital from Savills, where he was Head of Natural Capital (Rural and Projects), spearheading the development and delivery of innovative solutions for landowners, investors, and policymakers. His expertise spans carbon markets, biodiversity, and water. With over 15 years of experience in investment banking, venture building, and environmental consulting, Alex is a seasoned professional in natural capital, regenerative agriculture, and climate finance.

Emma has spent the past decade working for Legal & General in a variety of Distribution roles, including most recently as Head of Public Markets Solutions Distribution. Emma is currently working as a Client Director within the Strategic Client team and has responsibility over a portfolio of UK Institutional clients following a range of investment strategies. Emma joined LGIM in 2014 from Barclays, where she held a role in fixed income distribution covering global hedge fund clients. Emma graduated from the University of Manchester with a degree in physics and philosophy.

Sherilee is Managing Director, Head of LGPS and UK Pensions on the Business Development team.

Prior to joining Pemberton, Sherilee spent 11 years as part of their Business Development Team at Insight Investment, the latter 9 years looking after the Local Authority Pension Scheme relationship. She successfully built the LGPS business across individual Funds and their Pools, whilst supporting them with asset class training and ESG reporting. Her understanding of the sector and what is important to them has been key in this success.

She holds the CFA ESG Certificate.

Guy is a Managing Director and Head of Capital Raising & Distribution within the Working Capital Finance team at Pemberton. He is responsible for coverage of non-institutional clients and asset managers together with providing product support for the institutional client coverage teams.

He brings over 25 years of investment and corporate banking experience within fixed income and trade finance, covering origination, portfolio management, syndications and trading. Prior to joining Pemberton in 2021, Guy was a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank and Global Head of Risk & Portfolio Management, responsible for global trade finance portfolio and all the syndication and hedging activities for that book.

Guy started his career at Morgan Grenfell in Hong Kong, and then subsequently moved to Deutsche Bank in London, where he held a number of positions in the trade finance team. In addition, he held EXCO roles for the Trade Finance & Lending business and the Corporate Bank UK.

Guy holds a BSc from King’s College, London University.

guy.brooks@pembertonam.com

+44 (0)770 635 3283