Room151’s LGPS Investment Forum 2025

Steven has had a long and distinguished career as an economist and macro portfolio manager. He was an Economic Adviser at the UK Treasury, and Head of Global Markets Research and Chief Economist of Deutsche’s investment Bank. He also has investment experience, having been head of Multi Asset at Morgan Grenfell after which he ran a successful global macro hedge fund which he continued on rejoining the asset management industry in a firm which became Columbia Threadneedle Asset Management, where he was also Chief Economist. Steven has economics degrees from the London School of Economics and Stanford University.

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.

Keith Patton is Head of Global Rates. Keith joined Columbia Threadneedle through the acquisition of BMO GAM (EMEA) in 2021, having previously been with BMO since 2012. Keith has over 30 years’ fixed income and asset allocation experience holding senior positions in some of the leading investment managers, including Deutsche Asset Management and Aberdeen Asset Management. Prior to joining the group and after a brief period at Brevan Howard (the macro hedge fund) he became the global head of fixed income for UBS Wealth Management in Zurich and a member of the global asset allocation committee within the investment office. Keith graduated in 1989 from South Bank University in London with a BA (Hons) in Business Studies (specialising in Finance) and completed the Investment management program at the London Business School in 1991.

Alex has worked for the Norfolk Pension Fund since 2004.  A chartered accountant by training, he qualified with Ernst & Young and gained client exposure to a diverse range of corporate pension schemes with the firm. 

He leads on Norfolk’s funding and investment activities and is an active participant in the work of the ACCESS Pool, which remains very much a collaborative effort between its member funds.

Mr. Harrison is a senior advisor to PIMCO’s U.K. portfolio management team. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2025, he spent nine years at BlackRock as a portfolio manager and head of research for the multi-asset strategies group, managing assets across global macro, ESG, and climate strategies. From 2022–2023 he chaired the new Economic Advisory Council to help stabilize the U.K. economy. From 2010–2015 he was chair of the U.K. Council of Economic Advisors and served as chief of staff to Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne. Mr. Harrison is a regular commentator on economics, politics, and financial markets in both written and broadcast media, and his academic research has been published in the American Economic Review and the Economic Journal. He has nine years of investment experience and holds a Ph.D. in economics from University College London.

Will became Chief Investment Officer in September 2025 having formerly been Head of Fixed Income and Private Assets. Will joined Royal London Asset Management in October 2023.

Previously, Will was at M&G Investment Management for 19 years latterly as CIO, Private and Alternative Assets, responsible for managing global teams investing in private debt, property, and private equity as well as other businesses.  Will has also worked at Henderson Global Investors, Cazenove & Co and the civil service.

Will has an MA in Natural Sciences from Trinity College, Cambridge and is a CFA charterholder.

Mr. Felices, PhD is a Principal and Global Investment Stategist at PGIM based in London Mr Felices is responsible for designing macro-based investment strategy across asset classes. Prior to joining the Firm in August 2021, Mr Felices was Head of Investment Strategy and a member of the Multi-Asset Investment Committee at BNP Paribas Asset Management. Previously, he was Head of Asset Allocation Research for Europe at Barclays, having joined in 2011 as Head of Foreign Exchange Strategy for Europe. Earlier, he was a Senior Global Macro Strategist at Citi (2007-2011) and a Senior Economist at the Bank of England (2002-2007). During 2016, Mr Felices was a Research Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science. His research has been published in books and academic journals and his commentary has appeared regularly in the global financial press. Mr Felices holds a PhD and an MA in Economics from New York University (Fulbright Scholar) and he received his BA in Economics from Universidad del Pacifico in Lima, Peru.

Tom Ross is Head of High Yield at Janus Henderson Investors, a role he has held since 2022. In this role, Tom is responsible for leading investment strategy and portfolio management of the firm’s high yield franchise. He has served as a portfolio manager on the Corporate Credit Team since 2006. Prior to portfolio management, he specialised in credit trading on Henderson’s centralised dealing desk. He joined Henderson in 2002.

Tom graduated with a BSc degree (Hons) in biology from Nottingham University. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and has 23 years of financial industry experience.

Will leads Border to Coast’s equity investment team. He joined the LGPS pool in 2022 and has 23 years’ investment experience, having previously worked for Aviva Investors where he was Head of Emerging Market Equities. Prior to joining Aviva in 2009, Will worked at the Royal Bank of Canada and Henderson Global Investors. He is a CFA Charter holder and a Cambridge University graduate.

April joined Insight in September 2008 and leads the Investment Specialist Team. April joined Insight from F&C Investments where she was a portfolio manager responsible for managing UK, US and global government bond portfolios. Prior to this, she was in government bond and derivative sales at Lehman Brothers. April began her career as a government bond portfolio manager at Newton Investment Management. April graduated with a BA in Economics from Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts, United States and an MBA from City University Business School in London. She is also an Associate of the CFA Society of the UK.

Edward Harrold is an investment director at Capital Group. He has 18 years of industry experience and has been with Capital Group for 11 years. Prior to joining Capital, Edward worked as an associate in RBS Global Banking & Markets at the Royal Bank of Scotland. He holds a bachelor’s degree with honours in international relations from the London School of Economics. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.

Mr. Mcilrath is a senior vice president and product strategist in the London office, focusing on alternative credit. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2024, he worked for Apollo Global Management in their product team and was responsible for alternative credit solutions for insurance, family office, and pension investors across EMEA. Previously, he worked for J.P. Morgan’s credit team, focused on sponsor origination in Europe. He has 11 years of investment experience and holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Nottingham, U.K. He is a CFA charterholder.

Ben joined Baillie Gifford in 2011 and is an Investment Specialist Director for the Global Alpha strategy. He previously qualified as a Chartered Account and worked for several years in San Francisco with a variety of clients in the Asset Management industry. Ben returned to Scotland to take up a role in Private Equity. Ben is a CFA Charter holder and graduated in Economics from the University of St Andrews in 2000.

William has worked in institutional asset management for 40 years, including three spells in Tokyo.  Since 2009 he has been advising public sector funds and currently acts as independent advisor to three LGPS funds.  He also acts as independent chair of the Lancashire County Pension Board.  He has a Masters in Finance from the LBS, and is Director of Linchpin Advisory Limited, providing advisory services on investment and governance.   William has three millennial and one Generation Z children and lives with his wife in Kent.  Outside work he plays bridge competitively and spends most of his spare time looking after and occasionally sailing a 55-year-old wooden boat on the River Medway.

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.

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.

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.

Mark Lyon is Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, one of the largest LGPS pools in the UK responsible for the management of £38.3bn. He oversees the management of the internal equities, fixed income and private markets investment functions. Mark has more than 20 years’ experience in investment management and is a CFA Charterholder. He was previously the Head of Investments for the Derbyshire and East Riding local authority pension funds. Prior to working in investment management, Mark worked in Corporate Finance and Audit for BDO Stoy Hayward where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant.

CIO of NextEnergy Capital, Ross joined the company in 2013 and has successfully led NextEnergy’s UK investment and operations, deploying approximately £2bn across public and private funds focused on renewable energy infrastructure. With over a decade of experience in the UK solar sector, he has overseen the acquisition and management of over 100 operational assets, totalling more than 1GW in capacity, while driving the development of an additional 500MW of solar and storage projects.

Ross has been instrumental in shaping the company’s M&A strategy and fostering key joint ventures and development partnerships. He is also a champion of sustainability, spearheading NextEnergy’s biodiversity program and delivering industry-leading ESG outcomes for the NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF) and NextPower UK ESG.

Tom joined the Federated Hermes Infrastructure team in 2023 and has over 20 years of corporate finance experience, with a focus on the infrastructure sector. As a member of the senior leadership team, Tom will contribute across corporate finance, asset management and investor relations providing specialist input into debt capital market activities and utility investment. Tom has previously worked in leadership and advisory roles both in industry and investment banking. He is a CFA Charterholder and holds a BSc in Economics & Mathematics from the University of Bristol.

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).

Julian is a Managing Director at Russell Investments where he engages with consultants and intermediaries who provide governance services to both LGPS and private sector investors.  He has over 20 years’ experience in the LGPS investment space, from various stakeholder perspectives: as an officer at Nottinghamshire LGPS, as an investment consultant advising LGPS schemes, and as an asset manager investing LGPS client capital. 

Julian has a particular interest in private markets, his experience includes: setting-up the private equity portfolio at Nottinghamshire, working on local private market programmes at the forerunner of the British Business Bank, and he is currently a Director of the Welsh Pension Pool Private Credit Fund.

Heather is Managing Director, Institutional Business and a member of the GHAM Board. Heather held the position of Head of Institutional Business from May 2018 to April 2021. Prior to joining Gresham House, Heather spent seven years at Fidelity International, latterly as Head of Institutional Distribution for UK & Ireland. She previously held business development and client relationship positions at BankInvest, Capital International and Gartmore where she held roles focussed on U.K & Ireland and Nordic institutional investors.

Heather has 24 years of financial experience and holds a BA (Hons) in Politics from Durham University and the Investment Management Certificate from the CFA Society of the UK.

Paul is a qualified actuary with over 25 years experience in institutional investment. After starting his career in life insurance he moved into investment banking working over a 13 year period at a number of banks on derivative based solutions for asset managers, private banks and life and pension funds. In 2008 he joined the then Watson Wyatt, now Willis Towers Watson as a Senior Investment Consultant. He then went on to join SEI’s fiduciary management business in 2014. In 2022 he took retirement but in early 2023 took a role at West Midland’s Pension Fund  in charge of Investment Strategy for their over £20billion fund.

Beverley is Founder and Managing Partner of Clean Growth Investment Management, a venture capital fund manager that  invests in the UK’s most promising early stage cleantech companies that have the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. She is also CEO of Carbon Limiting Technologies (2006), a cleantech consultancy for corporates, financiers, government officials and SMEs. Prior she was she was a founder and Vice President, Shell Technology Ventures. 

Beverley is a thought leader in early stage cleantech investments and commercialisation with over 40 years’ experience in the international energy sector. She specialises in accelerating innovation to market and scaling companies by providing strategic insights, developing industry partnerships and identifying novel ways to overcome barriers to entry. Her ambition is to create a better, sustainable world and she firmly believes that this will be achieved through climatetech innovation playing a transformative role in the global economy. In 2023, Beverley was awarded an OBE by His Majesty King Charles III for services to Net Zero innovation. She is a NED and Chair of Investment Committee at Great British Energy and previously an independent member of the UK’s cross-government Net Zero Innovation Board chaired by the chief science advisor, Dame Angela McLean. Beverley is a Fellow of the Energy Institute. She holds a BSc in Mining Geology from University College Cardiff.

Stephen is co-Managing Partner of Stafford’s Timberland team and is responsible for client services, investment sourcing and due diligence.

Stephen was previously the Forest Business Manager for Willmott Forests where he managed large afforestation and acquisition projects.  He was also a senior consultant at URS, specialising in plantation management, timberland appraisals and due diligence.

He holds a Bachelor degree in Forestry from the University of Melbourne.

Mark leads our vertically integrated platform in Europe overseeing investment, development and operations in eight markets. He works closely with our in-country leaders in in Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Netherlands, and the UK to deliver a superior product for consumers and drive returns for investors.

Since 2013, Greystar has grown exponentially delivering purpose-designed and thoughtfully amenitised buildings at scale for multifamily, young professional and student housing.

Prior to joining Greystar in 2014, Mark was the Group Executive Commercial Director of Thames Valley Housing (TVH) where he was responsible for originating and managing the company’s joint venture vehicles. He was also a founding Director of Fizzy Living, the sovereign wealth fund-backed multifamily subsidiary of TVH, subsequently acquired by Greystar in 2021.

Dan Batterton is the Head of Housing at L&G, with over 20 years of experience in the property sector. His expertise in portfolio strategy has shaped L&G’s long-term acquisition, development, sustainability, and operational plans for the residential sector. L&G’s residential platform has successfully implemented strategies across various tenures, including build-to-rent, single-family housing, student accommodation, later living, and affordable housing. Dan has launched several new strategies during his time at L&G, notably the Build-to-Rent platform in 2015, which has grown to over £4 billion and nearly 10,000 apartments across the UK. Additionally, Dan has been instrumental in securing co-investment opportunities from UK and international partners to enhance the UK’s housing supply.

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.

Alex has worked for the Norfolk Pension Fund since 2004.  A chartered accountant by training, he qualified with Ernst & Young and gained client exposure to a diverse range of corporate pension schemes with the firm. 

He leads on Norfolk’s funding and investment activities and is an active participant in the work of the ACCESS Pool, which remains very much a collaborative effort between its member funds.

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.

Paul is a qualified actuary with over 25 years experience in institutional investment. After starting his career in life insurance he moved into investment banking working over a 13 year period at a number of banks on derivative based solutions for asset managers, private banks and life and pension funds. In 2008 he joined the then Watson Wyatt, now Willis Towers Watson as a Senior Investment Consultant. He then went on to join SEI’s fiduciary management business in 2014. In 2022 he took retirement but in early 2023 took a role at West Midland’s Pension Fund  in charge of Investment Strategy for their over £20billion fund.