Established in 2002, Strategies Summit is THE portfolio construction strategies conference of the year. Presented each August, the program features 50+ carefully selected leading investment thinkers who will challenge and refresh your portfolio construction thinking by debating contemporary and emerging portfolio construction strategies, for you to consider applying in practice to build better quality portfolios.

The purpose of investing is not simply to accumulate wealth. The real "prize" is financial wellbeing. As Yogi Berra famously observed: "If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else." Eyes on the prize! Strategies Summit 2026 (Wed 19 Aug) will challenge and refresh your portfolio construction thinking through robust debate of contemporary and emerging strategies to help you build better quality portfolios.

Practitioners are increasingly in the business of navigating - and helping clients navigate - the complex moral landscape of investing. This paper explores the extent to which culture impacts on our morality.

Portfolio Construction Forum's inaugural Private Markets International Short Course in New York could not have been more timely, as private markets moved through a structural inflection during April, May, and June, driven by rising liquidity demands, regulatory scrutiny, and the rapid funding of AI initiatives.

For investment advisers, empathy without objectivity can become harmful. Expertise, intuition and independent thinking are best built through deep internalised knowledge, not passive reliance on AI.

When considering the ethics of our actions, we often rely on two approaches - considering the outcomes and consequences, and whether the action accords with rules and norms. The effectiveness of a third approach is the focus of this research paper.

Behavioural analysis enables a deeper insight into fund performance and the identification of highly skilled managers capable of generating consistent investment alpha.

There is a space in financial services that is often overshadowed by the noise of markets, products, and performance. It is the space where investing meets investors — the point where technical decisions collide with human consequences. This space is not defined by models or forecasts. It is defined by judgement, responsibility, and the way fiduciaries choose to show up for the people who rely on them. It is here, in this intersection, that the true work of a prudent adviser or consultant takes place.

Historically a feature of the medical and legal professions, oaths have become increasingly popular in promoting ethical practice in other occupations. The effectiveness in the financial advice context is the focus of this research paper.

Together, these two articles shed light on important micro and macro challenges facing the growth of ethical responsibility in investment and wealth management.

This paper looks at the impact of repetition on our perceptions of unethicality and truth. It finds that the more times we hear about a wrongdoing, the more we may believe it - but the less we may care.

True fiduciary duty is the continual exercise of independent judgement in the client's best interest. Structural bias is the greatest threat to the future of quality investment advice and outcomes. I call this The Fiduciary Gap.

Rather than treating ethical decision-making as a cognitive issue, investment professionals should develop "ethics muscle memory", increasing the chances of successfully navigating moral predicaments in the moment.

Rich Pickings explores the investment beliefs and philosophies of prominent professional investors. In this episode, I'm in conversation with London-based, absolute return fixed income investor, James McAlevey, BNP Paribas Asset Management...

Individual investors have long responded to the public communications of well-placed, popular investment experts. This paper offers a new understanding of how the rise of "finfluencers" is reshaping the information landscape.

A complex array of issues is changing the outlook for economies and investment markets. It is time to make a move to better understand these issues so we can better manage risk and uncertainty, and design portfolios capable of improving the financial well-being of individuals.

From the origins of Western order in the Renaissance through the Enlightenment, five interconnected crises now threatening its foundations. Our choice is simple – optimise within decline, or rebuild the foundations that made our prosperity possible.

For much of the past four decades, the key to investing success was to stay long (and get longer!) risk assets. Even in the changed environment of 2020-2024, going with the flow was a good strategy most of the time. But is that still the case? Strategies Summit 2025 (Wed-Thu 20-21 Aug) will challenge and refresh your portfolio construction thinking by debating contemporary and emerging portfolio construction strategies to help you build better quality portfolios.

This paper examines the impact of a key feature of competitive markets on moral behaviour - the possibility that a competitor might step in and conclude the deal if a conscientious market actor forgoes a profitable business opportunity for ethical reasons.

In an industry saturated with greenwashing, woke-washing, whitewashing, and other appeals to our ethical sensibilities, moral courage is a critical virtue for upholding high ethical standards and building societal trust.