The annual MoneyWeek Wealth Summit takes place on Friday 6 November in central London. Our theme is The Age of Change: investing in a world of technological, political and financial revolutions. We look forward to meeting many of you there to discuss the implications.
The agenda gets underway with historian and geopolitical expert Peter Frankopan, professor of global history at Oxford University and best-selling author of The Silk Roads, The New Silk Roads and The World Transformed. He will sit down with MoneyWeek’s Andrew Van Sickle to discuss how rising tensions between America, China, Russia and other powers will shape the new world order.
MoneyWeek’s long-standing view is that we are heading into an era of less cooperation and more competition, and those tensions will only get worse. What does that mean for investors? There are reasons to be optimistic, but also reasons to be very cautious about anything that depends on the type of environment that prevailed a few years ago.
Our panel of Dominic Scriven (Dragon Capital and Vietnam Enterprise Investments), Jasmine Yeo (Ruffer) and Stephanie Kelly (Lombard Odier) will consider the implications for energy, security, inflation, interest rates, stocks, bonds, global trade, emerging markets and more.
Profit from top growth stories
Then we break for coffee and a chance to question Rory Stokes (Janus Henderson and European Smaller Companies) about the outlook for Europe. How does he find growth stocks in a region that is often criticised for lacking dynamism?
After that, it’s time to get stuck into the big themes in today’s markets. Richard Clode (Janus Henderson and Bankers Investment Trust) will consider the broader investment implications of the AI boom, which looks very different to past technology cycles. What are the opportunities and risks of this potential multi-decade investment trend?
Steady income can be a good anchor in changing markets. Martin Connaghan (Aberdeen and Murray International) runs one of the few trusts that invests in both developed and emerging markets. He’ll be outlining his views on finding diversified, global income with growth.
Higher defence spending is sadly a reality in an unstable world. Investors need to face reality. So Tom Bailey (HANetf) is joining us to explain how technological changes and geopolitical threats will determine which companies benefit the most.
The new commodity supercycle seems to be under way, with prices of critical metals rising. Olivia Markham (BlackRock and BlackRock World Mining) will examine why supply is set to struggle to keep up with new sources of demand that range from AI data centres to electric vehicles.
We’re stopping for lunch, but the ideas will keep coming. Our exchange-traded fund (ETF) masterclass will examine key trends in these products – which are no longer simply cheap trackers for major stock markets – and discuss how investors can best employ them in portfolios. Our expert guests for this session are Natali Monardo (IncomeShares), Dan Gold (Stratiphy) and Jamie Gordon (VettaFi).
Take a hard look at Britain
After lunch, we focus on the outlook for the UK for a few sessions. We will be recording a discussion about the implications of this week’s Budget live episode of our MoneyWeek Talks podcast, hosted by MoneyWeek’s Kalpana Fitzpatrick.
Independent economist Julian Jessop, multi-asset manager Emma Moriarty (Capital Gearing) and adviser Lisa Conway-Hughes (LCH Wealth) will discuss the prospects for “good growth in every postcode”, what the bond market makes of the government’s spending plans, and the key implications for our own financial planning.
The UK stock market remains perennially unfashionable, yet the large-cap end of the market has performed relatively well in recent years. Ian Lance (Redwheel and Temple Bar) will examine how a focus on unfashionable value stocks of the type that now make up much of the UK offer valuable diversification from a global index increasingly driven by tech and growth, as well as giving some protection against geopolitical uncertainty.
The UK investment trust sector has been through difficult times, with discounts widening and activist investors putting pressure on boards. The trend now seems to be changing as trusts focus on improving performance, but share prices continue to lag in some parts of the market.
Tom Treanor and Charlotte Cuthbertson (Asset Value Investors and MIGO Opportunities) will discuss whether these offer value, and why investors should focus on situations where there is a catalyst for extracting value.
Our focus on Britain will continue into the afternoon coffee break, with a Q&A session for Ben Ritchie (Aberdeen and Dunedin Income Growth). We’ll be asking him about foreign buyers snapping up UK firms on the cheap, and how investors should respond.
Invest for lift-off
The final session of the day focuses on ideas that are – in one way or another – looking for lift-off. We begin with a look at venture capital trusts (VCT) with Shane Gallwey (Guinness Ventures). These funds play a key role in providing capital for early-stage firms to scale up and grow. How will the changes to tax relief on VCT subscriptions affect demand from investors?
After that, it’s time to discuss cryptocurrency tokenisation and related matters, with regular MoneyWeek contributor Charlie Morris (ByteTree) and early sceptic turned partial convert Izabella Kaminska (The Blind Spot). Are digital assets set to revolutionise the financial system? Or are they at most a new form of plumbing, like the switch from paper records and forms to electronic transactions that took place decades ago?
We wrap up the main agenda with a trip above and beyond. Space is one of the very few areas that can compete with AI for excitement right now. However, this is not simply a technology story – it’s also about geopolitics and security, with countries that lack space capability set to lose strategic autonomy. Rob Desborough (Seraphim Space) will set out the opportunities and risks this poses for investors.
That wraps the main agenda, but not the event. We’re holding an evening drinks reception to talk over the themes of the day with fellow attendees, MoneyWeek contributors and guests. Drinks are included in the ticket price, along with breakfast, coffee and lunch.
Book your place and join us at this year’s venue, Together at 88 Wood Street in the City of London. Tickets are £219 for MoneyWeek subscribers and £299 for non-subscribers.
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