Investing in Private Markets Conference 2026

25 February 2026, 8:00 AM

Agenda

09:00

The risks and opportunities for private debt investment

  • Identifying the opportunities for direct lending in insurance portfolios
  • How will the inflationary environment and interest rate movements impact borrowers and lenders?
  • Structuring private debt strategies for optimal capital efficiency and balance sheet management
  • Preparing for the impact of the Solvency II review, applicable in 2027
  • Managing rising credit risks amid a shift toward sub-investment grade exposures
  • Expanding regional diversification: opportunities and practical limitations for insurers

Moderator: Simeon Willis, Chief Investment Officer, XPS Investments

Michela Bariletti, Chief Credit Officer, Phoenix Group
Roman Hederer, Head of Structuring, Legal & General
Stephen Marsh, Head of Investment Oversight, Lloyds of London

09:45

Sponsor presentation

10:05

ESG considerations when investing in private markets

  • How private market investments can support insurers' ESG and sustainability objectives
  • Comparing private debt and private equity approaches to ESG integration and impact
  • The state of ESG data: assessing quality, consistency and decision-usefulness and identifying gaps
  • The evolution and alignment of ESG standards and taxonomies: are they a help or a hindrance?
  • Opportunities for insurers to influence positive change through private markets, relative to public market investing

Moderator: Jegor Tokarevich, Managing Director, SOF

Cléo Fitzsimons, Head of Sustainability, Pension Insurance Corporation

10:50

Coffee and networking

11:20

Asset-Based Finance (ABF) investment strategies for insurers

  • Identifying the ABF investment strategies most relevant and effective for insurance portfolios
  • Comparing ABF yields and risk profiles with public and private credit opportunities
  • Optimising ABF allocations within existing solvency and accounting frameworks
  • Innovation in structuring and risk transfer – tranching of prepayments and other embedded risks

Aileen Mathieson, Group CIO, Aspen Group
Corrado Pistarino, Chief Investment Officer, Foresters Friendly Society

12:05

Deep dive: property investments

  • Direct vs fund/co-investment approaches
  • Restructuring underperforming/undervalued property funds
  • Managing long-duration cash flows and liability matching
  • Considerations and challenges when developing a green, or "brown-to-green" real estate portfolio
  • Social housing and impact investing
  • The future of office space and the role of data centres in property portfolios
  • The impact of regulation, government policy and spending - what changes could help channel insurers' capital towards property investments?

Adam Alari, Investment Oversight Manager Real Assets, Royal London
Andrew Angeli, Global Head of Real Estate Research & Strategy, Zurich Insurance

12:50

Lunch

13:50

Structuring securitisations to meet insurers’ Matching Adjustment (MA) needs

  • The trade-offs: moving from high-return, high-capital private assets to senior positions in tailored structures with lower yields but reduced capital charges and operational complexity
  • Regulatory and operational considerations: are new MA applications required?
  • Collaboration and co-investment: how can insurers partner with asset managers and other institutional investors?
  • Perspectives on "manufactured" assets in insurers' private credit strategies

Moderator: Ben Grainger, Partner, Financial Services, Ernst & Young

Clarence Er, Group Head of Credit Risk, Just Group
Zoltan Galyo, Head of Loan Investments, Scottish Widows

14:35

Deep dive: infrastructure investments

  • Transport infrastructure, energy and renewables, and digital infrastructure: what are the emerging trends, pricing challenges, and risk considerations?
  • What factors can enable or impede access to deal flow and origination of attractive, high-quality assets?
  • How do insurers decide on allocation and structure to optimise risk-adjusted returns?
  • Infrastructure debt versus equity, public versus private capital, and PPPs
  • Examples of infrastructure investments in developing economies and the associated risks, opportunities and challenges
  • Looking ahead: what are the structural issues that require investments from private actors over the next 20 years? To what extent can private capital step in where public spending is constrained?
    • housing
    • grid update to ensure support for electrification and energy security
    • infrastructure to support the AI revolution
    • nuclear energy

Moderator: Carlos Montalvo Rebuelta, Partner, PwC

Alexander Gramann, Senior Investment Manager Renewable Energy & Infrastructure, MunichRe
Manuel Dusina, Head of Real Assets, Private Markets, Phoenix Group
Marieke van Kamp, Head of Private Markets, NN Group

15:20

Coffee and networking

15:50

Conference ends