Systematic Investing with the Best of Man and Machine

Founded 25 years ago, the Systematic Equity team at Allianz Global Investors has turned academic research into a successful investment strategy. They have been an early adopter of Artificial Intelligence techniques in their approach, in order to deliver enhanced equity market returns. The result is a repeatable, risk-managed approach which aims to consistently provide added value to their clients. Hear more about how investment styles, like value or momentum, carry risk premia that can be harvested through a disciplined systematic approach, and how this can be done largely independent of the economic or the market environment.

Dr Michael Heldmann, CFA

CIO Systematic Equity

Dr Michael Heldmann is the Deputy CIO Equity and the CIO of the Systematic Equity team. Prior to being named CIO of the overall Systematic Equity platform, he was CIO Systematic Equity US and based in San Francisco. Previously, he also managed Best Styles Emerging Markets and Best Styles Europe Equity products. Before joining the Systematic Equity team, he worked for the international laboratory CERN, Geneva, Switzerland as a researcher in the field of particle physics. He obtained a master’s degree in Physics from the University of Mainz, Germany and a PhD from the University of Freiburg, Germany. He is a CFA charterholder.

Finserve Global Security Fund – A Strategic Fund for Uncertain Times

Join Joakim Agerback for an in-depth overview of the Finserve Global Defence & Security Fund, a long-only, liquid UCITS designed to provide diversified access to structural return streams in today’s shifting geopolitical landscape. As equity markets are increasingly shaped by great power competition, the fund targets secular growth across Defence, Cyber-Security, and Space. This session will explore the fund’s fundamental strategy, combining top-down thematic analysis with regional screening. Led by a seasoned team and advised by Sweden’s former army chief, the fund emphasises value creation, robust risk management, and long-term return potential through disciplined, diversified portfolio construction.

Joakim Agerback

Portfolio Manager

Joakim Agerback is a seasoned portfolio manager with over 20 years of experience across equities, FX, interest rates, and commodities. He specialises in fundamental and systematic quantitative strategies that enhance traditional portfolios through diversification and thematic exposures. Joakim has founded and scaled investment firms and played a key role in building Finserve Nordic. He has held senior leadership roles as CEO, CFO, CRO, and CIO in finance and real estate. His published research in leading journals reflects expertise in systematic strategies, risk cycles, and alternative investments. He holds a BSc in Business & Economics and completed the Entrepreneurship Programme at Södertörn University.

US Short Duration High Yield: A Strategic Building Block for Asset Allocators

Following over three years of discussions, Impax completed the acquisition of the European assets of specialist credit manager Sky Harbor in March 2025, adding £1.1bn in assets and two UCITS funds focused on US and Global Short Duration High Yield. In this session, Co-Portfolio Manager, David Kinsley, will introduce the US Short Duration Responsible High Yield Fund, which seeks to provide income through a diversified portfolio of short-duration, US dollar-denominated high yield corporate bonds. While the high yield market is often associated with lower credit ratings, it has evolved to include higher-quality issuers. The strategy is designed to capture income while aiming to limit drawdown and reduce volatility, offering flexibility across portfolio objectives.

David Kinsley, CFA

Senior Portfolio Manager

David Kinsley joined Impax Asset Management in April 2025 as Co-Portfolio Manager of the US Short Duration Responsible High Yield, Global Short Maturity Responsible High Yield, and Global Responsible High Yield strategies. He began his career at Lehman Brothers and later held senior roles at AXA Investment Managers, including Co-Head of US Investing. In 2011, he co-founded SKY Harbor Capital Management, where he was Head of Investing, responsible for the firm’s investment process and was the principal Portfolio Manager for their sustainable strategies with over $2 billion in high yield AUM. David is a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Society Stamford, and he earned a BA in Economics from Williams College.

Beyond the Index: Why an active exposure to US Equities could benefit UK investors

UK investors should consider an actively managed US Large Cap Core Equity strategy to provide clients with growth, stability, and diversification. While passive strategies inherently underperform post fees, active management in the US market—dominant in global equities and historically delivering strong returns—offers the opportunity for consistent alpha generation. This strategy focuses on companies undergoing positive change (e.g., AI-driven transformations) and provides concentrated exposure to a portfolio of best ideas. With a proven record of outperforming in downturns, and given GBP weakness and a strong US outlook, actively allocating to this strategy can deliver superior outcomes over passive alternatives.

Erik Becker

Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager

Erik Becker is a Senior Portfolio Manager for Macquarie Asset Management’s (MAM’s) US Large Cap Core Equity Team, where he is responsible for making day-to-day investment decisions for the team’s strategy. Erik joined Ivy Investments as an Investment Analyst and was appointed Assistant Portfolio Manager in 2003 and Portfolio Manager in 2006. Erik earned a Bachelor of Science in finance, investments, and banking and a Master of Science in finance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Erik holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.

Global Listed Infrastructure

In Q3 2025, Pacific Asset Management (PAM) will be partnering with their newest affiliate – a global listed infrastructure specialist. PAM’s single manager business is focused on delivering high-conviction, craft manager strategies to a global investor base.

As the partnership has not yet been publicly announced, we are unable to disclose the manager’s name. However, this will be confirmed ahead of the conference, and we look forward to sharing further details in due course.

The infrastructure specialist is headquartered in Australia and led by Portfolio Managers who have worked together for over 17 years. They are also the majority owners of the business.

Learn more about how the team constructs a high-conviction portfolio of 25–35 investments, applying a disciplined definition of infrastructure and maintaining strict capacity limits. Their approach focuses on selecting defensive companies with stable, inflation-linked cashflows, while integrating ESG and sustainability factors throughout the investment process. We will be joined at the event by one of the lead PMs and their Head of Sustainability.

Robeco Quantum Market Neutral Equities: Harnessing AI for Alpha

The Robeco Quantum Market Neutral Equities strategy presents a distinctive approach to absolute return investing by leveraging cutting-edge AI techniques and alternative data to capture short-term alpha signals.

Building on Robeco’s long-standing research and investment expertise, this long/short strategy goes beyond traditional factor premiums with the aim to deliver consistent, market-independent returns. With a proven track record in short-term signal harvesting and a low correlation to both equity market neutral strategies and hedge funds, find out how this strategy offers investors a compelling source of effective diversification and stable performance.

Wouter Tilgenkamp

Portfolio Manager

Wouter Tilgenkamp is a Portfolio Manager within the Quantitative Equities team. He joined Robeco in 2016 as a Data Scientist, with a specific focus on Equity Trading Research, automatisation of portfolio processes, portfolio construction, and optimal execution of strategies. He started his financial career in 2014 as a Derivative Trader at Optiver. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics from the Technical University of Delft and a Master’s in Quantitative Finance.

The Art of Selection: Building Global Equity Income from the Bottom Up

Despite a long-standing underweight to the US, this high-conviction global equity income strategy has consistently delivered attractive long-term alpha. At the heart of the approach lies disciplined, bottom-up stock selection - grounded in fundamental research and unconstrained by benchmarks. Rather than relying on regional or sector tilts, the portfolio focuses on identifying resilient, cash-generative businesses with the capacity to sustain and grow dividends over time. This session explores how a selective, research-driven investment philosophy can uncover differentiated sources of income and return, offering investors a compelling defensive equity/income solution in today’s global equity landscape.

Matt Burdett

Head of Equities and Managing Director

Matt Burdett is head of equities and a portfolio manager for Thornburg Investment Management. He rejoined the firm in 2015 and became portfolio manager in 2018, then head of equities in 2024. Matt spent several years as a senior vice president and portfolio manager at PIMCO, where he co-managed various dividend-oriented strategies. Prior to his time at PIMCO, Matt worked from 2010 to 2011 as an equity analyst at Thornburg. Earlier in his career, Matt was director of healthcare investment banking at CIBC World Markets/Oppenheimer and a medicinal chemist at Sunesis Pharmaceuticals.

Physical AI and the Golden Age for Robotics

While Robots have been used in industry since the 1960s, their use-cases have remained extremely niche. Only with recent advances in technologies such as AI, robots are becoming smarter and useful beyond the factory floor, pushing into some very large market opportunities in healthcare, agriculture, industrial design and engineering, transport, and logistics. The golden era for robotics and automation is fast approaching.

In this session, Angus Muirhead will show how the UBS AI & Robotics Equity Fund, launched in 2016, and its "pure-play" approach gives clients high exposure to the theme and a clear bias in favour of innovative small to mid-cap companies.

Angus Muirhead, CFA

Head of Thematic Equities

Angus Muirhead is Head of Thematic Equities at UBS Asset Management and Lead Portfolio Manager of the Robotics Equity strategy. Angus joined CSAM in 2016, helping shape its thematic equity business through “pure-play” strategies and deep-dive research. Starting his career in 1997 in Japanese equities at Phillips & Drew, he later worked in Tokyo with UBS, Lehman Brothers, and UBS Investment Bank. From 2007 to 2016, he managed sector and thematic funds in Zurich and at a hedge fund. Angus holds a BA from Durham University, is a CFA Charterholder, and serves on the Wyss Foundation Zurich Evaluation Board.