Events

Dramatised and parodied in popular culture, the board room is a mystical cauldron in which the fortunes of companies and the futures of their employees are decreed. Its secret goings-on determine whether we have jobs and drive the success of our economy. Board directors carry a weighty responsibility for delivering strategy, control and advice.

The topic was introduced by Avida’s Jenny Segal who, whilst summarising and synthesising the experiences of some 50 experienced directors,  showed what we can strive for to achieve the best of culture and effectiveness in board rooms.  

 

In conjunction with Probability & Partners' Pim Poppe and Ronald Sijsenaar, Avida International hosted an insightful roundtable on the importance of crisis management. 

The discussion revolved around the pitfalls faced by pension funds regarding their mindset on risk and the potential solutions to inspire vigilance.

 

We held an online training session on crisis responsiveness and maintaining trust with key stakeholders. We looked at crisis management theory and then best practice in crisis communication. We used a live example to test our participants current experience, since it in the training of a crisis situation where real resilience is grown.

On the 20th of April, Avida International and Strategia Worldwide organised a Roundtable on Crisis Management for investment organisations. What ensued was a fascinating discussion which looked specifically into the Russian Invasion of Ukraine and its wider impact on the investment sectors’ finances and operations, as well as its relationships with clients and stakeholders. This is a summary of the discussion.

Check out the summary of the event here:https://www.avida-int.com/blog/summary-of-crisis-management-roundtable-for-investment-organisations0

On the 20th of April, Avida International and Strategia Worldwide organised a Roundtable on Crisis Management for pension funds. What ensued was a fascinating discussion which looked specifically into the Russian Invasion of Ukraine and its wider impact on pensions funds’ finances and operations.

Check out the summary of the event here: https://www.avida-int.com/blog/summary-of-crisis-management-roundtable-for-pension-funds

The energy crisis in Europe, due to the current geopolitical situation of Russia invading Ukraine, has shown the undeniable need for alternative energy solutions. Institutional investors have a clear role to play in this process, yet, many questions remain on the best approach investors can take in the climate space. 

This webinar explored different views on the most effective way to incorporate renewable energy solutions into an investor's approach, yet are all united by the belief that urgent action is necessary. 

Read our highlights here: https://www.avida-int.com/blog/avidas-webinar-on-energy-transition1-0

The recent IPCC report was crystal clear: we can still avoid the worst of the climate crisis if we act now. With this in mind, investors will need to reconsider their investment portfolios, focusing even more urgently on those areas which yield the highest impact. 

This webinar looked into the viability of alternatives such as hydrogen, solar, clean fossil fuels, wind and biomass through the eyes of industry practitioners such as Stéphane Lamoine, CEO of Beam Earth, and large investors such as PGGM. 

Read the highlights here: https://www.avida-int.com/blog/climate_change_investing

We held a webinar on ESG incorporation in fiduciary management. It was a fascinating discussion and much was learnt by all.

Avida's Sally Bridgeland will be part of a panel discussing the implications of Covid-19 on the strategy of pension funds.

Topics for discussion:

This masterclass on maintaining client relationships in challenging times, featured Mr Martin Reeves, Senior Partner and Managing Director in the New York Office of BCG and Chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, BGC's think tank on business strategy.

 

To find out more about this event please click here. 

Please note this blog by Stuart Breyer is reproduced in full by kind permission of Mallowstreet. The original item can be found here. 

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For this morning's digital roundtable we were joined by Bart, Sally and Paul from Avida International, who led a conversation and shared their insights as we explored what happens ‘next’. 

As we are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel, the changes we have been planning for business post-coronavirus will need to be implemented. What will our operating environment look like? What are the key changes we are making? What lessons have we learned, and are there any areas we feel uncomfortable about?

It was an excellent roundtable, and the time flew by. Some of the key questions raised were:

• By 2022, how much will the working world have changed?

• What will be the role of committees going forward?

• What are the aspects of effective chairing that can help pension funds have more efficient meetings?

• How do you build new relationships in a digital world?

• How do you onboard new joiners in a changed world?

• Is there a responsibility to open the office to help mentor and train newer members of the team?

It was a fascinating and thought-provoking discussion. 

This online roundtable focused on the people matters confronting leaders and the process challenges facing pension funds.

 

If you are interested in attending future events please email info@avida-int.com.

De Corona-crisis is een feit. De spanningen op het financiële vlak blijven toenemen. Onzekerheid lijkt het nieuwe ‘normaal’ te worden.

Please note this blog by Stuart Breyer is reproduced in full by kind permission of Mallowstreet. The original item can be found here. 

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I recently had the pleasure of hearing Bart Heenk from Avida International and his team on a webinar and immediately thought to myself: these folks need to speak to the Mallowstreet community.

So two or three weeks later, we were lucky enough to be joined by the experts from Avida and Strategia Worldwide for a discussion about good leadership.

The hour flew by, and it was a fascinating discussion that covered a number of points: 

• What do you need to have in place in order to lead effectively in a crisis?

• What do you wish you had done before and what can you learn from previous mistakes?

• Good leadership means having your house in order. Having ‘muscle memory’. Being resilient. Learning from this crisis to be better prepared for the next. Thinking strategically about the post-crisis situation.

 To help inform the discussion, we asked attendees in advance to submit their questions and top concerns. These included: 

• How to keep my team motivated/ effective

• Envisioning what the world would look like after the crisis

• Funding gap/ratio, sponsor covenant

• Liquidity (available collateral, cash, rebalancing, forced selling)

Discussions around the importance of each component of ‘ESG’ appeared. How are companies and organisations addressing the ‘E’, ‘S’, and ‘G’, and how is this impacting their reputation?

Thank you so much to everyone who submitted questions in advance and also during the discussion. 

This online roundtable with Dame Elizabeth Corley, Chair of the Impact Investing Institute, looked at what ESG/impact investing really is and the practical side of integrating this into organisational and investment processes.

 

For more read our blog on:
ESG and the institutional investor

 

If you are interested in joining our event mailing list please email info@avida-int.com.

This online roundtable, including our crisis management partners Strategia Worldwide, focused on the strategic challenge facing leaders and the challenges facing organisations.

 

For more read our blogs on:

The COVID-19 generation of leaders

The COVID-19 organisation

 

If you are interested in joining our event mailing list please email info@avida-int.com.

This online roundtable, including our crisis management partners Strategia Worldwide, focused on the evolving leadership challenge and how to get through whilst keeping people engaged.

 

For more read our blogs on:

The evolving leadership challenge

Getting through whilst keeping people engaged

 

If you are interested in joining our event mailing list please email info@avida-int.com.

This online roundtable, including our crisis management partners Strategia Worldwide, focused on the role of the leader, planning for key person risk and taking advantage of potential investment opportunities

 

For more read our blogs on:

The importance of thinking the unthinkable

How do we keep it going?

 

If you are interested in joining our event mailing list please email info@avida-int.com.

This online roundtable focused on the challenges associated with managing our organisations in a home-working environment.

 

For more read our blogs on:

Managing a crisis – from your living room!

How can you help your clients right now?

 

If you are interested in joining our event mailing list please email info@avida-int.com.

Sally Bridgeland was a guest panel speaker at this event.

Bart Heenk spoke on the topic of "Growing your business starts with good governance". To see his presentation click here. 

Sally Bridgeland was a co-speaker at this event, on the topic of “Is more governance good governance?” 

Sally Bridgeland was one of the speakers in Plenary 5 on 12 June – “Larry Fink, CEO, Blackrock, said: “We are going to see evidence over the long term that sustainable investing is going to be at least equivalent to core investments. I believe personally it will be higher.” So, is responsible investment now core to running pensions and institutional capital? If so, how? And why aren’t more pension funds and investment managers doing it?”

Dorothee Franzen participated in this event by the Eberbacher Kreis.  

Dorothee Franzen attended the annual meeting of the German pension fund association aba Jahrestagung in Bonn.

Everyone understands the importance of good risk management, including the regulator. Developing risk assessments, having a solid risk policy and a governance framework around risk management are crucial for good member outcomes. But how does a pension fund attract top risk managers? Avida has frequently been asked these questions by our pension fund clients. Until now we never had an adequate answer. We now think that pooling risk management resources with other pension funds may be the way forward for those funds not able to employ a full-time chief risk officer.  

 

At this breakfast roundtable our specialists explored the pros and cons of sharing risk management resources with fellow pension funds and led a roundtable discussion. 

 

If you are a senior pension fund representative interested in attending our roundtables in future please contact stephaniewindsor@avida-int.com.

Bart Heenk attended this event on ‘Catalysing collaboration to solve complex problems in private markets’.

Dorothee Franzen attended this invitation-only event organised by the Eberbacher-Kreis.

Sarah Smart participated in the DC stream on ‘Passive v active investing for DC investors’ on 7 March.

Bart Heenk is attended this event hosted by the Alternative Investments Institute.

Simone Lavelle attended this event.

Simone Lavelle attended this dinner.

Simone Lavelle attended this roundtable.

Sally Bridgeland was a panellist in the ‘Practical thoughts on driving an ESG agenda’ session at this SPS conference. 

Simone Lavelle attended this seminar.

Bart Heenk and Simone Lavelle attended this event. 

Bart Heenk and Simone Lavelle attended this forum. Simone also attended the International Women’s Forum dinner.

Simone Lavelle attended this conference.

This roundtable was organised together with Strategia Worldwide.  Sir Richard Shirreff  introduced the subject and discussed the importance of proper planning for crises. This was followed by a roundtable discussion and a blog arising from this can be found here. If you are a senior pension fund director/trustee interested in attending our roundtables, please contact stephaniewindsor@avida-int.com. 

Dorothee Franzen attended this event.

Dorothee Franzen attended this event.

Simone Lavelle attended these drinks.

Simone Lavelle attended the Rabobank event.

Simone Lavelle attended this annual lunch focused on FTSE 350 research.

Peter Kolthof, Partner and Country Head for Avida International in the Netherlands, introduced the subject and discussed his extensive experience of best practice in decision-support reporting. He laid down some challenges about how trustees make use of an executive team and advisers. This was followed by a roundtable discussion and a summary can be found here.

Simone Lavelle attended this meeting on Chinese EQ.

Sally Bridgeland led a discussion on the use of factor investing on the first day of this summit.

Dorothee Franzen and Tim Juling attended the annual conference of the German pension fund association.

Simone Lavelle attended this event.

On 27 February 2018, Avida International organised a breakfast roundtable on running DB pensions from a CFO’s perspective. Annemarie Straathof talked about the governance changes she, as CFO Europe for Rabobank, helped effect during the last couple of years at their UK pension fund. This was followed by a roundtable discussion.

Avida International organised a breakfast roundtable on running DB pensions from a CFO’s perspective. Annemarie Straathof talked about governance changes she, as CFO Europe at Rabobank, helped effect during the last couple of years at their UK pension fund.  This was followed by a roundtable discussion and a summary can be found here.

Simone Lavelle attended this event.

Bart Heenk attended this event.

Simone Lavelle attended this event

Paul Boerboom and Bart Heenk attended this event.

Simone Lavelle attended this event.

Bart Heenk attended this event.

Dorothee Franzen spoke on Governance in the ‘Delivering Optimum Retirement Outcomes’ stream at this event.

Dorothee Franzen attended this event.

Dorothee Franzen and Paul Boerboom attended this conference on coping with disruptive change.

Sally Bridgeland participated in a Panel on Culture.

Simone Lavelle attended this event.

On some occasions the trustee board of a pension fund is bigger than the executive team, leading to more ‘managers’ than ‘doers’. At our most recent breakfast roundtable we considered what the right mix might be and how the governance model should work. If you are a senior pension fund director/trustee interested in attending our roundtables in future please contact stephaniewindsor@avida-int.com.

Dorothee Franzen chaired the session on Financial Literacy.

Dorothee Franzen participated in this event.

Sally Bridgeland spoke at this event.

Sally Bridgeland spoke as part of a plenary on ‘What a pool will actually look like in the next 3/4 years according to experts outside the LGPS’.

Sally Bridgeland was a panellist at this symposium focused on ‘Meeting long-term liabilities in an age of unpredictability’.

Simone Lavelle attended BlackRock’s 2017 Women in Finance event.

Simone Lavelle attended BlackRock’s 2017 Investment Outlook.

Simone Lavelle attended the SKAGEN Emerging Trends in Global Investing conference.

Bart Heenk attended the IPE Conference and Awards 2016.

Dorothee Franzen was a panellist on the ‘Collaboration in Theory and Practice Session’ at the OPTrust Global Pension Leadership Summit

 

In today’s world, pension organisations find themselves stretched across an increasing diversity of environments, which change faster and less predictably. Good crisis management and the ability to adapt have become key to success. There are some sectors where these skills are commonplace and pension fund can learn from them.

 

On the occasion of its 10th anniversary, and the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London, Avida International is therefore delighted to host a seminar on the importance of crisis management for pension funds.

 

General Sir Richard Shirreff, Deputy Supreme Commander of NATO Europe 2010-2014, will discuss his experience of how the military deal with crisis management. Martin Reeves, Senior Partner and Managing Director at the Boston Consulting Group’s New York office, Director of the BCG Henderson Institute and co-author of ‘Your Strategy Needs a Strategy’ (Harvard Business Review Press, June 2015) will discuss best practices in agile and adaptive organisations. Finally, Paul Boerboom and Sally Bridgeland of Avida International will discuss practical examples of risk management and the lessons that can be learnt by the pensions industry.

 

The event will be chaired by Professor Gordon Clark, Avida International Board member, Director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford and renowned author on pensions governance.

  Reserve your place

Please note this is a registration only event – there is no fee to attend the seminar; however attendance will be limited to senior representatives from pension funds and corporate employers.

Paul Boerboom acted as commentator on the ‘New models of pension fund governance’ session at the 2016 Allianz-Oxford Pensions Conference.

Bart Heenk chaired a panel discussion at the IPE 360 Conference on ‘Making outsourcing work: fiduciary management and other forms of investment strategy delegation’.

De bijeenkomst is op uitnodiging toegankelijk voor vermogensbeheerders en bestuurders van pensioenfondsen.  Heeft u geen uitnodiging ontvangen maar wel belangstelling? Laat het ons dan weten.

  AANMELDEN

Fees and costs are controversial issues in the investment industry. Steven Charlton, Aisha Dudhia, and Bart Heenk break down the key challenges in the discourse in the Autumn issue of Professional Investor. Bart Heenk: “The average pension fund trustee has limited insight into management fees and no idea of the true costs. This is largely because there is no attempt by the industry to provide clear and complete reporting. In fact most costs are, and remain, hidden unless you specifically ask for them.”