Programme
Please note: programme is subject to change
The landscape for professional trusteeship is changing rapidly. With the DWP consultation on trusteeship, governance and administration due to conclude in March alongside TPR’s ongoing market oversight on professional trusteeship firms, expectations are evolving and change is undoubtedly imminent.
Against this backdrop, new industry guidance is also coming into force, including APPT’s code of practice for Professional Corporate Sole Trustees, effective from January 1st, 2026, which sets out enhanced expectations for the operations, oversight and governance of sole trusteeship appointments.
This session will cut through the noise to identify the key themes emerging from policy, regulatory, and industry guidance developments, examining what they signal for different trustee models in practice. It will explore how expectations of professional trustees are shifting and what trustees should be preparing for now as the direction of travel becomes clearer.
This session will address:
- The outcomes of the DWP’s consultation on trusteeship, governance and administration and its implications for professional trusteeship
- What good looks like for professional trusteeship
- Themes and issues emerging from TPR’s market oversight of professional trusteeship
- The growing demand for corporate sole trustees and proactively addressing its market sensitivity
- The governance and risk controls set out by APPT’s code of practice for Professional Corporate Sole Trustees
Roundtable One
DB endgame decisions are increasingly shaped by market conditions rather than funding levels alone. Volatile bond markets, insurer capacity constraints and high asset valuations have introduced new timing and risks for trustees considering buy-in, buy-out or run-on strategies.
This session moves beyond possible routes and execution mechanics to examine how trustees can factor market context into strategic decision-making within the endgame, and how they are assessing whether to lock in outcomes.
The new DB Funding Code is now live, with schemes entering the first valuation cycle under the revised framework. While the underlying objectives may be familiar, trustees are experiencing real changes in how funding, investment and covenant decisions must be articulated, evidenced and justified. This session draws on early experience from live valuations to examine what trustees are doing differently in practice, where additional cost and resource pressures are emerging, and how schemes are navigating fast-track and bespoke approaches.
This session will address:
- Early lessons from schemes submitting valuations under the revised framework
- How funding, investment and covenant decisions are being evidenced and justified
- Additional costs and resource pressures emerging from the first valuation cycle
- Practical experience of fast-track versus bespoke approaches
This session looks at how delegation under a range of trustee models can improve governance and outcomes through quicker implementation, clear accountability, enhanced oversight, and more efficient lower cost solutions. It also considers how these principles can be applied across the spectrum of endgame objectives to support effective outcomes and how they can extend beyond DB alone.
Roundtable Two
As DB funding positions improve, the topic of surplus is at the forefront of many scheme discussions. For many boards, these are relatively new conversations that require careful consideration of scheme objectives, funding outcomes and sponsor perspectives.
This session looks at how trustees are approaching surplus discussions in practice and the decision-making around how it can be used productively to support scheme objectives. Looking at examples of approaches that have been implemented and successfully aligned with fiduciary duties, delivering value for both members and sponsors.
The new DB Funding Code is now live, with schemes entering the first valuation cycle under the revised framework. While the underlying objectives may be familiar, trustees are experiencing real changes in how funding, investment and covenant decisions must be articulated, evidenced and justified. This session draws on early experience from live valuations to examine what trustees are doing differently in practice, where additional cost and resource pressures are emerging, and how schemes are navigating fast-track and bespoke approaches.
This session will address:
- Early lessons from schemes submitting valuations under the revised framework
- How funding, investment and covenant decisions are being evidenced and justified
- Additional costs and resource pressures emerging from the first valuation cycle
- Practical experience of fast-track versus bespoke approaches
Roundtable Three
The pensions landscape is set for sustained change. Measures under the Pension Schemes Act, alongside a wide range of reforms, will be implemented progressively between now and 2030. For trustees, the challenge is understanding how these changes fit together—and what action is required, and when.
This session sets out a clear five‑year roadmap for trustees. It will highlight the key regulatory and policy developments ahead, explain how expectations of trustees are likely to evolve, and distinguish between immediate priorities and longer‑term preparation.
Trustees will leave with a clearer sense of the direction of travel, a practical framework for assessing their scheme’s readiness, and confidence that their plans are aligned with what “good” will look like over the remainder of the decade.
As DB funding positions improve, the topic of surplus is at the forefront of many scheme discussions. For many boards, these are relatively new conversations that require careful consideration of scheme objectives, funding outcomes and sponsor perspectives.
This session looks at how trustees are approaching surplus discussions in practice and the decision-making around how it can be used productively to support scheme objectives. Looking at examples of approaches that have been implemented and successfully aligned with fiduciary duties, delivering value for both members and sponsors.
The new DB Funding Code is now live, with schemes entering the first valuation cycle under the revised framework. While the underlying objectives may be familiar, trustees are experiencing real changes in how funding, investment and covenant decisions must be articulated, evidenced and justified. This session draws on early experience from live valuations to examine what trustees are doing differently in practice, where additional cost and resource pressures are emerging, and how schemes are navigating fast-track and bespoke approaches.
This session will address:
- Early lessons from schemes submitting valuations under the revised framework
- How funding, investment and covenant decisions are being evidenced and justified
- Additional costs and resource pressures emerging from the first valuation cycle
- Practical experience of fast-track versus bespoke approaches
Roundtable Four
This session looks at how delegation under a range of trustee models can improve governance and outcomes through quicker implementation, clear accountability, enhanced oversight, and more efficient lower cost solutions. It also considers how these principles can be applied across the spectrum of endgame objectives to support effective outcomes and how they can extend beyond DB alone.
The pensions landscape is set for sustained change. Measures under the Pension Schemes Act, alongside a wide range of reforms, will be implemented progressively between now and 2030. For trustees, the challenge is understanding how these changes fit together—and what action is required, and when.
This session sets out a clear five‑year roadmap for trustees. It will highlight the key regulatory and policy developments ahead, explain how expectations of trustees are likely to evolve, and distinguish between immediate priorities and longer‑term preparation.
Trustees will leave with a clearer sense of the direction of travel, a practical framework for assessing their scheme’s readiness, and confidence that their plans are aligned with what “good” will look like over the remainder of the decade.
As DB funding positions improve, the topic of surplus is at the forefront of many scheme discussions. For many boards, these are relatively new conversations that require careful consideration of scheme objectives, funding outcomes and sponsor perspectives.
This session looks at how trustees are approaching surplus discussions in practice and the decision-making around how it can be used productively to support scheme objectives. Looking at examples of approaches that have been implemented and successfully aligned with fiduciary duties, delivering value for both members and sponsors.
Roundtable One
The pensions landscape is set for sustained change. Measures under the Pension Schemes Act, alongside a wide range of reforms, will be implemented progressively between now and 2030. For trustees, the challenge is understanding how these changes fit together—and what action is required, and when.
This session sets out a clear five‑year roadmap for trustees. It will highlight the key regulatory and policy developments ahead, explain how expectations of trustees are likely to evolve, and distinguish between immediate priorities and longer‑term preparation.
Trustees will leave with a clearer sense of the direction of travel, a practical framework for assessing their scheme’s readiness, and confidence that their plans are aligned with what “good” will look like over the remainder of the decade.
As DB funding positions improve, the topic of surplus is at the forefront of many scheme discussions. For many boards, these are relatively new conversations that require careful consideration of scheme objectives, funding outcomes and sponsor perspectives.
This session looks at how trustees are approaching surplus discussions in practice and the decision-making around how it can be used productively to support scheme objectives. Looking at examples of approaches that have been implemented and successfully aligned with fiduciary duties, delivering value for both members and sponsors.
Roundtable Two
This session looks at how delegation under a range of trustee models can improve governance and outcomes through quicker implementation, clear accountability, enhanced oversight, and more efficient lower cost solutions. It also considers how these principles can be applied across the spectrum of endgame objectives to support effective outcomes and how they can extend beyond DB alone.
The pensions landscape is set for sustained change. Measures under the Pension Schemes Act, alongside a wide range of reforms, will be implemented progressively between now and 2030. For trustees, the challenge is understanding how these changes fit together—and what action is required, and when.
This session sets out a clear five‑year roadmap for trustees. It will highlight the key regulatory and policy developments ahead, explain how expectations of trustees are likely to evolve, and distinguish between immediate priorities and longer‑term preparation.
Trustees will leave with a clearer sense of the direction of travel, a practical framework for assessing their scheme’s readiness, and confidence that their plans are aligned with what “good” will look like over the remainder of the decade.
Roundtable Three
The new DB Funding Code is now live, with schemes entering the first valuation cycle under the revised framework. While the underlying objectives may be familiar, trustees are experiencing real changes in how funding, investment and covenant decisions must be articulated, evidenced and justified. This session draws on early experience from live valuations to examine what trustees are doing differently in practice, where additional cost and resource pressures are emerging, and how schemes are navigating fast-track and bespoke approaches.
This session will address:
- Early lessons from schemes submitting valuations under the revised framework
- How funding, investment and covenant decisions are being evidenced and justified
- Additional costs and resource pressures emerging from the first valuation cycle
- Practical experience of fast-track versus bespoke approaches
This session looks at how delegation under a range of trustee models can improve governance and outcomes through quicker implementation, clear accountability, enhanced oversight, and more efficient lower cost solutions. It also considers how these principles can be applied across the spectrum of endgame objectives to support effective outcomes and how they can extend beyond DB alone.
Roundtable Four
DB endgame decisions are increasingly shaped by market conditions rather than funding levels alone. Volatile bond markets, insurer capacity constraints and high asset valuations have introduced new timing and risks for trustees considering buy-in, buy-out or run-on strategies.
This session moves beyond possible routes and execution mechanics to examine how trustees can factor market context into strategic decision-making within the endgame, and how they are assessing whether to lock in outcomes.
The new DB Funding Code is now live, with schemes entering the first valuation cycle under the revised framework. While the underlying objectives may be familiar, trustees are experiencing real changes in how funding, investment and covenant decisions must be articulated, evidenced and justified. This session draws on early experience from live valuations to examine what trustees are doing differently in practice, where additional cost and resource pressures are emerging, and how schemes are navigating fast-track and bespoke approaches.
This session will address:
- Early lessons from schemes submitting valuations under the revised framework
- How funding, investment and covenant decisions are being evidenced and justified
- Additional costs and resource pressures emerging from the first valuation cycle
- Practical experience of fast-track versus bespoke approaches
As the role of the professional trustee continues to evolve, effectiveness is increasingly defined not by technical expertise alone but by how one engages with peers on a trustee board.
In this session, Gillian Camm — a board effectiveness consultant, executive coach and specialist in boardroom dynamics — will draw on her experience working with boards across sectors to explore what underpins a well-functioning trustee board. The discussion will consider how trustees navigate complexity, balance competing priorities and foster constructive, forward-looking dialogue in an environment of heightened change.
This session will reflect on how strong board dynamics are developed in practice, and why they matter to long-term outcomes for schemes and members.
This session will address:
- Managing diverse views and conflicts of interest
- The journey and methods of creating consensus
- Coaching techniques to encourage involvement in decision-making
- Aligning short-term decisions with long-term scheme and sponsor objectives
