Milford and Dormor Financial Planning had the honour of attending the CityWire New Model Adviser event held in London last week.

Fund Managers and Representatives from 20 fund groups held masterclasses on various funds under their management, as well as providing their insight into current market challenges.

The day began with a brilliant presentation by Christian Majgaard, who was previously responsible for all brand, products and campaigns throughout the LEGO business. His innovative ideas brought technology, robotics and even movies to the LEGO brand. His success include the LEGOLAND parks, LEGO Mindstorms robots and the Harry Potter license. In his presentation he maintained that there is no such thing as a mature market, only tired markets, and as a business we need to keep up with the latest developments if we are to realise opportunities

After the conference session, delegates were invited to attend the first round of masterclasses. I was assigned to Invesco, Sarasin & Partners and Atlantic House who spoke about defensive, defined returns.

After the first set of meetings, we gathered for lunch where each table was hosted by a representative from a different fund group providing an opportunity for us to speak with them directly and to raise any questions that we had. I sat with Rathbones’s where I took the opportunity to speak with other wealth managers about their thoughts on the morning so far, and to gain an understanding of issues they are facing within their businesses.

Lunch was followed by a presentation from Nathalie Nahal, a digital and web psychologist, she examined how we behave online and the role of ethics in a digital world.

Nathalie’s talk was followed by four more fund group masterclasses. I met with Octopus who were discussing accessing business property relief qualifying investment in unquoted markets, as well as Ruffer, Gravis, who run a clean energy fund and Franklin Templeton.

In the evening, dinner was hosted by a representative from a different fund group. I had the opportunity to speak to fund manager Jeremy Smouha from GAM, finding out more about their business and their views on capturing income in uncertain times.

Dinner was followed by a drinks reception where everyone had the opportunity to mingle and ask any questions following the masterclasses of the day. I spent some time networking with other IFAs, discussing the masterclasses they had attended, as well as recent market developments, the unpredictability of Brexit and their overall experience of the event.

The next day began with a presentation by Angela Oguntala, a futurist and director at Greyspace – a design and futures consultancy business. She was very enthusiastic about reaching further and pushing for innovation within our industry.

Angela’s presentation was followed by the last series of fund group masterclasses. I met with M&G, Schroders and Baillie Gifford who explained their strategy of bottom-up stock picking in their global income fund.

I found the two days very informative and a useful experience. Following my attendance at the masterclasses and having had the opportunity to hear expert insight and debate around markets and the global economy, I have taken away many practical ideas about how to make our investment desk work even more effectively for our clients.