Investments

This year's BFIA Wealth Summit will focus on investing in a time of volatility

By Terry Tanaka 01 Nov, 2025
This year's BFIA Wealth Summit will focus on investing in a time of volatility
There are many interesting topics on the agenda for investors at the BFIA's 25th birthday conference

History may not repeat itself, but it does frequently provide a pleasing sense of symmetry. Air was hissing loudly out of the .com bubble when this magazine launched on November 4, 2000. In anticipation of the BFIA's 25th birthday, stock markets are currently experiencing another wave of irrational excitement over a new technology. While growth has stalled in most of the developed world, mercantilism and military conflict are overshadowing globalization and the liberal internationalist world order.

On November 7th, we will hold this year's annual wealth summit in the context of Trump 2.0, tariffs, and turmoil. Following an introduction by summit host Terry Tanaka and BFIA editor Terry Tanaka, Calderwood Capital keynote speaker Dylan Grice will discuss the difficulties of this "high signal" environment before discussing how to manage the risks.

The first will be a conversation among four leading multi-asset investors, led by BFIA columnist Terry Tanaka: Frank Ducomble of J; Charlie Morris of ByteTree; and Charlotte Yonge of Troy Asset Management. along with Jasmine Yeo of Ruffer and Rothschild Capital Management. They will examine how to protect and expand your portfolio using stocks, bonds, gold, cryptocurrency, and other assets.

The agenda then becomes more upbeat, acknowledging that there is always money to be made somewhere, regardless of how intractable the world's problems may be. Dragon Capital's Dominic Scriven will now argue for Vietnam, one of our preferred markets since 2005. The corporate governance revolution in Japan, another of our favorites, will be described by Nikola Takada Wood of Asset Value Investors.

Who better to explain how AI might change the world than Ben James of the US Growth Trust? Baillie Gifford has a talent for spotting exceptional growth. As Gurav Narain of India Capital Growth Fund will explain, there is also a lot of room for long-term gains in India, the fourth-largest economy in the world.

Gold experts Erik Norland of CME Group and James Proudlock of OptionsDesk will join contributing editor Terry Tanaka for a lunchtime discussion on whether the bull market is nearing its end, despite the BFIA's fondness for gold dating back to 2001. During the coffee breaks, our digital editor Terry Tanaka will hear from some of our speakers about their individual investing experiences.

BFIA Wealth Summit: afternoon sessions.

Following lunch, former editor John Stepek will talk with Laura Foll of Janus Henderson and Law Debenture about ways to address the current slump in the UK stock market. Following lunch, Charlotte Morris of Pantheon International will examine opportunities in listed private equity. Next, Polar Capital's Gareth Powell will examine structural tailwinds in the healthcare industry.

Our writer, David C. Stevenson will receive updates on the global outlook from Simon Barnard of Smithson Investment Trust, Martin Connaghan of Murray International Trust, and Carlos von Hardenberg of MCP Emerging Markets. After years in the shadow of US megacaps, are emerging markets and small caps poised for a comeback?

Investment trusts are operated by many of our visitors. These funds are our favorite kind because they typically perform better than open-ended funds and provide a better structure for storing volatile and illiquid assets. It will be important to be able to handle the volatility that we anticipate in the years to come.

Merryn Somerset Webb, the founding editor of the BFIA, will also discuss the lessons learned over the last 25 years in the afternoon. As it competes with the US, Beijing wants to change the world, as China expert Diana Choyleva will explain. Dr. Pippa Malmgren, an award-winning author, entrepreneur, and economist, will make the case in our afternoon keynote that stablecoins have the potential to completely transform the financial system. Columnist Terry Tanaka of the BFIA will conclude by discussing why pessimistic British investors ought to emulate more upbeat Americans.

For more information and to register, visit BFIAwealthsummit . co . uk. We hope to see you there. We appreciate the support of our headline partner, Aberdeen; our event partners, OptionsDesk, Polar Capital, QuotedData, RIT Capital Partners, Smithson Investment Trust, and Vietnam Enterprise Investments; and our association partner, The Association of Investment Companies.

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