Mello is an open community of serious and high net worth private investors. Mello runs investor events which bring together investors and quality listed companies. They aim to provide a warm feel and unique experience at the events. Mello is run by investors, for investors. Founded by David Stredder, director of ShareSoc and active investor, in 2006, with the conferences launching in 2014.

Speaker: The Lord Lee of Trafford DL (MP, Private investor & Financial Times Columnist)

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Significant investment into critical UK infrastructure is required over the next decade, both to renew ageing facilities and support the transition to a modern, low carbon economy that can support the UK’s growth ambitions. The UK Government has acknowledged that private capital has a key role to play in delivering these targets. So, how can investors harness these secular tailwinds? What is the best way to access these illiquid investments? And what role can an infrastructure allocation play in a portfolio?

These are some of the topics that Edward Hunt, Partner at InfraRed Capital Partners and the Fund Manager of HICL Infrastructure, the London-listed FTSE250 infrastructure investment company, will cover over the course of the session.

Speaker: Edward Hunt, HICL Fund Manager

Investors have been buffeted by sharp falls in the stockmarket and geopolitical turmoil this year. So how should you position your portfolio in 2025 to temper the impact of volatility yet also leave you well placed to exploit opportunities arising from the turbulence? And could the Budget cloud the outlook for investors? Tune into this panel with MoneyWeek - UK's fastest growing financial title - with top financial journalists and industry experts to help guide your investment decisions.

Panel Session from MoneyWeek editorial team:
Kalpana Fitzpatrick - Site Editor, MoneyWeek
Andrew VanSickle - Editor, MoneyWeek
Ian Lance - co-head of Redwheel’s Value & Income team & co-portfolio manager of Temple Bar Investment Trust
Nick Dumas-Williams - Investment Analyst, Polar Capital Technology

Gareth Parker, Head of Indexing at Morningstar Indexes, will provide a short but informative guide to indexes: their origins, development over time, their current usage, and where index design and usage may be heading. His session should be of interest to anyone using indexes to benchmark the performance of their investments, who use index-based investments such as exchange traded funds (ETFs), or who are interested in the latest developments in thematic and “strategic beta” investing. Questions are encouraged!

Speaker: Gareth Parker, Head of Indexing at Morningstar Indexes

Hear from a panel of respected financial minds - from journalism, to personal finance and research - what do they think the most important changes the powers-that-be should make to help, and encourage, private investors in the UK. Bring your own ideas to put to the panel for debate and discussion.

Chair: Craig Rickman, Personal Finance Editor, interactive investor
Panel: Holly Mead, Deputy Money Editor, The Times and Sunday Times, Neil Blankstone, Director, Blankstone Hamilton Group; Mark McFee, Research in Finance

Welcome to the Investment Trust Forum – a dedicated 2-hour session designed to give you as much information as you need about whether to consider adding investment trusts to your portfolio.

Hosted by Richard Stone, Chief Executive of the Association of Investment Companies, and joined by Toby Finden-Crofts, CEO of Research in Finance.

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This panel session will help you learn more about professional investors and their stock selection techniques. What ratios do they use? Where do they go for reliable information? How much research do they do prior to making an investment? Bring your own questions and put them to the panel to hear their thoughts.

Panel Session

Speaker: Megan Dempster, Associate Director, LBG & Co.

This session will provide an overview of how the fixed income markets work, and the challenges and complexities that private investors face when trying to navigate these markets. It will introduce the laddered bond portfolio investment strategy, and consider the differences between constructing a laddered bond portfolio vs. investing in a bond fund from both a risk and returns perspective. Taking a deeper dive into the laddered portfolio approach, the session will focus on the characteristics of different individual fixed income securities, and how these can be used to construct laddered bond portfolios to meet varying investment objectives and risk tolerances whilst keeping liquidity at the forefront.

Key points that delegates will learn through attending:

• A high level overview of the functioning of the fixed income markets
• The key differences between investing in a bond fund vs buying individual bonds
• The benefits and risks to consider when adopting a laddered bond portfolio investment strategy
• How to allocate between the different individual fixed income securities in order to construct a laddered portfolio that meets your investment objectives and risk tolerances