H&B | WHOLESALE FORUM 2026 | MELBOURNE
AGENDA
08:30
REGISTRATION | Metropolis Events, Melbourne
09:00
WELCOME | PAUL NICOL, H&B Chairperson
09:15
TREES, FORESTS & RED HERRINGS | READING THE MARKET MATRIX
Amidst ever-evolving market trends, how do you separate the signal from the noise? And more importantly, what do you actually do about it?
This candid session brings together Australia's sharpest allocators to discuss how they distinguish genuine market signals from the noise, and the major ideas that excite them and set to have the largest impact on portfolios. A session that provides insight into tactical shifts, long-term structural opportunities, and everything in between.
SPEAKERS:
WILL HAMILTON, Managing Partner, Hamilton Wealth Partners
TRACEY MCNAUGHTON, Chief Investment Officer, Escala Partners
MAX CASEY, Head of Investment Strategy, Evans & Partners
10:00
MORNING TEA
10:25
CREDIT WHERE IT'S DUE | THE NEW FACE OF GLOBAL CREDIT
While Australian private credit relies heavily on corporate and property lending, this session examines the strategic case for global diversification into Asset Based and Trade Finance. It explores critical differences in loan structures, questioning whether local liquidity profiles truly align with fund distributions. The discussion also navigates the "K-shaped" economy, contrasting philosophies on consumer exposure, from total avoidance to targeted underwriting, before assessing how investors should view return profiles in a the current rate environment
SPEAKERS:
KAZ RAHMAN, Portfolio Manager | Senior Investment Analyst, Federated Hermes
KYLE MCCARTHY, Executive Vice President and Alternative Credit Strategist, PIMCO
11:25
THE QUALITY EXODUS | WHY EXCELLENCE CHOSE TO STAY PRIVATE
Public equity markets are exhibiting stark divergence where AI-adjacent narratives command premium valuations while quality businesses trade at depressed multiples. But is private equity the answer, or just another expression of the same herd mentality? And if quality businesses are staying private, what does that tell us about market efficiency?
A session that challenges all to interrogate their assumptions. Why have quality businesses chosen to remain private? Is the valuation gap between public and private markets rational, or is it just different irrationality? Our speakers explore the structural shifts reshaping capital allocation and the uncomfortable questions around PE returns in a crowded market.
SPEAKERS:
GABRIEL NG, Managing Director & Portfolio Manager | Private Equity, Neuberger Berman
HERBERT SUEN, Senior Managing Director, Blackstone
12:25
LUNCH
13:25
CREDIT QUALITY UNDER THE MICROSCOPE | ASIC, DEFAULTS & YOUR PORTFOLIO
Australia's private credit market has boomed, but rising defaults, market stressors, and the ASIC review are forcing a reckoning. How do you build resilient portfolios when credit quality is under scrutiny and concentration risk is rising?
This session brings together the biggest investors to dissect the Australian credit landscape. Corporate lending faces headwinds from trade volatility, while commercial real estate grapples with inflation pressures. Our speakers provide insights and explore how to navigate subsector divergence and build well-rounded portfolios that deliver superior risk-adjusted returns without taking unnecessary concentration risk.
The key question: in a maturing market under regulatory scrutiny, how do investors continue to deliver strong risk-adjusted returns?
SPEAKERS:
WAYNE LASKY, Executive Chairman and Founder, MaxCap
ANDREW LOCKHART, Group CEO and Managing Partner, Metrics Credit Partners
14:25
WHERE CONVEXITY LIVES | MAXIMISING YOUR MOST REWARDING RISK DECISION
Equities drive the majority of portfolio volatility, which makes them your most consequential risk decision but also your most rewarding one. So where should your active management budget actually go?
This session challenges the assumption of scale and index. Our speakers explore where active management is genuinely rewarded, from the structural inefficiencies of microcaps to shifting leadership in global equities. As mega-cap tech infrastructure spending increasingly weighs on earnings, markets are becoming more discerning. This conversation cuts to a practical question: How do you build conviction in your equity allocation that actually generates alpha instead of just paying for beta?
The session unpacks where genuine market inefficiency lives today, and how to think differently about active management in an era where uncovering value and understanding capital allocation matter just as much as stock picking.
SPEAKERS:
JOEL FLEMING, Portfolio Manager | Microcap Equities, Yarra Capital Management
BEN ARNOLD, Investment Director, Global Equities, Schroders, Australia
15:20
AFTERNOON TEA
15.45
GODS, GUNS & GOLD | THE NEW MACRO TRINITY
The oldest trade and the newest religion. This session steps away from the standard asset classes to explore the three volatile forces reshaping the global landscape, the God-like promise of AI, the geopolitical guns driving energy markets, and the eternal sovereign bid for Gold.
Our speaker will dissect these themes not as asset classes, but as discretionary opportunities. A session for the active allocator looking to capture the trends that are reshaping the world, from the ground up to the cloud.
SPEAKER:
HARRY COLVIN, Head of Asset Allocation, Longview Economics
16:45
BEYOND THE HYPE
Every asset class has a story, but how do they stand up to the scrutiny of due diligence? As we conclude the forum, we step back to view the landscape through the lens of the buy side allocator.
What are the genuine drivers of portfolio performance for the coming year? Integrating insights throughout the day, our speakers outline what actually makes the cut in a portfolio. We discuss the practicalities of implementation, the reality of risk budgets, and the final "buy, hold, or fold" decisions that define the current cycle.
SPEAKERS:
DANIELLE PRESS, Non-executive Director
DUNCAN SMITH, General Manager Client Relationships, JANA Investment Advisors
17:45
DRINKS & CANAPÉS
19:30
FORUM TO CONCLUDE