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Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly moving from a productivity tool to a strategic capability for investors. But its true potential may lie in helping investment teams make better decisions, challenge assumptions and consider a broader range of possibilities. In this episode of Investing for Tomorrow, Luba Nikulina, Chief Strategy Officer at IFM Investors, joins Roger Urwin, Co-founder of Thinking Ahead, to explore how AI is reshaping investment decision-making, enhancing collective intelligence and opening up new opportunities for the industry. The conversation also examines the importance of governance, accountability and guardrails, highlighting the risks that must be managed as AI becomes more deeply embedded in investment organisations. From decision quality and organisational redesign to fiduciary responsibility and trust, this discussion offers a balanced perspective on how investors can harness AI's potential while remaining clear-eyed about the challenges ahead.

What gives someone an edge in a world where expertise is increasingly accessible? In this episode of Investing for Tomorrow, Louisa Minter-Kemp sits down with Dawid Konotey-Ahulu CBE DL to explore trust, purpose and the future-fit professional. Building on our own work at Thinking Ahead on the Professional 2.0, the conversation examines what makes people stand out when technology can replicate more of what we do. From authentic leadership and communication to AI, relationships and human judgement, Dawid reflects on the qualities that remain distinctly human and why trust may become one of the most valuable assets of all. Dawid he started his career in the world of law, training as a barrister before going on to spend 16 years as an investment banker; before leaving that all behind and setting up two firms of his own called Reddington and Mallowstreet for another 20 years. He co-founded the 10,000 Interns Foundation and most recently founded Spellbound, a public speaking programme run in schools, universities and prisons.

This episode explores climate physical risk — the floods, heat and extreme weather events already affecting assets, operations and portfolios today. Moving beyond long-term transition narratives, we look at how these risks are showing up in real investment decisions right now, and what it takes to understand and act on them. Through a systems-level investing lens, the conversation unpacks how investors can move from broad climate scenarios to asset-level insight —and ultimately, from analysis to action.

In the latest episode of our AI fireside chat series, Louisa Minter-Kemp is joined by Simon Warner, Chief Investment Officer at Aware Super, for a practical conversation on what AI really means for investment organisations today. Speaking from the front line, Simon cuts through the hype to focus on how investors can apply AI in a way that strengthens—not replaces—their core philosophy, decision-making, and competitive edge. Together with Roger Urwin, the discussion explores how asset owners can navigate accelerating change, make better use of data, and rethink organisational effectiveness. It's a grounded, thoughtful take on AI—less about the technology itself, and more about how investors adapt, evolve and make it work in practice.

We turn our focus to the Middle East – a region rising up the ranks of global capital despite ongoing tensions. Drawing on our latest Asset Owner 100 research, we explore the Middle East as one of five global asset clusters, where leading sovereign wealth funds are moving beyond silos and thinking more holistically about capital, risk and opportunity. In this episode, Louisa Minter-Kemp chats to Laura Merlini, Managing Director, EMEA who shares fresh insights into how these funds are evolving, what they're investing into and what others can learn from the Gulf's approach.

Markets like certainty. Geopolitics offers anything but. This episode explores why investors might be getting geopolitical risk wrong, how a shifting world order is changing markets, and what a more adaptive approach to risk could look like.  Power shifts, strategic rivalry and the breakdown of the global rules‑based order are reshaping markets in ways that traditional risk frameworks struggle to capture. In this episode of Investing for Tomorrow, Louisa Minter‑Kemp speaks with Alastair Irvine of Jupiter Asset Management about why geopolitics is so hard to price, how recent shocks exposed collective blind spots, and why investors need to think differently about uncertainty. Drawing on decades of experience, the conversation explores mispricing, volatility and the case for a more adaptive, systems‑led approach to risk, what the Thinking Ahead Institute calls Risk 2.0, focused on resilience, long‑term thinking and understanding the world through the eyes of key protagonists. You can explore Alastair's insights via Substack.

At Thinking Ahead, our latest fireside chat series 'Charting AI in the Investment Industry' explores how the investment landscape is evolving as artificial intelligence accelerates at an unprecedented pace.  In our latest episode, Roger Urwin, Co-founder of Thinking Ahead, and Sue Brake, Chair of the Board at Dragonfly Thinking and former CIO of Future Fund, sit down with Louisa Minter-Kemp, Communications and Engagement Lead at Thinking Ahead. Sue has spent the past six months building over 60 AI agents in practice, and the conversation is as candid as it is practical.  She opens with a striking claim: she would not attempt a Total Portfolio Approach transformation today without AI. Not because it speeds things up, but because AI brings something no human committee member can: no need to belong, no fear of conflict, and no hesitation to point out the problem in the room when everyone else stays quiet.  The conversation spans a beliefs agent built to surface the disagreements investment committees avoid, a live systems map that changed how she thinks about risk, and what months of deep AI use does to your instincts. Her closing note is both exciting and sobering: organisations are too fully occupied to free up the people who most need this time, and the window to act is shorter than it looks.

Kick off the new season of our Investing for Tomorrow podcast with a sharp look at how wealth is transforming. Louisa Minter-Kemp, Communications & Engagement Director at Thinking Ahead sits down with Rio Stedford of St. James's Place (SJP). SJP is the UK's largest wealth manager supported by almost 5,000 advisors across the country. With a front row view of how wealth clients needs are shifting, Rio unpacks those changing client expectations, the rise of private markets and how technology and hyper personalisation are reshaping advice. Listen in for an insightful take on where wealth is heading next. Resources mentioned:  Thinking Ahead Institute's Global Wealth Study  Thinking Ahead Institute's wealth hub

What does it really mean to combine human intelligence with artificial intelligence in investment decision-making?  At Thinking Ahead, our latest fireside chat series 'Charting AI in the Investment Industry' explores how the investment landscape is evolving as artificial intelligence accelerates at an unprecedented pace.  In our second episode, Roger Urwin, Co-founder of Thinking Ahead, joins Mona Naqvi, Managing Director of Research, Advocacy, and Standards at CFA Institute, to explore how that combination could transform the investment profession, and why systems thinking is emerging as a core skill for the future amidst this change.  Moderated by Louisa Minter-Kemp, Communications and Engagement Lead at Thinking Ahead, the conversation spans the evolution of the Total Portfolio Approach to the shifting definition of human intelligence itself, examining how investors can recalibrate their compass in a world defined by AI, complexity, and structural change.

At Thinking Ahead, our fireside chat series 'Charting AI in the Investment Industry' explores how the investment landscape is evolving as artificial intelligence accelerates at an unprecedented pace.  In this episode, Roger Urwin, Co-founder of the Thinking Ahead Institute, and Jaco van der Walt, Managing Director and Global Head of Quantitative Research & Investments at RBC Asset Management, join moderator Louisa Minter-Kemp, Communications and Engagement Lead at the Thinking Ahead Institute, to unpack how artificial intelligence is being embedded into investment organisations, and why governance, structure and judgement matter more than ever.  From AI agents and autonomous analysis to the rise of pi-shaped organisations, Jaco highlights what RBC are focusing on within AI and how leading firms are rethinking decision-making in a world where machines can generate insight at extraordinary speed and scale.

From geopolitical uncertainty to climate risk, technological disruption to shifting workplace expectations, today's leaders are operating in a world that looks nothing like the one they entered. The demands are higher, the context more complex, and the need for clarity, empathy and long-term thinking has never been greater. In this episode, we explore how leadership is being redefined, not in theory, but in lived experience. What does it mean to lead with purpose? How do leaders stay grounded amid complexity? And what does the next era of leadership require from all of us, inside and outside the workplace? Joined by three industry leaders — Kirshni Totaram Global Head of Institutional Business, Coronation Fund Managers, Yolanda Blanch Chairperson, Pensions Caixa 30 (PC30) and Diya Luke, Global Head of Investments, WTW — we explore the principles, practices and perspectives shaping leadership today. Resources mentioned: Toolkit: Spotlight on Superteams Research paper: Culture – the organisational superpower Book: Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us – Daniel Pink Book: The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organisation – Peter Senge Book: Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things – Adam Grant Book: Thinking, Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman Book: Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgement – Daniel Kahneman et al. Book: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking – Susan Cain Explainer: Theory U – Otto Scharmer Article: Understand team effectiveness – Google

Defined contribution (DC) pensions have overtaken defined benefit schemes globally, marking a fundamental shift in how societies save for retirement. But while the model has grown in scale and sophistication, a central challenge remains: how can DC systems deliver reliable income for life?  In this episode, we explore the evolving world of DC pensions — from technology and private markets to sustainability, systemic risk, scale, and member outcomes. Joined by Tim Hodgson, Co-founder, Thinking Ahead Institute, and Jelena Croad, Head of LifeSight, WTW, we unpack insights from Thinking Ahead's Global DC Peer Study and discuss how leading providers are responding to growing pressures and opportunities.  Resources mentioned: Study: Global DC Peer Study Investment insight: Data 'slop' and disinformation emerge as systemic risks for investors

In this episode we explore the future of wealth management at a time of profound demographic and cultural change.  Joined by Andrea Caloisi, Associate Director, Thinking Ahead Institute, and Ellie Lloyd Jones, Director, WTW Investments and Strategic Development Support, atomos wealth, we unpack the findings of Thinking Ahead's new Global Wealth Study and the implications for an industry in transition.  We discuss the "Great Wealth Avalanche" and how this shift is already reshaping client expectations. We also examine the role of technology and AI in lowering barriers to advice, the growing demand for ESG-integrated products, and why wealth management may increasingly look like wealth care: a model built around financial wellbeing as much as financial returns.  Resources mentioned: TAI Global Wealth Study TV series: Succession

Risk 2.0 isn't just a theory—it's changing how risk is measured, analysed, and managed in real time. In part one of our Risk 2.0 series, we explored the concept as a more adaptive approach to risk—one that accounts for uncertainty, resilience, and long-term thinking.  In part two, we turn to practice. Investors are applying new tools, new data, and new thinking to navigate today's more complex landscape. From forward-looking indicators to options-based hedging, the focus shifts from philosophy to application. Joined by Benedek Voros, Director of Index Investment Strategy at S&P Dow Jones Indices, and Mandy Xu, Head of Derivatives Market Intelligence at Cboe Global Markets, we unpack the relevance of volatility dashboards, the growing role of dispersion, the breakdown in traditional correlations, and the tools enabling more precise, flexible risk management.

In this episode of Investing for Tomorrow, we unpack the digital transformation reshaping investment organisations and the evolving landscape of private markets. Joined by Martin Dietz, Head of Diversified Strategies at L&G Asset Management, and Christine Moy, Head of Digital Assets, Data & AI Strategy at Apollo Global Management, we explore how blockchain, tokenisation, and AI are driving innovation, operational efficiency, and new opportunities across asset management. We discuss the shift from fragmented record keeping to unified infrastructure, the power of programmable finance to democratise private markets, and the accelerating role of AI in transforming the industry. Resources mentioned: Research paper: The Future of Wealth Management: Ultra-efficient portfolios of traditional and alternative investments powered by tokenization Artwork: Everydays by Beeple