Opportunities, Innovation & Change - Insights for 2025 & Budget Update

As 2025 draws to a close, join us for a dynamic afternoon of ideas, insight, and opportunity — designed to equip advisers and financial professionals for the year ahead.

This session will combine timely market and policy updates with practical investment insights to help you stay ahead in an evolving advice landscape. From investing in the UK’s thriving technology sector, to uncovering new routes to predictable income, and understanding how the 2027 pension/IHT changes and the latest Budget announcements could reshape client planning — this event brings together three expert speakers offering practical takeaways, fresh perspectives, and client-ready ideas.

And because it’s December, we’re embracing the season — Christmas jumpers are encouraged! Weather permitting, we’ll round off the afternoon with informal networking on the terrace to celebrate the end of another busy year in style. Our sessions cover: -

✅ Investing in UK technology companies – spotting opportunity in innovation

✅ Predictable income and asset-backed lending – practical routes to client stability

✅ Pensions and IHT reform and Budget update – understanding the 2027 changes and planning ahead

Date: 10th December 2025

Time: 2:00–4:30pm - followed by ‘Networking on the Terrace’ – weather permitting

Location: Eighteen - 18th Floor, 103 Colmore Row, Birmingham B3 3AG

CPD Hours: 2.5 hours

Agenda 2pm Welcome and Introductions

2:05pm - 2:45 pm

Budget Update…….Pensions and Inheritance Tax – Understanding the 2027 Changes

Robbie Hefferman- Technical Training Manager - Quilter Cheviot

2:45pm - 3:30pm

Investing in UK Technology Companies

Anastasia Sagaidachna – Senior Investment Manager - Foresight Group

3:30pm - 3:45pm

Comfort Break

3:45pm - 4:30pm

Identifying Opportunities. Predictable Income in Uncertain Times

Gavin Hill – Business Development Director - Evelyn Partners

4:30pm

Closing – update from PFS Local on 2026 events

4:30pm onwards

Festive Networking on the Terrace 🎄

Session Learning Outcomes

Session 1: Investing in UK Technology Companies - Speaker: Anastasia Sagaidachna – Senior Investment Manager, Foresight Group

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Explain the key factors that make the UK an attractive environment for starting and growing technology companies.
• Describe how Foresight sources and structures investment opportunities within the technology sector.
• Understand the J-Curve concept and how portfolio companies can be positioned effectively for growth and exit.
• Identify how clients can invest in technology companies through tax-efficient investment schemes (e.g. EIS, VCT), and consider their suitability within client portfolios.

Session 2: Identifying Opportunities – Predictable Income in Uncertain Times - Speaker: Gavin Hill – Business Development Director, Evelyn Partners

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Recognise the current market challenges and how predictable income solutions can support clients during periods of uncertainty.
• Identify opportunities for US-connected clients and understand the specific considerations and structures relevant to this client group.
• Understand the principles and potential benefits of asset-backed lending within a diversified advice proposition.
• Highlight areas where advisers and professional intermediaries can broaden their client offering or strengthen existing services through collaboration with Evelyn Partners.
• Evaluate how these opportunities areas align with client needs and regulatory expectations under the Consumer Duty framework.

Session 3: Pensions and Inheritance Tax – Understanding the 2027 Changes - Speaker: Robbie Hefferman – Technical Training Manager, Quilter Cheviot

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Explain the background and rationale behind the 2027 inclusion of unused pensions within the estate for Inheritance Tax (IHT) purposes.
• Summarise the latest Budget updates relevant to pensions, tax, and retirement planning, and assess their implications for client advice.
• Understand the key imbalances within the pension industry that have led to these proposed changes.
• Distinguish between what is in and out of scope under the forthcoming IHT rules and how these boundaries affect client planning.
• Evaluate the practical and taxation implications of the reforms, including adviser responsibilities and reporting considerations.
• Identify the planning options available to clients to mitigate potential IHT exposure and ensure effective succession strategies.
• Develop confidence in communicating the changes to clients and supporting appropriate planning discussions under the Consumer Duty framework.

Speaker Biographies

Robbie Hefferman - Technical Training Manager, Quilter Cheviot

Robbie brings over 25 years of financial services experience, spanning both large banking institutions and smaller independent firms. Having worked on the front line with clients and behind the scenes developing advisers, he combines a deep technical understanding with a clear, practical communication style.

At Quilter Cheviot, Robbie’s role as Technical Training Manager is to simplify the complex and share technical knowledge that often sits on the fine line between success and failure. Working closely with investment managers, financial planners, and legal and tax professionals, he delivers engaging and insightful training designed to help firms translate complex tax and investment concepts into real-world solutions that maximise outcomes for clients.

Anastasia Sagaidachna - Senior Investment Manager, Foresight Group

Anastasia is a hands-on investor in technology and tech-enabled businesses, with more than twelve years of experience across growth equity, venture capital, buyouts, and co-investments. She focuses on creating value and delivering exceptional outcomes by partnering with ambitious management teams to scale disruptive, high-growth businesses.

At Foresight Group, Anastasia plays a key role in sourcing, structuring, and managing investments within the UK’s thriving technology sector, supporting companies from early growth through to exit. Her passion lies in identifying technologically innovative and scalable enterprises that are transforming industries and contributing to the UK’s position as a global hub for tech investment.

Gavin Hill - Business Development Director, Evelyn Partners

Gavin began his career in financial services in the late 1990s and brings a wealth of experience across the pensions and investment markets. Over the past 25 years, he has worked both as a financial adviser and in senior business development roles, giving him a unique understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by advisory firms.

Gavin’s areas of expertise include occupational and personal pensions (including SIPPs and SSASs), offshore bonds, trust planning, and specialist investment solutions such as AIM portfolios, American citizen investment strategies, and trustee investment development. Renowned for his engaging and informative sessions, Gavin focuses on helping advisers identify new opportunities and strengthen their client propositions.

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