ANNUAL INVESTMENT CONFERENCE 2026

Gerald Rehn, CFA

Managing Director, Head of IM EMEA, BNY Investments

Gerald is Managing Director and Head of EMEA Distribution, BNY Investments and is based in London, UK. His responsibilities include distribution strategy and management of sales, marketing, product strategy and development, client services, and operational areas. Gerald is a member of the Investment Management Global Distribution Executive Committee and chair of IM EMEA’s Executive Committee. Prior to joining BNY in 2013, Gerald held investment management distribution, product and portfolio management roles in the USA, UK and UAE since 1999. He is an American and British citizen, holds an MBA from Bayes Business School London (2004) (formerly Cass) and is a Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA)¹.

Alicia Levine, Ph.D.

Head of Investment Strategy and Equities, BNY Wealth

Alicia Levine is Head of Investment Strategy and Equities at BNY Wealth. Alicia is one of the firm’s leading voices for market analysis, investment outlook and asset allocation.

Alicia was previously the Chief Strategist at BNY Investments. She joined BNY in 2016 from TPG Angelo, Gordon and Co., where she served as the Director of Communications. Prior to that, she was a research analyst and portfolio manager at Bentley Capital Management.

Alicia earned a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University and a Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Chicago.

She was awarded a pre-doctoral fellowship from Stanford University, a post-doctoral fellowship from Harvard University and a research fellowship from the Hoover Institution.

Julie Best 

Director, NextWealth

Julie is Insight Director at NextWealth, with nearly two decades of experience in UK retail financial services. She joined NextWealth in 2019, bringing deep expertise in the financial advice market developed through senior research roles at Incisive Media and Centaur Media.

Julie specialises in understanding how financial planners think, decide and evolve, from firm strategy and business models to the human and behavioural factors that shape advice. She is trained in cognitive behavioural approaches and Socratic questioning, enabling her to get beyond surface-level responses and uncover the thinking behind advisers’ choices.

At NextWealth, Julie leads qualitative insight and interpretation across the firm’s research, translating adviser experience and large-scale data into clear, practical insights. Her work helps advice firms, providers and platforms understand emerging patterns, anticipate change, and adapt with confidence to what’s next for financial advice.

John Bailer, CFA

Deputy Head of Equity Income, Portfolio Manager, BNY Investments Newton 

John is the lead portfolio manager for dividend-focused Large Cap Value strategies. John is responsible for creating the Income Stock strategy to meet demand from clients seeking attractively valued higher dividend income while not sacrificing dividend growth. He is also the lead portfolio manager for the Equity Income strategy, which emphasizes dividend growth stocks, and a senior research analyst on the Dynamic Large Cap Value strategy.

John joined Newton in September 2021, following the integration of Mellon Investments Corporation’s equity and multi-asset capabilities into the Newton Investment Management Group. Before joining Newton, John was a senior portfolio manager and analyst at Mellon Investments Corporation and The Boston Company Asset Management (both BNY Mellon group companies). He has managed dividend strategies for the firm since 2005. Previously, John was Chair of Mellon’s Proxy & Governance committee.

John began his investment career in 1992 and has spent his entire career with BNY Mellon.
John has a BS with distinction in Accounting and Information Management Systems from Babson College and an MS in Finance from Boston College. He received his CFA¹ designation in 1997 and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Boston.

Jon Bell

Portfolio Manager, BNY Investments Newton

Jon Bell manages the Newton Global Equity Income strategy with Robert Hay and is the lead portfolio manager on the BNY Mellon Global Equity Income Fund (Responsible). 

Through his tenure at Newton, Jon has led both the global equity and multi-asset strategies and been responsible for a number of multi-asset and global equity portfolios. As well as his extensive investment roles at the firm, he has also spent time as a member of the commercial team involved in discussing client portfolios and tailoring strategies to meet client requirements. Jon joined the Newton equity income strategy in March 2020.

Jon joined Newton in 1995 and has a degree in natural sciences from Cambridge University.

Outside of work Jon spends much of his time as a 'taxi driver' supporting his younger son’s sporting ambitions and sharing in his older son’s passion for horse racing.

David Cumming

Head of Equities, BNY Investments Newton  

David Cumming joined Newton as head of UK equities in March 2022. David heads up our UK equity strategies and is lead portfolio manager of the UK Equity Income strategy.

David has been an active UK equity manager for more than 40 years. He was most recently Chief Investment Officer of Equities at Aviva Investors. Before that, he was Head of Equities at Standard Life Investments, and prior to that was a portfolio manager at Morgan Grenfell, Manufacturers Life and Edinburgh Fund Managers, having begun his career as an investment analyst at Royal London Mutual. He has an MA (Hons) in Economics and Accounting.

Paul Flood, CFA

Head of Multi-Asset & Charities, BNY Investments Newton

Paul is Head of Multi-Asset & Charities, at BNY Investments Newton. He is also lead manager of Newton Multi-Asset Diversified Return strategy, the Newton Multi-Asset Income strategy and the Newton Multi-Asset Growth strategy. He also provides leadership and analysis on asset allocation, derivatives and convertible bonds for the wider firm, having spent the earlier part of his career working on strategic asset allocation and derivative strategy. Paul is responsible for generating ideas within alternative assets and has been leading in this area since 2008. He is a member of the macro allocation group and provides feedback to the wider house on strategic and tactical asset allocation.

Paul joined Newton in 2004. He is a CFA¹ charterholder and has completed the certificate in quantitative finance (CQF) after passing with distinction. Paul studied Astrophysics at the University of St Andrews and is a keen cyclist and runner, having recently cycled the length of the UK from Land’s End to John O’Groats and often participates in marathons.

Zoe Kan, CFA

Portfolio Manager, BNY Investments Newton

Zoe is a portfolio manager for the Emerging Markets and Asia Equities strategies. Zoe joined Newton in 2000 as a dedicated Asia Pacific ex-Japan specialist. Having managed unconstrained Asian equity portfolios, she became lead manager on the Asian Equity Income Funds in 2016. She is also a lead manager on the Emerging Income Fund.

Zoe holds a degree in German and Economics, and is a CFA¹ charterholder. Outside of work, Zoe enjoys music and spending time with her young family.

Bhavin Shah, CFA

Portfolio Manager, Mixed Assets and Charities Team, BNY Investments Newton

Bhavin joined Newton in June 2011 as a portfolio manager in the mixed assets and charities team. Prior to joining Newton, he worked at SG Hambros for seven years where he was responsible for managing client portfolios focused on absolute return and multi-asset strategies. Bhavin is co-lead manager on numerous multi-asset accounts at Newton. In addition to portfolio management responsibilities, Bhavin is a member of the multi-asset Investment Risk Oversight Group.
Bhavin holds an MSc in Mathematics with distinction and is a CFA¹ charterholder.

Paul Byrne, CFA

Quantitative Analyst and Portfolio Manager, Quantitative Equity Team, BNY Investments Newton

Paul is a quantitative analyst and member of Newton’s multidimensional research team. He delivers rigorous analysis to support portfolio construction and risk management across Newton’s product suite. He also serves as an alternate portfolio manager for the Euroland Small Cap Equity strategy, the FutureLegacy range and thematic mandates.

Prior to joining the investment team, Paul was an investment risk manager at Newton. Previously, Paul worked for Royal Bank of Scotland within the retail sector advisory team and as a structurer on the structured bond desk.

Paul has a BSc in Mathematics and holds the IMC, Certificate in Quantitative Finance (CQF) and is a CFA¹ charterholder.

Damien Hill, CFA

Senior Portfolio Manager, Insight Investment

Damien joined Insight in October 2006. Within the Fixed Income Group, he initially joined the Currency Desk before moving to the Credit Analysis Team in January 2008. Damien joined the European Fixed Income Team in March 2011 as a dedicated credit portfolio manager. Damien graduated with a BSc honours degree in Economics and Finance from Bristol University and holds the Investment Management Certificate from the CFA Society of the UK and is a CFA¹ charterholder.

Adam Whiteley, CFA

Portfolio Manager, Insight Investment

Adam joined Insight in September 2007 as a Credit Analyst in the Fixed Income Group before becoming a Credit Portfolio Manager at the end of 2008. Adam graduated with a BSc (Hons) degree in Economics from Nottingham University. He holds the Investment Management Certificate from the CFA Society of the UK and is also a CFA¹ charterholder.

John Rae 

Client Investment Manager, Walter Scott

John is a Client Investment Manager at Walter Scott, working with a global client base. He collaborates closely with the investment research team to deliver clear insights into portfolio strategy and positioning. He previously specialised in emerging markets at Baillie Gifford and holds a BSc (Hons) in Physics from the University of Glasgow.

Ella Hoxha 

Head of Fixed Income, Co-head of Real Return, BNY Investments Newton

Ella is head of the fixed-income team and co-head of Real Return. Ella joined Newton in July 2023 and has 20 years’ experience in managing a variety of fixed-income portfolios. Ella was previously a senior investment manager at Pictet Asset Management on the global bonds team. Prior to that, Ella held senior investment management positions at Wellington Management and Invesco Asset Management.

Ella was recognised as one of the 50 leading women in hedge funds for 2019 and is an active advocate of developing and nurturing diverse talent in the industry.

Ella holds an Executive MBA from the University of Cambridge. She also holds a MSc in International Finance and a BA Hons degree in Business Finance. In addition, she is a CFA¹ charterholder.

Ella speaks five languages and is a qualified sommelier.

Uli Gerhard  

Senior Portfolio Manager, High Yield, Insight Investment

Uli joined Insight in September 2011 as a Senior Credit Analyst within the Fixed Income Group. He became a Portfolio Manager in June 2012 and is responsible for the high yield strategy. Prior to joining Insight, Uli was a senior analyst and portfolio manager at Paternoster Services Ltd where he was responsible for managing investment grade sterling portfolios. Uli started his career in the industry in 1997 with Saudi International Bank (now Gulf International Bank) as a high yield trainee analyst initially looking at the global chemical industry for high yield and investment grade credit research and later portfolio management. Uli graduated in 1993 with a BA degree in Chemistry from the University of Kaiserslautern. In 1997 Uli gained a PhD in Organic Chemistry from Cambridge University. He also attended the JP Morgan credit training programme for analysts in New York in 1998.