Six months on from the UK entering lockdown, I thought it would be useful to review the events we’ve held and, more importantly, outline what we have planned for you, so far, for the rest of the year.
Since March, AREF’s modest marketing team have been busy! To think we didn’t have much experience in running online events back then – we are now firmly digital, having organised 25 events online since March, including round tables, webinars and podcasts which have been viewed over 2700 times by our members so far.
Round Tables:
At the beginning of the pandemic we ran a number of virtual round table events. Our Crisis Forum Series (later COVID Forum), chaired by John Forbes, included a superb line-up of speakers and gave our members the opportunity to ask questions and share information on particularly pertinent topics at that time. We held six of these between April and June and had 620 members dial in live and another 280 who viewed the recordings afterwards (link). Special thanks to everyone who helped us with these.
Podcasts:
COVID Pub-chat Podcast Series – Focussing on specific areas of the industry, we had specialists in various sectors talk on these 5 podcasts. Recorded during May and June, these podcasts have been viewed over 500 times (link). Special thanks to all our speakers who took part.
Webinars:
As well as the above, we held a further 12 webinars, both topical and educational, since the beginning of the pandemic; from our very popular Social Impact Investing events, to other events, including Wellness and events specifically for our Investor Members. We had nearly 1000 people dial into these events, with a further 300, so far, logging into our website to view the recordings (click here to view all our recordings).
Weekly Fund Manager calls:
Further to the events outlined above, the weekly FM calls, chaired by Paul Richards, MD of AREF, have also proven very popular. In the height of lockdown, over 50 fund managers attended these calls each week. Though we have not had as many fund managers dial into these calls recently, we will continue to run them while there is demand and they remain of value.
Pipeline:
As we continue with our online events, I am delighted to inform you of the programme coming up this year:
October:
5th - Roundtable with the FCA to discuss CP20/15 - members should email info@aref.org.uk if they wish to attend
9th - Implementing the new Stewardship Code (an Investment Association webinar) - click here to book
20th – Event 2, AREF FutureGen Educational Series 2020 ‘The Bricks and Mortar of Real Estate’ – Acquisitions & Transactions (sponsored by Carey Olsen) - click here to book
Date tbc - Round Table on Turnover Rents
Date tbc - Round Table on Use Classes Order / Planning Use.
November:
Date tbc - Launch of 'Capital Trends & Investor Makeup' (Past, Present & Future) – Research Paper / Event (sponsored by Mourant)
Date tbc - Launch of a new reference zone for AREF members (including papers and pre-recorded video-shorts on specific subjects)
December:
11th – The AREF Annual Awards Virtual Ceremony
We are always looking for interesting content and topics for our events, as well as speakers. If you have any ideas to discuss or any topics you would like us to cover, or if you would like to be included as a speaker, we would be delighted to hear from you, please contact me, Clare, on cwhyte@aref.org.uk.
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