Active with Passive: The evolution of fixed income: From security selection to systematic building blocks

Tuesday 28 April 2026 | 18:30 - 20:30 | Evening Event

This event has been sponsored by S&P Dow Jones Indices.  

 Fixed income markets are undergoing a fundamental transformation. The traditional approach of selecting individual securities is giving way to a new paradigm—one where index-based, systematic building blocks are reshaping how institutional investors construct portfolios and manage risk. The growth of fixed income ETFs, futures and total return swaps has created a universe of liquid, tradable tools that allow investors to tap into key drivers of bond market performance: credit, term and liquidity.

This shift challenges the familiar “active versus passive” framing. The reality is more nuanced—and more powerful. Increasingly, systematic index-based solutions are being used not as a replacement for active management, but as a complement to it. This is active with passive: a framework in which index-based products serve as building blocks within actively managed portfolios, with the potential for enhanced diversification, improved liquidity and more targeted strategies than individual bond selection can deliver.

Drawing on original, data-led research, this event will explore the evidence behind this evolution and its practical implications for fixed income investors.

Key Learning Outcomes

• Understand how the creation and growth of fixed income ETFs has transformed the opportunity set in fixed income, and how these instruments interact with the broader market ecosystem
• Evaluate the relative value proposition of index-based approaches compared to active individual bond selection, supported by original research and data
• Assess the increasing liquidity and diversification available through the expanding universe of fixed income index products, including ETFs, futures and total return swaps
• Explore how systematic, index-based tools can be integrated within active fixed income strategies to calibrate by credit, term and liquidity 
  

Who Should Attend
Portfolio managers, asset owners, fixed income traders, asset allocators and investment professionals seeking to understand how systematic, index-based tools can complement active fixed income strategies. 

Timings:

Registration: 18:00 
Event: 18:30 - 20:30 

Speakers

Olivier Souliac, Head of Indexing, Xtrackers Products

Olivier is a Managing Director at DWS and has global responsibility for Indexing within Xtrackers. After completing his Masters in engineering science at École Centrale in Paris and financial mathematics at the Technische Universität Berlin, Olivier Souliac worked for Deutsche Bank in London and Frankfurt in the structured funds and index funds division. The particular emphasis in this role was on the development and distribution of systematically managed funds. 

Olivier became an active member of DWS at the end of 2012, working in this same area of responsibility. In October 2014, Olivier joined the Strategic Beta team within Passive Asset Management, taking responsibility for Fixed Income. 

Orlando Gemes, Founding Partner, Chief Investment Officer, and Portfolio Manager, Fourier Asset Management (FAM)

Orlando Gemes is the Founding Partner, Chief Investment Officer, and Portfolio Manager at Fourier Asset Management (FAM), where he also serves on the Investment Committee. He sits on the Advisory Board of the Martingale Foundation.

Before FAM, he led Fairwater Capital for ten years, focusing on credit markets, capital structuring, and asset-backed securities. He previously served as Head of Structured Credit at Hermes Fund Managers and was a member of its Portfolio Risk Committee. His career also includes roles as a Credit Portfolio Manager and Trader at Credaris, Artesian Capital Management, Fortis Investments, and Advance Asset Management.

Orlando began his career in fixed income sales at Deutsche Bank and holds a Post-Graduate Certificate in Applied Finance from Macquarie University.

Tim Edwards, Managing Director,Global Head of Index Investment Strategy, S&P Dow Jones Indices

Tim Edwards is Managing Director and Global Head of Index Investment Strategy at S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI). The group provides research and commentary on S&P DJI’s entire product set, including U.S. and global equities, commodities, fixed income, and economic indices. 

Prior to joining S&P DJI in 2013, Tim worked for Barclays Capital, initially within fund-linked derivatives and subsequently in exchange-traded products and index-linked derivatives. Prior to that, he worked at the Royal Institution of Great Britain.

Tim holds a Ph.D. in pure mathematics from University College London.

David Litchfield, Director, Derivatives Sales, Cboe Global Markets

David Litchfield is Director, Derivatives Sales, at Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe). Based in London, Litchfield is responsible for managing relationships with Cboe’s buy- and sell-side customers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). 

Prior to joining Cboe, David spent 4 years at BlackRock in the iShares UK sales team primarily responsible for Scotland, Ireland and the UK institutional and hedge fund community.  

Before BlackRock, he spent 11 years in equity derivatives on the sell side in a variety of roles but latterly as an Equity Derivatives salesperson covering institutional and hedge fund clients in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands

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