By April 2005, as a high-flying 44-year-old mother of six, Ms Horlick had already gained a reputation within the City as a ‘superwoman’ when she received national publicity after fending off an armed robber outside her London home.

In the January of 2005 she had formed Bramdean Asset Management and today she remains as CEO, responsible for implementing the group strategy and for directing the individual business units. Amongst its offerings is Bramdiva, a wealth management service which caters specifically for women. In 2007 the Guernsey-based investment company Bramdean Alternatives Limited was established (with Ms Horlick as fund manager), investing in private equity, hedge funds and specialty funds, which may include infrastructure, natural resources and real estate funds.

She will speak at the Guernsey Funds Forum 2008, ‘Fundamental solutions for a changing world’, which is taking place at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference and Exhibition Centre, Westminster, London, on Tuesday 7th October 2008.

“We are delighted to have secured such a prominent figure as Nicola to provide the keynote speech at this year’s Guernsey Funds Forum,” commented Grant Cameron, Chairman of the Guernsey Investment Funds Association (GIFA).

“I’m sure that there will be very strong interest in what she has to say about the current and future market conditions. It promises to be a talk which is topical, insightful and stimulating and should therefore dovetail well with what is a revamped conference format for 2008," he added.

As well as an exhibition comprising the leading names from Guernsey’s funds industry, the half-day event includes the sessions ‘Guernsey – a growth industry’ chaired by Nigel Farr, Partner, Herbert Smith; ‘Listing and Liquidity’ chaired by Tammy Menteshvili, Chief Executive, Channel Islands Stock Exchange (CISX); and ‘Private equity – looking forward’ chaired by Veronica Eng, Permira.

Horace Camp, Chairman of the GIFA Marketing Committee, said: “We are confident that delegates will find this programme extremely interesting and informative both in terms of addressing topical industry-wide issues and showcasing Guernsey’s wealth of expertise and first class infrastructure for providing a wide range of fund products and services to a global client base.”

The conference is part of the ‘Achieving Excellence’ event series that Guernsey is hosting throughout 2008. This has included a private equity funds masterclass in London earlier this year. On Wednesday 8th October there will be a Guernsey private equity masterclass at the Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh and later in the autumn there will be a Guernsey funds masterclass in Zurich.

In addition, the Island has been prominent promoting its funds offering at a range of conferences across Europe this year, including Super Return in Munich, MIPIM in Cannes, GAIM in Monaco and Fund Forum in Barcelona.

Peter Niven, Chief Executive of Guernsey Finance – the promotional agency for the Island’s finance industry, added: “Guernsey’s funds industry has continued to perform strongly despite the difficult conditions in the wider market. However we are not resting on our laurels and will continue to showcase the Island’s offering to ensure that we maintain robust business flows both now and in the future.”