Conferences
This section contains news and coverage about the dozens of conferences held in the advisory industry every year. Those conferences range from annual events put on by the big custodians to small hands-on workshops hosted by law firms, consultants and tech companies, among others. RIABiz can't cover all the conferences, but this page includes our stories about those we have written about.
We hope that getting a flavor of the different gatherings helps you decide which are worthwhile attending and — if you're in the conference business yourself — what clicks with attendees and what doesn't. Have a suggestion for a conference we should cover? Email me, Brooke Southall at brooke@riabiz.com.
The RIA 'festival' kept sessions short, mingling high, ages low and older folks amazed, as the weather cooperated and Josh Brown proved how far a blogger can go.
Wednesday, September 21, 2022 – 1:55 AM by Lisa Shidler
Brooke's Note: I swear it was yesterday that Josh Brown was hatching the worst business plan I've ever seen by pounding out tweets and blog entries that combined blend of New York wit, Wall Street savvy, anti-Wall Street attitude. His decided voice made it hard ...
The Mariner Wealth COO says her Kansas company will spike headcount 400% in a 'few' years, fitting the Dealmakers confab mission to explain the inexplicably soaring RIA deal volumes, runaway valuations, and a future where it's only expected to accelerate.
Wednesday, September 7, 2022 – 1:41 AM by Brooke Southall
Cheryl Bicknell sat center stage, then took center stage at Dan Seivert's San Diego M&A revenge event as she disclosed that Mariner Wealth Advisors will hit 5,000 advisors in a few years -- shocking since it's taken 16 years to reach one-fifth that number.
The $474-billion bank's relationship with Pershing just got far more complex as it puts its belief in ringer, Ainslie Simmonds -- who is being given a long rope to tie up loose ends.
Saturday, June 18, 2022 – 2:29 AM by Guest Columnist Timothy D. Welsh
Brooke's Note: One of the biggest selling points of Pershing as RIA custodian has always been the notion that its ownership by BNY Mellon was a big plus. All those resources and all that experience! Yet really BNY Mellon has stayed at a remove and ...
The self-disciplined M&A crowd discussed pre-deal sausage-making, which left little room for managerial hot-dogging.
Tuesday, May 24, 2022 – 8:29 PM by Rocco Aloe Contributing Writer
Brooke's Note: The age-old question for anyone who buys a service business is this: What exactly am I buying? Often, there's about as much tangible asset value as a crypto coin, depending on the aftermarket for office furniture and copy machines. The short answer to ...
The M&A event restarts after COVID-19 hiatus and stormy financial markets--where rates are up and AUM is down--don't deter attendees.
Monday, May 9, 2022 – 7:48 PM by Brian Ferrie Guest Columnist
The Gladstone M&A Conference triumphantly returned last week to Philadelphia’s historic Union League building, drawing more than 100 attendees to the storied, 150-year-old landmark.
The RIA software guru got 1,000 people to Denton where data was the hot topic, and robo and crypto got short shrift.
Thursday, May 5, 2022 – 3:05 AM by Guest Columnist Timothy D. Welsh
Brooke's Note: It is always possible for technology to go obsolete. That's what makes it so exciting. In that vein, I propose that Joel Bruckenstein tweak his Technology Tools for Today (T3) conference and brand it "D3." I won't ask for a fee for my branding advice, ...
The 90-member lobby group for broker-dealers addressed its antiquated aspects--few digital adapters and small numbers of young people--with just 19% of its 30,000 advisors under the age of 45
Thursday, February 3, 2022 – 1:06 AM by Guest Columnist Timothy Welsh
A Washington, D.C., lobby and advocacy group for broker-dealers, caused jaws to drop at its B2B "home office" event in Dallas this week with a startling revelation-- it needs a youth and diversity movement pronto.
Attendees made the trek to the Fontainebleau Hotel Resort amid health precautions to high-five flesh and do a very in-person reality check
Thursday, December 9, 2021 – 10:47 PM by Guest Columnist Timothy Welsh
After a two-year COVID hiatus, the MarketCounsel Summit rematerialized for the 13th time in Miami Beach, with the palpable buzz and excitement of finally gathering together at an in-person conference.
With Matt Middleton and other ex-Informa guys as masterminds and Josh Brown and Barry Ritholtz providing muscle, the confab's aspiration is to be the Envestnet of RIA events.
Wednesday, October 20, 2021 – 2:24 PM by Brooke Southall
Brooke's Note: It's an open secret that RIA events succeed in spite of themselves. You put enough like-minded people in one place and magic happens -- even deprived of fresh air, fresh ideas, fresh faces and fresh content. The intangibles carry the day. Here, finally, ...
Having doctors and nurses is the crowning touch to form the smallest bubble possible, making attendees accountable and sparing no expense to avoid COVID superspreading.
Friday, August 27, 2021 – 10:26 PM by Lisa Shidler
Brooke's Note: The demand for attending in-person RIA conferences is relatively high. Events claim to be at or near capacity. The supply of in-person national conferences is scarce as many organizers like Schwab simply punt on the whole idea and others cautiously cancel toward the 11th hour. ...
Demand and attendance are mostly high; hosts cite advisors with under-12 children as mostly the reason for balking but say sponsors never flinched.
Tuesday, August 24, 2021 – 11:27 PM by Lisa Shidler
The 2021 RIA event comeback tour may be over before it begins.
With the Omaha and San Francisco -based firms merging Tuesday, TD cancels the event citing COVID and the fact that a virtual event is a poor substitute
Friday, October 2, 2020 – 6:24 PM by Lisa Shidler
Brooke's Note: Schwab Advisor Services was set to host an event in Boston for an invite list of 10,000 RIAs with $2.6 trillion of assets, counting TD Ameritrade's RIAs, who came aboard three weeks before showtime. It could thumb its nose at Fidelity Investments, whose ...
Roame cancelled the Oct. 12-14 event late last week and will make another run at a live conference this coming April in New York City.
Monday, September 28, 2020 – 8:27 PM by Lisa Shidler
Brooke's Note: When I used to attend the Tiburon CEO Summit (before it banned media), there were 75 attendees. Since then the prestigious event has grown to more like 150. Next Spring in New York City, it is targeting 300 attendees. I see that explosive growth ...
The BlackRock CEO reverse spun the success of big rivals in retail advice : 'We don't go to the customer like some other asset managers do'.
Saturday, September 19, 2020 – 4:00 AM by Brooke Southall and Oisin Breen
Brooke's Note: BlackRock is a super giant and a big winner. Its shares keep rising, not to mention its $7.4 trillion of AUM. If you were to assign a weakness, you might point to how its fellow super-giants -- especially Vanguard Group -- are advancing in ...
The InsideETFs event will compete with InvestWest for coveted late 2020 date, but without Josh Brown's stardust • SS&C's move follows Addepar advance and will include Advent products• The DoL sees net gains in RIAs of about 300 a year
Wednesday, July 8, 2020 – 2:23 AM by Oisin Breen
The COVID-19 pandemic, now spiking in 27 states, is still playing havoc with RIA events, causing popular gatherings like Wealth/Stack and InVest West to scramble for late 2020 dates to host ...