Attending wealth management and investment conferences can be a great opportunity to network and get up to speed on the latest industry trends and news. If you have limited time in your schedule, you may need to pick and choose which ones you attend. Knowing which financial advisor conferences are on the horizon can help you decide where to spend your time.
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Upcoming Investment Conferences 2024
Even though 2024 is nearly a third of the way through, there are still a number of conferences scheduled for the remainder of the year. Here are some of the most notable events if you’re looking for conferences to attend.
NAPFA Spring National Conference
- Dates: May 8-11, 2024
- Location: Fort Worth, Texas
- Cost: $349 to $1,749
The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA)’s spring conference will delve into a variety of topics, including inflation and interest rates, rollover and transfer rules for beneficiaries, hiring and training top talent, using AI in financial planning, and more. The organization’s spring conference will be held at the Omni Forth Worth Hotel.
Finovate Spring
- Dates: May 21-23, 2024
- Location: San Francisco
- Cost: $1,199 to $2,898
Hosted at the Marriott Marquis in San Francisco, Finovate Spring is billed as the “West Coast’s leading” financial technology event. This year’s conference will include discussions on artificial intelligence, open banking, future payments, customer experience and other topics with leaders from financial institutions, fintech companies and other experts in the field of finance.
AICPA & CIMA Engage 24
- Dates: June 3-6, 2024
- Location: Las Vegas and online
- Cost: $1,075 to $2,525
Scheduled for early June at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, AICPA & CIMA Engage 24 is the signature event for the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. This year’s conference will include a variety of workshops, presentations and other programming aligned with nine distinct tracks of accounting and finance, including advanced accounting and auditing, advanced estate planning, corporate finance and controllers, just to name a few.
BNY Mellon Pershing’s INSITE
- Dates: June 4-6, 2024
- Location: Nashville
- Cost: $299 to $899
BNY Mellon Pershing’s INSITE at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville will feature interactive forums, hands-on experiences and chances to network with industry experts, advisors and fintech companies.
FPA NexGen Gathering 2024
- Dates: August 20-22, 2024
- Location: Phoenix
- Cost: $450 to $750
The FPA NexGen Gathering is designed for financial planners who are entering the field or have less than eight years of experience in the industry. Attendees can earn CFP continuing education credits while connecting with other members of the next generation of planners.
ECHELON Deals & Dealmakers Summit
- Dates: Aug. 28-29, 2024
- Location: Laguna Niguel, California
- Cost: N/A
The ECHELON Deals & Dealmakers Summit is set to feature talks around success planning, as well as mergers and acquisitions. You might consider this conference if you’re interested in learning how to shape your exit strategy or acquiring another advisory firm.
Future Proof Festival
- Dates: Sept. 15-18, 2024
- Location: Huntington Beach, California
- Cost: $745
Future Proof is an outdoor festival featuring live music, food trucks and exhibitors from different financial service industry backgrounds. While it’s not your typical investment conference, Future Proof brings together thousands of advisors, asset managers and other experts in sharing ideas about the future of wealth.
Finovate Fall
- Dates: Sept. 9-11 2024
- Location: New York, New York
- Cost: $1,099 to $2,598
If you’re specifically interested in exploring the possibilities of tech in your advisory business, you might consider heading to Finovate Fall at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York. With more than 60 cutting-edge technologies on display, it offers more live fintech demos than any other conference.
Carson Excell
- Dates: September 9-11, 2024
- Location: Orlando, Florida
- Cost: $299 to $799
Carson Excell features noteworthy speakers and workshop sessions for advisors who are interested in how to scale from practice to business. Attendees can learn strategies for growing and marketing their firms.
FPA Annual Conference
- Dates: Sept. 18-20, 2024
- Location: Columbus, Ohio
- Cost: $899 to $1,349
The FPA Annual Conference is one of the largest financial advisor conferences in the world and it attracts a wide variety of industry leaders and financial professionals. This event is geared toward advisors of all different backgrounds and experience levels who are interested in networking and learning.
Women In Insurance & Financial Services (WIFS) National Conference
- Dates: October 14-16, 2024
- Location: Philadelphia
- Cost: TBD
The Women In Insurance & Financial Services National Conference brings together women in the insurance industry, as well as those who specialize in financial planning and financial advisory services. Each day features numerous breakout sessions that target specific areas of interest along with guest speakers and evening meetups.
NAPFA Fall National Conference
- Dates: Oct. 30-Nov. 2, 2024
- Location: Nashville
- Cost: TBD
NAPFA’s Fall National Conference is designed for fee-only financial advisors who are interested in growing their knowledge base. Areas of focus include estate planning, practice management and tax planning, among others.
61st Annual NAEPC Advanced Estate Planning Strategies Conference
- Dates: Nov. 20-24, 2024
- Location: Anaheim, California
- Cost: TBD
The NAEPC Advanced Estate Planning Strategies Conference welcomes estate planning professionals and estate planning council members. The conference features educational sessions on various estate planning topics, as well as the chance for accredited advisors to fulfill their continuing education requirements.
Barron’s Women Summit
- Dates: Dec. 4-6
- Location: Palm Beach, Florida
- Cost: TBD
The Barron’s Women Summit hosts women in the wealth management industry and is one of the final conferences scheduled for 2024. Some of the topics to be covered this year include challenges in the wealth management industry, ideas for growth and strategies for improving outcomes.
Note: Information about fees, daily events and guest speakers may still be forthcoming for some of these conferences.
Upcoming Investment Conferences 2025
While the 2025 conference schedule is still in the making, there are some notable events in the works for the first half of the year. Here are some of the conferences you may want to bookmark for the spring and early summer.
- 59th Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning (January)
- Elite Wealth Advisor Symposium (January)
- Immersion2025 (March)
- IWI Experience (March/April)
- Jolt! 2025 (June)
Is Attending a Financial Advisor Conference Worth It?
Conferences can bring together financial professionals from different backgrounds, which can be a great chance to make new connections. Networking can be time well spent if the connections that you’re making are able to contribute to your business growth in some way, such as generating new leads through referrals.
Aside from networking, conferences can help you to expand your knowledge as an advisor if you’re attending workshops, seminars or lectures. You can then take what you’ve learned and implement it in your business, which can help fuel new growth.
When deciding which conferences to attend, it helps to consider its purpose. A simple way to whittle down the list of conferences you might attend is to look at who they’re for. If you’re a fee-based financial advisor, for instance, it probably wouldn’t make sense to go to a conference that’s marketed specifically to fee-only advisors.
Second to that, you may want to think about the cost of attending and what you hope to glean from the experience. If there’s no obvious potential for a return on your investment of time and money associated with a particular conference, then you may want to skip it in favor of a different one.
Bottom Line
Attending investment conferences can yield some significant benefits, regardless of where you are in your financial advisor career. If you’re new to the conference scene, talking to other advisors who have some experience in that area can give you a better idea of what to expect and how to make the most of your time while you’re there.
Tips for Growing Your Advisory Business
- SmartAsset AMP (Advisor Marketing Platform) is a holistic marketing service financial advisors can use for client lead generation and automated marketing. Sign up for a free demo to explore how SmartAsset AMP can help you expand your practice’s marketing operation. Get started today.
- In addition to conferences, there are other possibilities you might explore for growing your network. Joining professional associations, attending local events for financial advisors and leveraging social media are just some of the options for gaining new connections.
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