For financial service firms, it’s both an exciting and perilous time to operate in the wealth management business. From the new (artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies) to the long standing (organic growth and retaining talented advisors), the industry faces unparallel opportunities and steep challenges.
Fortunately, there is no shortage of industry conferences throughout the year that offer companies and advisors to chance to learn new skills, stay on top of emerging trends and form valuable, long standing professional relationships.
Every year, WSR takes a closer look at the top industry conferences in our series of Guides to Industry Conferences. We distill key information including the location and dates, who is expected to attend, what will be covered at each conference, what attendees can look forward to and ticket prices. This first installment of the series for 2025 distills what you need to know about wealthtech conferences.
Orion Ascent
At Orion Ascent, over 1500 leaders and top advisors will gather at the Hyatt Regency Orlando Feb. 3 to 6, to network, discuss best practices and learn from experts about the top trends and issues that will impact the wealth management industry for the upcoming year.
For example, David Kelly, Chief Global Strategist for J.P. Morgan, will share his insights on how to navigate the U.S. economy after the recent presidential election. According to Kelly, though the American economy remain strong with little risk of recession, some longer-term assets appear overvalued, which warrants disciplined, non-emotional investment decisions.
Mike Levine, Co-Founder, Chief Product and Growth Officer of Evalu8 AI, will explain how artificial intelligence can solve two of the biggest challenges facing firms today: boosting organic growth and stemming the outflow of talented advisors. AI, for example, can help firms jump start growth by identifying untapped growth opportunities, such as client referrals and asset consolidation.
Don Friedman, CEO of Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals, will explore opportunities in cryptocurrencies. According to Friedman, eight in 10 clients now expect their advisors to be knowledgeable about crypto, and six in 10 clients are willing to switch advisors to get advice on crypto. Friedman will discuss how you can use Bitcoin to build your practice – even without recommending it.
Registration for Ascent is now officially closed. Sponsors include BlackRock, Towes Asset Management, Janus Henderson, Fidelity and Pontera.
T3 Technology Conference
The year’s T3 Technology Conference information page quotes the old saw: “If you’re not growing, you’re dying,” noting its relevance to the wealth management industry. It continues, “Study after study in the financial services industry shows that financial advisors are not growing organically – and that’s a problem.”
Therefore, the theme for this year’s conference, which will be held March 3 to 6 at the Hyatt Regency Dallas, is organic growth. The conference will explore how automation, workflow improvements and time efficiency can help advisors boost their revenue. In the end though, it’s really the human element of the business that’s key to building a strong practice.
This year’s conference features a industry speakers and experts including Amy Young, Managing Director, Industry Advisory, Capital Markets at Microsoft; Steve Quirk, Chief Brokerage Officer for Robinhood; James Dean, Global Generative AI GTM Specialist at Google; and Larry Roth, WSR’s CEO.
Sponsors include AdvisorEngine, Invent, Dispatch, Syntax, Envestnet, Morningstar, Orion and RBC Clearing & Custody.
Ticket prices vary, with tickets for advisors, broker-dealers and consultants costing $999 at early bird rates, and $1,099 at standard rates.
WealthStack
Over 1500 attendees, including CTOs, COOs, advisors, wealth managers, asset managers and technology-decision makers, are expected to attend the WealthStack conference June 10 to 12 at The Boca Raton Resort in Florida. WealthStack is the technology section of Informa Connect’s Wealth Management EDGE conference, which is expected to draw 2,000 attendees, including 1,000 advisors, representing over $17 trillion in managed assets.
WealthStack will focus on how to navigate the AI-driven future of wealth management, ways advisors can leverage technology for efficiency, and how custodial competition will transform the advisor space.
Speakers include Michael Kitces, Chief Financial Planning Nerd at Kitces.com; Jason Pereira, Senior Partner and Financial Planner at Woodgate Financial; and Ritik Malhotra, CEO and Co-Founder at Savvy Wealth.
Sponsors of the broader EDGE event include LPL Financial, Nuveen, Jump, Bill, Absolute Capital, KraneShares, Marsh McLennan, Wealth.com, and Van Eck.
Ticket prices range from $99 (advisors) and $1,250 (startups) to $2,999 (product and service and providers).
Future Proof
The Future Proof Festival, which will be held Sept. 7 to 10 at Huntington Beach, California, bills itself as the world’s largest wealth festival. Over 5,000 attendees are expected, including over 3,000 advisors, executives and limited partners, representing $20 trillion in assets.
One of the festival’s unique features is “Breakthru,” in which it organizes thousands of 15-minute one-to-one meetings. This year organizers expect over 50,000 individual meetings in the Breakthru Meetings Zone. To take part, participants fill in a profile, are matched by algorithm and approve each proposed meeting before it begins.
This year’s speakers include Mike Gitlin, CEO of Capital Group; Lee Davidson, Chief Data and Analytics Officer for Morningstar; Stephanie Guild, Head of Investment Strategy for Robinhood; Tom Lee, Co-Founder and Head of Research for Fundstrat; and Caleb Silver, Editor-in-Chief of Investopedia.
Sponsors include Capital Group, Vanguard, Morningstar, Altruist, Goldman Sachs, Invesco and Fidelity.
Past conference ticket prices have varied, with general attendees costing $2,300, advisory firms with under $50 million in assets at $300, advisory firms over that amount at $495, startups at $900, and exhibitor and sponsor tickets costing $2,000 and requiring prior approval.
Fearless Investing Summit
Nitrogen’s Fearless Investing Summit will be held Oct. 22 to 24 at the Hyatt Regency Denver. Over 1,000 attendees from all 50 states and multiple countries are expected to attend, including firm executives, solo practitioners, home office leaders and many other financial professionals.
This year’s conference will cover everything from growth and investment strategies to client experience and compliance. Previous speakers include Samantha Russell, Chief Evangelist at FMG; Craig Iskowitz, Founder and CEO of the Ezra Group; and Joy Lere, Co-Founder of Shaping Wealth.
Last year’s conference sponsors included FP Alpha, FMT Solutions, AcquireUp, Tax Status, Allianz, Charles Schwab and SS&C Black Diamond.
Tickets cost $549 for advisors at the early bird rate, $500 each in an advisory firm package, service providers at $789 and general admission at $999.
Janeesa Hollingshead, Contributing Editor at Wealth Solutions Report, can be reached at editor@wealthsolutionsreport.com.
