FSI Showcasing Female Leaders at Yearly Conference
The three-day event for independent firms and advisors is taking place in New Orleans Jan. 28-30.
The Financial Services Institute 2019 OneVoice conference kicks off Monday in New Orleans. Several hundred leaders of independent broker-dealers and independent advisors are expected to attend this year’s event, which will feature the first leadership panel with all-female participants on Tuesday.
On Monday, a series of board and council meetings take place, followed by a session focusing on the advancement of women in leadership. Some speakers at the event, which is sponsored by Broadridge and Fidelity, are Cambridge Investment Research President Amy Webber, KMS Financial President Erinn Ford and Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management COO Jaime Desmond.
Later Monday, the opening session will feature the award-winning host, filmmaker and entrepreneur Jay Shetty. Shetty, who led social media innovation at Accenture and also is a former monk, will take guests “inside the mind of innovators” and present four mindsets that can help financial professionals thrive.
On Tuesday, sessions will focus on these tracks or themes: CEO, compliance, due diligence, investment advisory services, marketing /growth/development, operations and technology and supervision. Networking breaks take place between sessions.
Sessions will cover topics like the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed best-interest regulation, share-class matters, high-risk brokers, cybersecurity, client communications, best practices and strategic planning.
The highlight of Tuesday afternoon is the all-women firm leadership panel with Valerie Brown, executive chairman of Advisor Group’s board; Jodi Perry, president of Raymond James Financial Services; Evamarie Schoenborn, president of Northwestern Mutual Investment Services; and Mimi Bock, president of Cetera Advisors and First Allied Securities, who will serve as moderator.
Later on Tuesday, entrepreneur Ben Casnocha will describe how advisors and firms can best manage talent in the digital age. One of his key solutions is for managers and leaders to stop thinking of employees as family or free agents; instead, think of them as allies on a tour of duty.
On Wednesday, several executive discussions and FSI committee meetings are scheduled.
The FSI Forum and Capitol Hill Days are set for Sept. 9-11 in Washington, D.C. Next year’s OneVoice event is scheduled for Jan. 27-29, 2020, in San Diego. The nonprofit advocacy organization has about 40,000 independent-advisor members.