Featured Speakers

Becoming a Better Biographer of Your Clients

Mitch Anthony, Advisor Insights Inc.

Saturday, October 1 at 11:10 a.m.

The advisor’s first responsibility is to understand the client’s story and then to build a financial plan around that story.

Relationships, according to Mitch, are the result of the exchange of stories. The more you and your client understand each other’s stories, the more lasting the relationship is. Mitch has identified three powerful forces influencing the movement of money either toward or away from the financial professional. Making connections by tapping into these three forces will ensure clients for life:

1. Intellectual: the force that causes clients to feel valued, understood, and important in the advisor’s eyes.
2. Life: the force that makes individual life events important to each client and impacts their money decisions.
3. Emotional: the force that connects advisors to clients – the one that can close the door on all competitors.

In the advisor/client relationship, it is what we do not know about our clients that can jeopardize prospective and long-term clients alike. Mitch will inspire advisors and provide them with the tools necessary to have more meaningful – and productive – conversations. Audience members will walk away with fresh ideas on how to turn prospects into lifelong clients, as well as how to develop stronger and more fruitful relationships with existing clients.

About Mitch:

Mitch Anthony is the founder and president of Advisor Insights Inc., The Financial Life Planning Institute, ROL Advisor, and Life-Centered Planners (U.K.). He is recognized around the globe for his pioneering work in life-centered planning.

Mitch is a consistently top-rated presenter who has been named “one of the most meaningful speakers in financial services today” and hailed as one of the industry’s top “Movers and Shakers” for his pioneering work. He is the author of many groundbreaking books for advisors and consumers, including the perennial bestseller StorySelling for Financial Advisors. He is also a sought-after expert for the media and a regular columnist for Financial Advisor magazine. His columns have appeared on CBS MarketWatch and in the Journal of Financial Planning. Mitch is also host of the daily radio feature, “The Daily Dose,” heard on over 100 radio stations nationwide.

Monetary Policy and the Economic Outlook

Ben Malin, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

Friday, September 30 at 9:00 a.m.

The session will focus on the Federal Reserve’s objectives (promoting price stability and maximum employment), the tools it uses to achieve these objectives (altering short-term interest rates and the size of its balance sheet), and the implications that current economic conditions and the economic outlook have for monetary policy going forward.

About Ben:

Ben Malin is vice president of Monetary Policy and the Economic Outlook at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. He oversees the division’s economic analysis function, which is a primary source of support for President Neel Kashkari. His team also provides economic updates to the board of directors and contributes to academic research on a range of issues related to the policy mission of the Federal Reserve System.

Ben has been a senior research economist at the bank since 2012, and in that role he served as a policy advisor to President Kashkari and the FRS Committee on Credit and Risk Management. Ben has a bachelor of science in economics and mathematics from Iowa State University and a doctorate in economics from Stanford University.

Is There Really a "Hub" in My Tech Stack? The Four Must Have Tech Tools

Kristen Schmidt, RIA Oasis

Friday, September 30 at 1:00 p.m.

Kristen presents a master class in evaluating your firm’s entire technology ecosystem. From the four must-have tech tools to integrations that are key to efficient growth, Kristen shares best practices necessary to keep up with the ever-changing tech landscape. Through this interactive session, Kristen will bring valuable insights regarding tech optimization and how to build accountability through technology.

About Kristen:

Kristen Schmidt is founder and president of RIA Oasis. Kristen uncovers the real-time hurdles advisors face when it comes to technology, integrations, and workflow building. As a technology strategist and speaker, Kristen works directly with advisors and planners to assess, research, and implement technology platforms. Her passion is uncovering business solutions by marrying tech with best practice initiatives. Kristen’s career spans over almost twenty years in financial services, specializing in operational efficiencies related to technology and business infrastructure. From managing operations of a now multi-billion-dollar RIA-based in the Midwest to being an alumni member of the TD Ameritrade Institutional Operations Panel, Kristen uncovers the ever-changing tech landscape by being boots on the ground with a variety of influencers. She is now an agnostic, strategic partner to tech vendors, RIA firms, hybrid model firms, financial planning firms, consultants and custodians throughout the industry.

Protecting Your Business From Modern Cyber Threats and Implementing Cybersecurity Policies

Arash Shokouh, Ophtek LLC

Thursday, September 29 at 9:00 a.m.

Technology is a part of every business. Financial service software options are endless. There’s enough sensitive information passing through these systems to bring a firm to a halt. A common thread that comes up regularly is knowing how to protect client and company data while addressing IT compliance. Arash will show you the history of data theft and data loss, modern threats to be aware of, the future of IT best practices, and what every firm should be doing to protect themselves and address cybersecurity compliance.

About Arash:

Arash Shokouh is a published inventor, computer engineering professor, and the owner of an IT security and support firm. Arash holds BS and MS degrees in computer engineering.

Ophtek (pronounced Off-Tech) LLC Owner and Technologist Arash Shokouh has had more than nineteen years of experience with technology spanning IT, engineering, and web security. He is a published inventor and also a part-time professor at San Jose State University's Computer Engineering department. A common thread that comes up on an almost daily basis from the firms supported by Ophtek is knowing how to protect data while staying compliant.