IMPACT, INSITE: Planning for advisor conferences in 2015

Conferences are a great way to meet and strengthen relationships with financial advisors. They are also a great way to promote your brand. The biggest benefit, though, is to support influential organizations such as Schwab or Morningstar. They know (and remember) who their sponsors are.

Ideally, your conference strategy should complement your sales strategy. You should attend and sponsor conferences for the firms targeted by your sales effort. Recently a fund CEO asked me if he should attend or sponsor Schwab IMPACT, because a colleague told him it was excellent. Since his funds are not even on the platform, I’d suggest not.

So what do they cost? If you’re considering becoming a sponsor at a major national conference, plan to spend at least $10,000-$20,000. This would cover a more basic sponsorship, such as an exhibit booth and being part of the signage. If you would like a premium sponsorship, which often includes meals or extra signage, or speaking opportunities, you could expect to pay $50,000 to $250,000 or more. Time out of the office and travel are additional.

If you’re looking for a lower cost option, many organizations offer regional conferences, which typically come with a lower price tag. They also tend to draw a smaller crowd, potentially allowing for stronger relationship building opportunities.

If you are actively seeking a speaking spot, contact the organization’s sponsor relations representative, who should be able to provide ideas, tips, or—at the very least—refer you to the people handling panelists. As Tom Coakley at TD Ameritrade recently told me, “Speaking spots are determined by our sponsorship levels or by our agenda team if they are looking to fill certain topics.”

Aside from selecting which conferences you will attend, your budget for each, and if you will try to get a speaking spot, here’s a list of things you should consider when planning for specific conferences.

•             Develop an exhibit booth
•             Materials and tchotchkes
•             Pre-conference strategy to include targeting (any clients or key prospects attending?)
•             Working the conference (who is responsible for booth time, which panels will you attend?)
•             Post-conference strategy to include follow-up (any next steps?)
•             “Meet the manager” during exhibit hall time
•             Additional dinner or breakfast event for targeted advisors

One other point: The financial media will frequently have a presence at conferences, so they are a great opportunity for your experts to get some face time with journalists. You can have access to dozens of journalists under the same roof. It will be competitive, though, because hundreds of firms are competing for reporters’ time. The effort does wonders for establishing or strengthening media relationships, and possibly being included in articles.

Here are conferences coming up in 2015 that are worth your attention:

TD Ameritrade Institutional 2015 National Conference
January 29-31, 2015
Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego, CA
This conference typically draws ~3100 attendees; mostly RIAs who custody with TD Ameritrade
https://wwws.tdameritradeconferences.com/national/2015/home/

IMCA 2015 Annual Conference
April 26–29, 2015
Aria Resort, Las Vegas, NV
You can expect roughly 1700 attendees (members include wirehouse, RIA’s and BD reps)
http://www.imca.org/conferences/imca-annual-conference

NAPFA

May and October 2015
Location varies
NAPFA produces high-intensity educational events offering opportunities to take courses, learn about communications, and more
http://www.napfa.org/conferences/NAPFAEvents.asp

Pershing INSITE 2015
June 3-5, 2015

Orlando, FL
This conference expects ~2300 attendees, including reps who use Pershing
http://www.pershing.com/events/insite/index.html

Morningstar Investment Conference
June 24-26, 2015
McCormick Place, Chicago, IL
You can expect ~2000 attendees
http://corporate1.morningstar.com/Morningstar-Investment-Conference/

Schwab IMPACT
November 2015
Location TBD
Audience is typically around 1700 advisors
http://impact.schwab.com/

You won't find advisors at the next set of conferences. But they still may be important to consider. NICSA and MFEA offer events for fund executives that focus on distribution and product development trends. among other things.

NICSA
February and October 2015
Location varies
NICSA produces two events each year, the Strategic Leadsership Forum and their General Membership Meeting. Both are great opportunities for networking and industry education.
http://www.nicsa.org/default.asp?contentID=52

MFEA
location varies
MFEA sponsors events throughout the year that focus on various aspects the mutual fund industry. Catch the Distribution Technology Summit in February or the Distribution or Product Councils in April, and that's just the beginning. Every fall, MFEA puts on the STAR Awards recognizing excellent communication with shareholders.
https://www.mfeaconnect.com/events