Agenda 2020

Our 2020 Conference was postponed due to the pandemic. Below is the original agenda, some of which will be carried-over to our 2021 Virtual Conference.

April 27, 2020

8:30 am – 11:30 am
Pre-Conference Workshop: College Planning For Advisors

1 Hour CFP Board CE Credits/ I&WI Pending
Every advisor has clients with children or grandchildren who plan to attend college. Yet these clients don’t know how complex the college planning process has become until it’s too late and often end up making poor choices that saddle them and their children with unnecessary debt. Advisors who become educated on college planning can make a huge difference in their clients’ lives. We are excited to bring this workshop to Invest in Women to help advisors learn how they can help parents with college bound teens understand their options and make better choices. Learn a system for better college planning that will help differentiate your planning practice and simplify the way you attract and serve clients.
Speakers:
Joe Messinger, Capstone College Partners, College Aid Pro
Beatrice Schultz, Westface Financial Advisory, Westface College Planning
Beth Walker, Carson Wealth, Center For College Solutions

8:30 am – 5:00 pm
Conference Registration

12:50 pm – 1:00 pm
Welcome And Opening Remarks

1:00 pm – 1:50 pm
Opening Keynote Presentation: A Fireside Chat With Liz Ann Sonders, Senior VP and Chief Investment Strategist, Charles Schwab & Co. Inc.

Moderator:
Tracey Longo, Washington Editor, Financial Advisor

1:55 pm – 2:45 pm
Breakout Sessions

A: Helping Women Discover Purpose And Legacy
1 Hour CFP Board CE Credits/ I&WI Pending
Many more women will live to older ages, yet there is so little focus on how to truly make the most of these later years. Instead of ignoring the challenges and opportunities older clients may face, advisors can address them directly and have meaningful conversations about this phase of life that deepen relationships. Learn how to communicate about this uncharted terrain and make a difference that goes far beyond generating financial returns.
Moderator:
Kathleen Chrisman, Former Senior Investment Analyst, Georgia Retirement Systems
Speaker:
Catherine Seeber, CAPTRUST

B: Buying And Selling Advisory Firms
Many advisors would love to buy the firm where they work. But how can such an internal transfer be done so it benefits buyers and sellers? Owners often find it makes sense to sell to an external buyer, one that has significant resources. Two advisors involved in internal/external sales discuss how they can be done, as well as the pros and cons.
Speakers:
Michaela Herlihy, Beacon Financial Planning of Cape Cod Inc.
Kay Lynn Mayhue, Merit Financial Advisors

2:45 pm – 3:05 pm
Refreshment Break

3:05 pm – 3:55 pm
Breakout Sessions

A: Give Her The Vision
1 Hour CFP Board CE Credits/ I&WI Pending
Financial Advisor magazine, the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning and others are committed to increasing the representation of women in the profession. In this session, women new to financial planning and experienced advisors share their perspectives, concerns and how they might work together to make financial-advice careers a viable, long-term choice for more women.
Moderator:
Jocelyn Wright, CFP Board Center for Financial Planning
Speakers:
Timi Jorgensen, Student, University of Georgia
Reshell Smith, AMES Financial Solutions LLC
Tracy Vaughn, Women’s Leadership Alliance

B: Pumping Up Your Niche
Many people say successful advisors in the future will have to have niche practices. Hear about the interesting client groups that these advisors service, and how that focus jump started their business.
Moderator:
Kimberly Foss, Empyrion Wealth Management
Speakers:
Stacy Miller, Bright Investments
Lili Vasileff, Divorce and Money Matters LLC, Association of Divorce Financial Planners

3:55 pm – 4:40 pm
Breakout Sessions

A: Finding Balance When Caring For Aging Parents
Many women at some point in their career will be called on to take care of aging parents or an elderly loved one. And, if you are also a wife and mother raising children, the challenge of keeping it all together can be mentally and emotionally draining. It’s a road that Liz O’Donnell has traveled. O’Donnell was enjoying a fast-paced career in marketing and raising two children when both of her parents were diagnosed with terminal illnesses on the same day. She is the author of Working Daughter: A Guide to Caring for Your Aging Parents While Earning A Living, and the founder of Working Daughter, a community for women balancing eldercare, career and more. In this session, sponsored by Transamerica, O’Donnell will share the challenges she faced and the choices she made, and how you can navigate your own caregiving experiences and prepare for when that time comes.
Speaker:
Liz O’Donnell, Author and Founder of Working Daughter

B: TBD

4:45 pm – 5:30 pm
Keynote Presentation: Lauryn Williams, Advisor and Former Olympian

5:30 pm – 6:45 pm
Cocktail Party In Exhibit Hall

April 28, 2020

Welcome To Day 2
Our opening session on what it takes to build a great business and a great life.

7:00 am – 7:55 am
Breakfast In Exhibit Hall

7:55 am – 8:00 am
Welcome Remarks

8:00 am – 8:50 am
Keynote Presentation

Having It All: How Your Business Can Be Your Benefactor For A Great Life
Women, in particular, are multi-dimensional beings. While we want to have great success in business, we don’t want it at the expense of other areas of our lives that are important to us. Erin Botsford believes you can have it all…a great business, a great marriage, an amazing family and great physical health. And she should know, because she’s done it! Not only did she go from being a struggling financial advisor, barely making a living, to becoming a Barron’s Top 100 advisor, she has also been married 40 years, has a great family and helps support 500 children in Africa. In this high energy, power packed session, Erin will discuss the mindset and discipline it takes to build a great business and a great life.
Speaker:
Erin Botsford, Botsford Financial Group

8:55 am – 9:45 am
Breakout Sessions

A: How To Help Clients And Families Make Health-Care Decisions
1 Hour CFP Board CE Credits/ I&WI Pending
With health care becoming more expensive and people living longer, it’s important for advisors to integrate health-care planning into their financial planning practices. An advisor who for years has incorporated health-care planning into his business explains what questions you should ask clients, reviews resources available and shares case studies on how he has helped clients make decisions and manage spending on health care.
Speaker:
Nag-Bushan Odekar, Healthview Services

B: The Effect Of Divorce On Social Security And Medical Expenses
1 Hour CFP Board CE Credits/ I&WI Pending
Divorce can dramatically affect a woman’s Social Security and medical expenses. Learn key considerations you should review with clients regarding Social Security entitlements and withdrawal strategies that will affect their standard of living. Also, hear how some couples facing serious illness are getting “medical divorces,” what that means and why they are making that choice.
Moderator:
Carol Lee Roberts, IDFA
Speaker:
Donna M. Cheswick, Cheswick Divorce Solutions LLC
Lili Vasileff, Divorce and Money Matters LLC, Association of Divorce Financial Planners

9:45 am – 10:10 am
Refreshment Break In Exhibit Hall

10:10 am – 11:00 am
Breakout Sessions

A: The Gender Pay Gap: Why Should Investors And Clients Care?
Businesses benefit when they pay employees fairly. They are better able to retain employees, improve morale, reduce litigation and have a more stable, diverse workforce. Learn how pay equity can contribute to the overall level of company quality, and how it can help you better meet your client’s goals and support their values.
Moderator:
Heidi Khashabi Ridley, Radiant ESG
Speakers:
Lori Keith, Parnassus
Lenore Reiner, Calvert Research and Management
Heather Smith, Pax Ellevate

B: Maximizing Your Referrability
Join Hannah Buschbom, CFP, CDFA, as she discusses how to focus on your strengths and take on new opportunities to be effective among peers. There are five core beliefs you can follow to achieve success, whether it be having a niche that sets you apart or having a target market—find your specialty!
Speaker:
Hannah Buschbom, The W Source

11:00 am – 11:05 pm
Coffee Break

11:05 am – 11:55 pm
Breakout Sessions

A: Nationwide

B: Life Transitions and Second Acts: Helping Clients Move Forward
1 Hour CFP Board CE Credits/ I&WI Pending
After early retirement, the sale of a business, divorce or another major event, clients’ personal and financial lives take on a new dimension. Are you prepared to be the trusted advisor who navigates them through these major life events? If you are, it’s a client for life. If you aren’t, you are likely to be replaced. In this session, two experts spell out the challenges and opportunities with helping clients move into their second act.
Moderator:
Reshell Smith, AMES Financial Solutions LLC
Speakers:
Susan Bradley, Sudden Money Institute
Lisa Brown, Brightworth

11:55 am – 12:45 pm
Keynote Presentation: An Afternoon With Donna Brazile, Political Strategist and Founder of Brazile & Associates LLC

12:45 pm – 1:00 pm
Brazile Meet & Greet In Exhibit Hall As Buffet Lunch Starts

12:45 pm – 1:50 pm
Lunch Continues, With Dessert

1:55 pm – 2:40 pm
Breakout Sessions

A: Personal Branding—Strategy For Success
The key to designing a successful business is to be strategic. Advisors all have unique characteristics that they bring to their businesses. This session will help attendees identify those characteristics and harness them to attract their best clients. At the end of this session, attendees will have developed their own personalized strategic plan for success.
This session includes information on:
• Developing goals for your business
• Identifying and promoting strengths
• Communicating your value
• Strategizing your digital presence
• Analyzing your best clients and attracting more of them
• Developing a process that creates continuous growth
• Creating a rolling marketing calendar
• Networking strategically
Speaker:
Jill Slomski, Niche Team

B: Secrets Of Top Advisors
Success takes many paths and wears many faces. However, highly successful financial advisors often share some very distinct qualities, disciplines and experiences along the way. In this panel, you will hear the real stories from top-producing advisors about how they built their financial advisory practices. We will identify and discuss the strategies they are using in their businesses, the adversity and challenges they have faced along their journeys to become top-producing advisors, and the actions they are taking to position themselves for continued success. You won’t want to miss this!
Speakers:
Mary Taylor Huntley, Taylor & Huntley Financial Group
Kathy Keadle, Keystone Financial Services
Mary Kusske, Kusske Financial Inc.

2:40 pm – 3:00 pm
Refreshment Break In Exhibit Hall

3:00 pm – 3:50 pm
Breakout Sessions

A: The Environment And Climate Change: How To Productively Bring The Conversation Into Your Practice
1 Hour CFP Board CE Credits/ I&WI Pending
When women want to pair their values with investing, it’s often about looking for ways to contribute to a cleaner environment and finding ways to limit climate change. But how? What are their best options if they want to rid their portfolios of ExxonMobil stock with no cost basis? How can they align their values with fixed-income investments? Are they looking at ALL the impacts of climate change in their financial and life planning? What kinds of questions can you ask clients to show you are interested in their values and how can you help clients build resilience in a rapidly changing world of natural disasters and shifting values? Learn how to deepen relationships with clients by helping them align their values and wealth while giving them new ways to help the world.
Speakers:
Lisa Kirchenbauer, Omega Wealth Management
Carin Stimolo, Fidelity Labs

B: Time For Change: A Discussion On Joining, Starting Or Leaving An RIA
Over the past five years, more than 800 advisors have left wirehouses or broker-dealers to join registered investment advisors or start their own firms. And judging by the statistics, a large majority of those advisors are women: female executives in financial services are 20% to 30% more likely to leave mid-career than any other industry. The question is, why?
During this panel, three advisors will offer answers to these questions, as well as the benefits and risks involved with breaking away or pursuing entrepreneurship in financial services. Citing insights from their personal experiences and real situations, they will also explore the all-important business, personal, and cultural considerations that female advisors should keep top of mind when choosing the path that’s right for them — whether they decide to go it alone, plug into a TAMP, enter into a partnership or join another firm.
Moderator:
Gretchen Halpin, Beyond AUM
Speakers:
Bridget Venus Grimes, Equita Financial Network
Karma Forrestal, Forum Financial Management LP
Julie Meissner, Garrison Point Advisors

3:50 pm – 4:05 pm
Coffee Break

4:10 pm – 5:00 pm
Keynote Presentation

How Longevity Is Reshaping Advice
1 Hour CFP Board CE Credits/ I&WI Pending
How long will you live? An unprecedented population of Americans are living well into their 80s and 90s—most of them women. These trailblazing women are pioneering a new normal of active and independent living, and fueling economic growth far longer than past generations. But is the wealth management industry ready to serve this transformative population of clients? In this session, Angie O’Leary, head of wealth planning at RBC Wealth Management—U.S., and Dr. Miles Varn, CEO of PinnacleCare, will explore longevity and aging from the perspective of health, wealth and caregiving. The session will touch on the expertise firms and advisors need to best serve clients, how firms can work with families to ensure the best care and quality of life for clients and how the rising prevalence of dementia and cognitive decline factors into the work of advisors today and in the future. The session will close on a provocative note, exploring the new frontier of aging backwards (myths and realities) as scientists seek to slow the effects of aging to prolong vitality and wellbeing. 
Speakers:
Angie O’Leary, RBC Wealth Management—U.S.
Dr. Miles Varn, PinnacleCare  

5:00 pm – 6:30 pm
Cocktail Party In Exhibit Hall

April 29, 2020

Welcome To Day 3
Our opening session focuses on the challenges of being retired and forced to live alone due to divorce or death of a spouse.

7:00 am – 8:00 am
Breakfast In Exhibit Hall 

8:05 am – 8:55 am
Keynote Presentation

A Reality Check For Women In Retirement
1 Hour CFP Board CE Credits/ I&WI Pending
We have all seen the ads on TV or in magazines, of youthful-looking couples playing golf, romping with grandchildren or traveling to far-flung destinations. These ads are intended to depict what successful retirement looks like, and are run by major financial advisory firms to attract affluent clients. Eleanor Blayney and Marjorie Fox—both with decades of advisory experience and now retired—would argue that retirement is no leisurely walk in the park, especially for women. Once women enter their 60s, the odds of living alone, due to the death of a spouse or divorce—grows every year. This new single life for women has all sorts of implications for financial security in retirement. There are many difficult decisions to be made in retirement such as how to find the resources to support these years and how to prepare for incapacity and death. In this keynote session, Eleanor and Marjorie will speak—not as advisors—but as older women who are dealing with these realities. The two are collaborating on a book—due for release later this year or early 2021—covering topics that women in or nearing retirement need to consider.
Speakers:
Eleanor Blayney, Former CFP Board Consumer Advocate
Marjorie Fox, Founder, FJY Financial

9:00 am – 9:45 am

What Makes Next-Gen Tick?
Engaging the next generation of investors is crucial to the success of your business, but to win them over you have to know what makes them tick. In this session, you will learn the habits and lifestyles of millennials, helping you understand the scope of opportunity and offering strategies for proving your value to the “OK, Boomer” generation.
Moderator:
Suzanne Siracuse, Suzanne Siracuse Consulting Services LLC
Speaker:
Kate Healy, TD Ameritrade Institutional
Jenifer Cannon, Pax Ellevate

9:45 am – 10:10 am
Refreshment Break In Exhibit Hall

10:15 am – 11:05 am

How To Use Tech In Your Practice
1 Hour CFP Board CE Credits/ I&WI Pending
There’s no question technology can be a game changer for financial advisors. How can you use it to help clients determine their financial futures? Protect their wealth against unexpected events? Use it to show the impact of their choices and apply what-if scenarios? So many ways exist for you to build your practice and extend your reach with technology. Hear about some of the latest ideas.
Moderator:
Cindy Taylor, Financial Advisor Magazine
Speaker:
Kimberly Foss, Empyrion Wealth Management
Kelly Waltrich, Orion

11:15 am – 12:15 pm
Keynote Presentation: A Conversation with Katty Kay, Co-Author of The Confidence Code

Well-known news anchor Katty Kay, co-author of The Confidence Code, discusses how her New York Times‘ bestsellers about women, success and work relate to women financial advisors. DFA’s Kahne Krause will conduct a Q&A with Katty that delves into how women can take control, advance their careers and make a difference in a business that is still overwhelmingly male.
Moderator:
Kahne Krause, Dimensional Fund Advisors

12:15 pm – 12:20 pm
Closing Remarks