Conferences and travel
I don't go to conferences for the travel. I go to come home better at my job.
Where I go to learn, why I go, and what I bring home. A living record of my professional learning that I'll keep adding to, going back years as I dig up old notes and photos.
5
conferences since fall 2025
2
on deck for 2027
5
reasons I go
Why I go
Five reasons I keep getting on planes. Tap any one for the longer version.
Not every skill gets used every day. Conferences keep the rarely used ones ready for the day a client needs them.
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Much of what financial and investment professionals do is complicated. A tax strategy, an estate planning technique or an unusual retirement income problem might come up only a few times a year, and skills that aren't used regularly get dull. Conferences and the continuing education that comes with them are how I keep sharpening the axe, so I'm ready when a client needs that exact expertise. Continuing education is a professional requirement, but I treat it as more than a box to check.
Some advisors have simply figured out better ways of doing things. Sitting down with them is one of the most valuable parts of any conference.
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Sometimes it's a planning insight, but often it's operational: how they run their practice, structure their team, use technology or serve clients more efficiently. Comparing notes with peers is where a lot of the real learning happens. A good idea from another firm can make my own firm better almost immediately.
New technology, new products, new ways of serving clients. I want to see them early, and see clearly who's pushing what, and why.
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I look for synergies, efficiencies and ways to save clients money. Often someone else has found the next important thing first and tells me about it in a hallway conversation, which lets me get on board early and bring the benefit to clients sooner. It also means seeing clearly what's being pushed on the industry and why, so I can separate what's good for clients from what's just well-funded marketing.
The bigger conferences bring in economists, industry leaders, technologists and thinkers you can't hear anywhere else.
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Not every keynote is worth the time, but some speakers have perspectives you can't get from a book or a podcast. I listen, digest it, and bring that wisdom home where it can make a real difference for the people I serve.
I go to build relationships with advisors who share my values and to help push the whole profession in a better direction.
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I want to meet people in the profession and connect with advisors who are trying to do right by clients. Especially at NAPFA, that means fee-only fiduciary advisors who are in it for the right reasons. The goal is to help push the whole industry in a better direction, not just my own firm.
“
Honestly, conferences aren't a party for me. I don't drink or go out much anymore. I do have some fun, and I enjoy the people, but it's work. I'm there to learn, get ideas, make the business better and do better things for the people I serve.
Phil
The timeline
Newest at the top. Tap “What I took away” on any card for the fuller notes. I'll keep backfilling earlier years as I dig up notes and photos.
NAPFA and planning
Investments
Technology
Upcoming
Upcoming
January 6–9, 2027
Upcoming
Las Vegas, Nevada
A deliberate step outside the financial industry bubble to see where technology is going.
Technology
AI
Darevia
Why I'm going +
I'm taking mainly the Darevia crew and going as part of rebel Financial. The goal is to get inspired by the newest technology being created, spark new ideas, and go build new, good things.
March 14–17, 2027
Upcoming
Miami Beach, Florida
Future Proof takes over South Beach, built around AI for investors and advisors.
Investments
AI
Technology
Why I'm going +
Future Proof in Huntington Beach showed me where the money and the AI push in this industry are going. Citywide is the same crowd, bigger, and even more focused on AI, so it's the best place to separate the tools that will actually help clients from the ones that are just well funded.
May 5–8, 2027
Upcoming
San Diego, California
NAPFA is moving to one national conference a year, so there likely won't be a fall NAPFA in 2027. This one matters even more.
Planning
Fiduciary community
Why I'm going +
Same reason I go every time: real financial planning content and a room full of fee-only fiduciary advisors who are trying to do right by their clients. With one conference a year from here on, it matters even more to be there.
June 16–17, 2027
Upcoming
Chicago, Illinois
My yearly dose of serious, research-driven investing, and a check on where the investment side of the profession is heading.
Investments
Why I'm going +
I go to MICUS most years. It's the most investment-focused conference I attend, with real research and portfolio people. It keeps me honest on the investing side of the work and shows me which ideas are substance and which are marketing.
2026
October 2026
Atlanta, Georgia
Terrific financial planning content and a community of advisors who are in it to do right by clients.
Planning
Fiduciary community
What I took away +
NAPFA, the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, is the community of fee-only fiduciary advisors. I find its conferences terrific for real financial planning content, and for connecting with more altruistic, fee-only fiduciary advisors who are in it to do right by clients. My detailed takeaways from Atlanta are coming soon.
September 14–17, 2026
Huntington Beach, California
Private equity, tech companies and investment firms all in one place, and AI was the biggest topic by far.
Investments
AI
Technology
What I took away +
A huge conference. I learned a lot about the new players entering the market and how they're trying to use AI. The big theme was “private everything”: private equity, private credit, crypto and other alternatives pushing hard into every corner of the industry, and spending enormous amounts of money to do it. The value for me was a clear look at where the money and pressure in the industry are going, so I can judge what's actually good for clients and what's just heavily marketed.
June 17–18, 2026
Navy Pier, Chicago, Illinois
A traditional investing focus, serious investment people, and more and more alternatives.
Investments
What I took away +
A very investment-focused conference, more traditional in its approach, although it has been featuring alternatives more and more. It's hard for any conference to avoid alternatives right now because those companies are spending so much money. Still valuable for picking the brains of serious investment people and seeing how the investment-focused side of the profession is thinking.
May 6–9, 2026
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Same spirit and content as the fall conference, but a completely different group of people.
Planning
Fiduciary community
What I took away +
Very similar to the fall conference in content and spirit, but a completely different group of people goes to spring than to fall, and I really enjoyed the difference. With NAPFA moving to one conference a year, this was one of the last of the two-a-year rhythm.
2025
September 3–6, 2025
Washington, D.C.
Another good NAPFA conference.
Planning
Fiduciary community
What I took away +
Notes coming soon. I'm digging them out.
2024
Oct. 30 – Nov. 2, 2024
Nashville, Tennessee
Fee-only planners, real planning content and a little Music City.
Planning
Fiduciary community
What I took away +
Solid sessions on fixed income and tax planning heading into 2025, and the usual best part: comparing notes with fee-only fiduciary advisors who are doing it right.
2023
October 18–21, 2023
Louisville, Kentucky
Another year with the fee-only fiduciary crowd, and some great conversations over dinner.
Planning
Fiduciary community
What I took away +
Notes coming soon. I'm digging them out.
2018
2018
Financial Planning Association
The Financial Planning Association's annual conference, a broader planning crowd than NAPFA.
Planning
What I took away +
Notes coming soon. I'm digging them out.
June 11–13, 2018
Chicago, Illinois
Big-room keynotes, serious research and plenty of hallway time with investment people.
Investments
What I took away +
Notes coming soon. I'm digging them out.
February 2018
Florida
The advisor technology conference, where I went looking for the tools to run a better practice.
Technology
What I took away +
T3 is where I learned what advisor tech could and couldn't do. A lot of what Darevia is building today traces back to the gaps I saw at these.
2017
October 18–21, 2017
Orlando, Florida
The rebel crew in matching shirts, learning from the best fee-only planners in the country.
Planning
Fiduciary community
What I took away +
Notes coming soon. I'm digging them out.
February 2017
Florida
My first T3: keynotes on simplifying how firms work, and a crash course in advisor tech.
Technology
What I took away +
Notes coming soon. I'm digging them out.
Earlier
2017 to 2019
Washington, D.C.
Several trips to Capitol Hill with other advisors to meet with lawmakers and their staff about financial advice that puts people first.
Policy
Advocacy
2015
Chicago, Illinois
Working the exhibit hall in the early rebel Financial years, from the Pax World booth to Morningstar Direct.
rebel Financial
More years coming. I'm still backfilling conferences as I find the notes and photos.
If you'll be at NAPFA, CES or any of these, let's compare notes.
