fi360 Blog

Live blog from day two of the fi360 Conference

Day two of the conference is underway. The day kicks off with Mercer Bullard speaking on the legislative and regulatory future of the fiduciary standard of care followed by another full day of breakout sessions. Just like yesterday, we'll be live blogging throughout the day, posting some of the best quotes as updates to this post. If you are on Twitter, you also can follow the action from us @Fiduciary360 as well as from other live attendees. Search for the hashtag #fi360_2010 to get the latest updates.

Update 4:00 p.m.: And that's it for the 2010 fi360 Conference. Thanks for following us and thanks to all the speakers for their contributions and the 450 attendees that made this our biggest conference yet. The conference was recorded, so all AIF and AIFA designees can look forward to seeing those recordings made available in the portal within the next few weeks. 

Just a reminder, we announced the other day that the 2011 fi360 Conference will be held in San Antonio on May 4-6. Look for online registration to open soon. Email resources@fi360.com if you are interested in being a speaker and we'll let you know when we have proposal forms available.

Update 4:00 p.m.: Fred Reish just wrapped up his third session here, this time speaking on the changing face of 401(k) plans. He's going over some of the DOL and Treasury measures coming out soon. Says TDFs are no longer special and need to be treated the same as other investments, meaning they should be monitored and replaced, as necessary. 

Reish: "The big question is, 'can we, over forty years, fund a twenty year, full time pre-paid vacation?'"

Update 3:40 p.m.: Chip Hunt's topic is rescuing strategies for defined benefit plans. Going over case studies on how the 2008 credit crisis left most DB plans significantly underfunded and how advisors can structure an investment strategy to help preserve them for their participants.

Update 3:20 p.m.: Greg Porteous discussing ETFs at his session. Discussing how increased focus by the media, lawmakers and regulators on fee transparency make ETFs a good solution for 401(k) plans, especially for small businesses who value low cost.

Update 3:10 p.m.: The last breakout of the 2010 fi360 Conference is underway. David Witz is on stage talking about being a qualified advisor. He says it is harder to become an expert than to be one and that it's near impossible to be an expert in all areas of retirement planning, so most will focus on specific areas and gain the experience to become fully proficient in one area. Takes ten years to become an expert.

Click the link below to read all previous updates from today.

Live blog from day one of the 2010 fi360 Conference

The 2010 fi360 Conference is now underway. After opening remarks from fi360 executives and friends and partners of fi360, former Secretary of Treasury Paul O'Neill began his presentation on government spending and personal accountability. We'll be doing live blogging throughout the day. During the sessions, we'll post some of the best comments as a continuation of this post. If you are on Twitter, you also can follow the action from us @Fiduciary360 as well as other live attendees. Search for the hashtag #fi360_2010 to get the latest updates.

Update 5:15: Day one is in the books. Geoff Davey just wrapped up his session on risk tolerance, saying, "Assessing client risk includes tolerance, capacity, and need." Sunny Loveland gave his presentation on the CFP Board Code of Ethics and acting like a fiduciary. There is a networking reception tonight, with one more full day of sessions tomorrow. We'll be live blogging again, so check in throughout the day.

Investment Advisor magazine has a nice write up on this morning's session with Paul O'Neill.

Update 4:45 p.m.: Brian Graff giving an update on the latest DC developments affecting advisors, including disclosure, advice regs, reform bill and more. Says it is important not to stifle qualified advisors.

Update 4:35 p.m.: Last breakout sessions of day one just started. Brian Graff, Josh Itzoe, Geoff Davey, and Sunny Loveland all speaking.

Josh's presentation is on pre-allocated portfolios. Says consideration of your firm's structure, services, fiduciary status, investment strategy, communications all have weight in deciding to build models.

Click the link below to read all previous updates from today.

Fiduciary Links: 2010 fi360 Conference

Today, early bird registration opened for our 2010 Conference, which is being held May 5-7 in Orlando. It will be our sixth annual conference featuring many of the leading minds in the industry on fiduciary-related topics. It is a valuable event with great content for both fiduciary novices and those who are experienced in fiduciary responsibility alike. You can visit our conference page for more information about this year's and past conferences. We have not yet announced an agenda, but past speakers include Fred Reish, Bob Veres, Lou Harvey of Dalbar, Brian Hamburger, Josh Itzoe of Fixing the 401(k), Matt Hutcheson, Roger Gibson, Susan Mangiero of Pension Risk Matters, and Carl Richards of Behavior Gap, just to name a few. 

The event is exhibitor and sponsor free, and, in addition to the first-rate speakers, has one of the highest caliber of attendees you'll find at an investment industry event. Many of the attendees have been to multiple, if not all, of our past conferences and are at the forefront of incorporating fiduciary processes in to their practices. We encourage you to check us out and feel free to send emails to conference@fi360.com if you have any questions. Early bird prices are only good through November, so register soon!

Now on to the best links of the past week:

In the news/commentary:

• TD Ameritrade and Schwab may be teaming up their advocacy efforts.
• Eight things to keep RIAs from answering to SIFMA
• How SRI can go hand-in-hand with fiduciary principles
• Life planning and the three questions to ask an investor preparing for retirement
• SEC and CFTC propose fiduciary standard for commodities advisors

From the organizations/associations/government/academia:

• The IAA says it supports self-funding of the SEC
• The new Reish Adviser Report looks at benchmarking, 12b-1 fees, legal updates and more.

From the blogs:

• Kate McBride looks at the "authentic" vs. "federal" versions of the fiduciary standard
• Introducing the Fiduciary News blog

Have a link we missed? Leave them in the comments section or email us at blog@fi360.com. For more of the best links during the week, make sure you follow us on Twitter.
 

Conference Wrap-up

First off, thanks to everyone for helping make the 2009 fi360 National Conference an overwhelming success.  The conference committee and staff all contributed greatly with many hours of work and planning.  The speakers, attendees and facilities also were all excellent. 

It is evident that the conference is an energizing event that inspires everyone involved to do more to propel the industry towards a fiduciary society where "everyone looks out for each other," as general session speaker Bob Veres put it. One Twitterer (Carl Richards of Behavior Gap: @behaviorgap if you're on Twitter) from the conference said of our event "Some really, really, smart people here. Talk about a secret society of real financial planners! More people have to know this." and "The fi360 conference was the best I've been to! Very impressed!" It is comments like this that let us know we're gathering a special group. 

The major themes of the conference were the lessons learned from the economic crisis of the past six months or so and the unique opportunity that exists today to help create that fiduciary society. Market turmoil, investor distrust of the industry, and increased focus from professionals, investors, regulators, legislators and the media have made major changes imminent and the question left is if the changes will be done right and for the benefit of investors.  The first and best thing the professionals can do to affect positive change is to apply the highest standard of care to their investment processes regardless of what minimum standards they are actually held accountable to and to act as advocates to whatever extent is available and possible for them. 

If you are interested in learning more about the conference, most materials and handouts are available from our conference portal and recordings of the sessions should be available towards the end of the month.

Finally, here is what others are saying about the conference, we'll update this list as more becomes available.  And, if you are on Twitter, make sure you check out the #fi360_09 hash tag to review the Tweets and Re-Tweets from conference attendees and speakers and their followers.  Also make sure you add us, @Fiduciary360, as a follower.

• From Twitter: @marionasnes, @behaviorgap, @grgay74, @actiumbemanaged, @mlimbacher
• Conference speaker Josh Itzoe from the Fixingthe401k Blog

fi360 Conference and our one-year anniversary!

Hello from the fi360 Conference.  We kicked off this morning with opening remarks from Blaine, a general session from Fred Reish and the first round of breakout sessions.  This is our fifth annual conference and hopefully our best yet.  In addition to the conference activities, we also held an AIF Capstone program and an fi360 Toolkits Workshop in the previous few days here in Scottsdale. This picture is of our Tools Product Manager Dave Palascak doing some one-on-one interaction from the workshop:

 

Blaine's opening remarks were about the great opportunity we currently have to see a robust, ERISA-level fiduciary standard applied universally for all investment advice. The real danger is a watering-down effect as fiduciary levels of care are applied to the commercial standard and the two standards are "harmonized."  He then called on the conference attendees to work as advocates where they can, through public and private speaking, involvement in professional associations, and always providing their services to the highest level care.

We'll post updates as the conference goes on and we're also live-Twittering, so make sure you follow us on Twitter, and note the Twitter feed to the right of this posting.  We also have some attendees sending in their live Tweets, so make sure you check out BehaviorGap, Actium, and George Gay.  If you are here in Scottsdale and Tweeting, make sure to use the #fi360_09 hash tag so that we can find your updates and plug your Twitter account.

Finally, we'd like to point out that this is our one-year anniversary! It was day one of last year's conference that we publicly launched the blog.  We hope that we've gotten better at it over the last year and thank everyone for helping our readership consistently increase over that time.  We're also looking forward to our new hire Kristina Fausti (see our last post) getting into the swing of things as we expect her to be a valuable blogger for fi360.  

Fi360 National Conference reminder--Portal now available

Just a reminder that the 2009 fi360 National Conference is approaching fast.  This year's conference is on May 6-8 in Scottsdale, AZ.  You can register using this downloadable form, and if you write on the form that you read about the conference on the blog, we'll take $100 off of the current registration price. 

The conference is a great event for fi360 members and non-members alike that brings together a great mix of industry professionals who are leading the way in advancing the fiduciary cause.  We recently launched our Conference Portal, which includes an interactive agenda with session descriptions and bios for our speakers, so check it out if you want to learn more about this year's speakers, including:

• Fred Reish, AIFA: Leading ERISA attorney who will look at the future of financial laws, regulations and fiduciary trends
• Bob Veres: Inside Information publisher and Financial Planning columnist who will lead the session, "Planning in Mayhem" 
• Roger Gibson: Best-selling author of Asset Allocation: Balancing Financial Risk will look at the relevance of diversification in today's financial landscape
• Jennifer Connelly and Bob Clark: The PR guru for investment professionals and Investment Advisor columnist team up for a session on leveraging public and media relations to stand out in the media
• Brian Hamburger: A leading compliance and regulatory consulting attorney will serve the role as mythbuster, proving and dispelling the greatest myths of regulatory compliance
• Marcia Wagner: Leading ERISA attorney who will be a part of multiple sessions looking at the most pertinent legal issues facing fiduciaries today
• Fellow bloggers Josh Itzoe, AIF and Susan Mangiero, AIFA
• New partner of fi360, Tom Kmak
• And more (apologies to those I've left out)

We hope you'll decide to join us, it really is a great event that allows us the chance to interact in person with all the people we normally only cross paths with electronically and via phone during the rest of the year and exchange new ideas and experiences with an elite group who are ahead of the curve in embracing the fiduciary role.  We'll also be holding pre-conference AIF training and fi360 Toolkit sessions at our host venue, so if you have been considering either of these fi360 services, this would be a great way to work it in to one trip.

If you have any questions about the conference, you can leave them in the comments section below, email us at conference@fi360.com or call us toll-free at 866-390-5080. 

Press Release: Fi360 National Conference

FIDUCIARY360 NATIONAL CONFERENCE TO “UNCOVER TRENDS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN UNCERTAIN TIMES”

Turbulent Economic Environment, Lack of Investor Confidence Reinforces Need for Training in Prudent Practices and Fiduciary Standards of Care

PITTSBURGH – February 20, 2009 – The fifth annual fi360 National Conference will be held May 6 – 8, 2009 in Scottsdale, Ariz. The event is the financial industry’s only conference focused exclusively on fiduciary responsibility. It promises to be a critically important and timely education forum for investment fiduciaries and other professionals to discuss the value and applicability of following prudent investment processes and principles, especially in light of on-going economic volatility.

The Conference, which provides continuing education (CE) credits for the hundreds of professionals who attend, brings together some of the nation’s foremost experts to address topics such as restoring investor confidence, asset allocation and portfolio design, how advisors can not only survive but thrive in these challenging times, ERISA and related regulations and trends and best practices for investment professionals. It is open to all investment advisors, financial planners, plan sponsors, broker dealers and others seeking to improve their knowledge of the fiduciary prudent practices and to learn how to put this powerful information into action. Among those scheduled to present at the Conference are:

• Roger Gibson: Chief Investment Officer and Founder, Gibson Capital Management, best-selling author and pioneer in the area of asset allocation and portfolio design, will discuss how to successfully implement these activities given the marketplace volatility.
• Charles Lowenhaupt: Chairman/President/CEO, Lowenhaupt Global Advisors, a recognized industry leader in managing wealth for ultra-high net worth families around the world, will present "Protecting Private Wealth: A Call To Action for Global Families, Trusted Advisors.”
• Carlos Panksep: General Manager, CEFEX, an independent global assessment and certification organization that helps determine the trustworthiness of investment fiduciaries. He will discuss the process of certification and how companies can use certification to set themselves apart and boost investor confidence.
• Fred Reish: Partner, Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen and one of the nation’s foremost experts in the areas of ERISA and employee benefits law, will review fiduciary trends and new laws and regulations being considered by the Obama administration.
• Bob Veres: Well-known commentator, author, consultant and journalist in the financial industry, he has been named one of the most influential people in the financial planning industry by several industry publications, and will speak about “Planning in Mayhem.”
• Marcia Wagner: A specialist in pension and employee benefits law she will discuss ERISA litigation and evolving best practices in the areas of defined contribution and defined benefits plans and other related employee issues.

Other discussions and presentations will focus on advice for participants under the Pension Protection Act, the success of target date funds, behavioral alpha, deciphering fees and expenses and other timely topics.

Additionally, there will also be two pre-conference events:

• Capstone Accredited Investment Fiduciary^® (AIF^®) Training Program – Fi360’s most popular training program for investment advisors, stewards and managers, AIF training is the most effective way for investment fiduciaries to learn the Prudent Investment Practices, their legal underpinnings and how to apply them within existing fiduciary policies and procedures. The program combines pre-conference Web-based study and on-site instruction and testing, leading to the AIF designation. (May 5-6)

• Interactive fi360 Toolkit Workshop – The fi360 Tools team will demonstrate how to successfully employ its powerful Toolkit software programs – designed with the Prudent Investment Practices at their core. Fi360 Toolkits include an Investment Policy Statement Generator, Watch List Management tools and techniques, advanced searching methods using the Investment Analyzer and more. A laptop computer is required to participate; Internet access will be provided. (May 6)

The Conference continues to grow in size and impact each year and brings together those at the forefront of creating a culture of fiduciary responsibility in the investment markets, in governance, in the non-profit realm and everywhere individuals are managing money for others, according to Blaine Aikin, AIFA^® CFA^®, CFP^®, president and CEO of fi360. “Fiduciary best practices not only help professionals limit their liability, but more importantly, they promote transparency on fees and conflicts of interest; engender client trust and ensure that professionals always put the best interests of the investor first. Given the events of the last few years, we support an even stronger push by regulators and the investing public for professionals to fully embrace these principles.”

About the Conference

For information and registration, visit www.fi360.com/main/conference.jsp. Updated information will be posted as it becomes available. For hotel reservations, attendees should contact the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa in Scottsdale, Ariz. online or by calling 800-354-5892 and mention fi360 to secure the Conference rate. Conference fees until February 28, 2009 are $795 and $895 after March 1 for AIF or AIFA^® (Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst™) designees or fi360’s Toolkit subscribers. Cost for non-members now until the Conference is $995. Attendance fees for the pre-Conference AIF Training and Toolkit sessions are extra, but attendees who register for all three events will save $195. Registration for these sessions is also available online.

2009 fi360 Conference - Scottsdale, AZ

The 2009 fi360 National Conference is coming.  This May 6-8 in Scottsdale, AZ, we'll be hosting our fifth annual event and it just keeps getting better and better.  The conference always brings together a great mix of industry professionals who are excited to see some quality speakers and meet others who are leading the way in advancing fiduciary standards in their profession.  Our theme this year is "Uncovering trends and opportunities in uncertain times" and here are some of the highlights from the agenda so far:

• Fred Reish: New laws, more regulations and fiduciary trends: where are we going?
• Bob Veres: Planning in mayhem
• Marcia Wagner: ERISA Litigation matters and evolving best practices
• Roger Gibson: Asset allocation and portfolio design
• Charles Lowenhaupt: Trends and opportunities in managing high net worth investors
• Carlos Panksep: CEFEX Certification and fiduciary assessments

Fred, Charles and Carlos have all spoken at our conferences before, while this will be our first time with Bob, Marcia and Roger.  I encourage you to do some searching on those names and you'll find some great articles and opinions that are worth reading. We'll be announcing more speakers soon, so make sure to check back to the conference page of our Website and here on the blog for updates.

So, register for the conference soon, early bird pricing runs through February. We'll also be offering two special pre-conference events in Scottsdale this year.  An AIF Capstone program on May 5-6 and an fi360 Toolkit Workshop on May 6.  If you register for all three events, you can save $195. 

We hope to see you in Scottsdale.  Let me know if you have any questions and, if you've been to one of our conferences before, leave some feedback in the comments below.

Welcome to the fi360 National Conference

Greetings from the fi360 National Conference! For those of you joining us in Charlotte, we are glad you could make it. Please take the time to introduce yourself and let us know how we are doing (fi360 staff can be recognized by our orange lanyards). For those of you who couldn't come, we hope you can make it next year. This is our favorite event of the year and a great opportunity for us to meet our designees and subscribers in person. The speakers and attendees here are the true trailblazers of fiduciary responsibility.

Attendees are arriving and registration is under way. We have a welcome reception scheduled for tonight, with two full days of content on Thursday and Friday. If you haven't mapped out your conference experience yet, you can still visit the conference portal and choose the sessions you want to attend. If you have any comments about the conference thus far, feel free to leave a comment on the blog or send us an email.

Below, Tools subscriber and AIF designee Keith Carpenter gets checked in by our Training and Designations Coordinators Sarah Borchart.