Huntington Beach, California
Roughly 3,000 investors and financial advisors have flocked to Huntington Beach, California, otherwise known as Surf City USA, for an extraordinary financial conference.
Can you believe it? A financial conference on a beach – and not just any beach, but Huntington Beach with its nine miles of coastline and its claim to be the world center of beach volleyball? It’s absolutely mind-boggling.
And guess who attendees are there to see? None other than the incredible Method Man & Redman, hip-hop legends from Wu-Tang Clan and Def Squad respectively, who will be performing on Tuesday night.
But the star power doesn’t end there. Esteemed financial figures such as Jeremy Siegel from Wharton/WisdomTree, Jeff Kleintop from Charles Schwab, Emily Roland from John Hancock, Cliff Asness from AQR, Jeff Gundlach from DoubleLine, and Jan van Eck, an expert in ETFs and commodities, will also be present.
Nevertheless, this conference goes beyond the typical business affair – it emphasizes the importance of social interaction alongside its rich content.
Reinventing the financial conference
Welcome to Future Proof, the largest gathering of top-tier wealth management professionals, CEOs, CTOs, COOs, and fast-growing financial advisors. This groundbreaking event is the brainchild of Barry Ritholtz, co-founder and chairman of Ritholtz Wealth Management, and CEO Josh Brown, in collaboration with Advisor Circle, a product and event studio in the financial services industry.
“After the pandemic, it became clear to us that the traditional financial conference was outdated,” Ritholtz explained. “Everyone was tired of lectures and dull panels held in windowless conference centers. Instead, we wanted to create an event that was social, interactive, useful, and yes, even fun! And that’s how Future Proof was born.”
Yoga? So passé, except…
If you’re used to attending conferences with early morning yoga sessions on the agenda (who goes to those things?), get ready for the New Hipness at Future Proof.
Regular yoga? That’s so 2008. Sure, there’s still a yoga class, but this time it’s taught by a special instructor. You’ll have the privilege of participating in Seaside Yoga: The Path to Mindfulness with a Goldman Sachs Instructor. Yes, you read that correctly – Goldman Sachs is teaching yoga. What’s next? Acupuncture with Morgan Stanley? Chiropractic with Wells Fargo? Massage therapy with JP Morgan?
Keep dancing, you fools
Forget yoga. The organizers have made a concerted effort to keep everyone dancing and swimming right from the start with the FutureProof Kickoff Party – a time to “relax, unwind, and connect.” Some of the other exciting activities include:
Health is Wealth: Surfing – Join us and experience the thrill of learning how to surf!
Dance Culture: An Interactive Session – Immerse yourself in the rhythm, movements, and rich history of Salsa dancing!
Okay, that’s an improvement, but the real highlight for me would be the Battle of the Buds: Wine vs. Craft Beer. Engage in a lively and interactive debate exploring the unique characteristics, flavor profiles, and food pairings of both wine and craft beer.
Now I’m starting to get interested. I just have to find time between sessions to check out Mastering Pizza Dough: Techniques for any Home Pizza Maker and Let’s Roll: The Art of Sushi Making. Refine your knife skills in the latter – sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Maybe I should play it safe and attend Mastering the Grill: Barbecue Techniques instead.
Oh yeah. The financial content
Last year’s conference attracted 2,000 attendees, comprising mostly young Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), several hundred active traders, ETF sponsors, and various vendors.
As expected, much of the content is tailored towards RIAs, featuring topics like “The Personal Brand Blueprint: 5 Easy Steps to Attract High-Value Clients in 2023.” Investors can look forward to hearing from the well-known tech bull, Dan Ives from Wedbush, who will share “Five Tech Predictions for 2024.”
This year, DoubleLine’s Jeff Gundlach will return, speaking with my CNBC colleague Scott Wapner on the Halftime Report. I will have the privilege of moderating a panel on “Global Macro Predictions” with Professor Siegel, Jeff Kleintop, and Emily Roland.
Morningstar will also have a strong presence, with renowned experts Christine Benz, Jeffrey Ptak, Ben Johnson, and Nizar Tarhuni from PitchBook discussing topics ranging from retirement and 401(k) planning to the challenges of market timing and private equity investing.
Not to be overlooked, Ritholtz Wealth Management’s bloggers and podcasters, Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson, will also be sharing their valuable insights.
Yet, amidst this sea of exceptional content spread over four days, the main focus remains personal interaction – exemplified by the many networking dinners, which, if last year’s event was any indication, are essentially grand parties where young RIAs and investors gather to socialize and connect.
And that’s where much of the real magic happens. Last year, at one of these beach parties on a Monday night, I had the pleasure of meeting a 35-year-old RIA. He had brought his entire team – all seven members – for a team-building experience.
“I’m here to meet people who do what I do,” he explained. And that’s precisely the theme of this conference: connecting with others in your field. RIAs, young investors, financial stars, bloggers, ETF sponsors, hip-hop stars – it’s a unique and exhilarating blend.
As for what might occur during the event, who knows? Maybe Method Man will surprise everyone by announcing a Wu-Tang Clan tour and the launch of an ETF. After all, this is no ordinary conference.
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