2016 eMoney Advisor Summit Recap: Day 1

Below is a recap of Day One of the eMoney Advisor Summit. Check out Day Two here and Day Three here.

As Wednesday dawned bright and warm over the Ritz Carlton Resort in Dana Point California, preparation got under way for the third annual eMoney Advisor Summit.

The booths were built, the t-shirts tossed around, and the registrations run through, as attendees, sponsors, and employees alike streamed in, eager to spend the next three days together for what promised to be the best Summit – and not to mention location – to date.

Before the conference officially began, activities were already well underway. Early arrivals had the choice of a Fintech Update with T3’s Joel Bruckenstein where he talked through solutions to some of the most common mistakes firms make (you can check out InvestmentNews’ coverage here), or a session with Asset Map’s H. Adam Holt where he discussed how to facilitate meaningful conversations with clients.

Then, throughout the morning – and well into the afternoon – there was the much anticipated eMoney Hackathon. Hosted by industry personality and all-around tech expert, Bill Winterberg, the Hackathon paired teams of advisors with eMoney developers to brainstorm new product ideas and code a working piece of tech that could become a new eMoney feature. Needless to say, the ideas flowed freely.

And of course, there was plenty of time for training. While Leah and Melinda – two of our top trainers – took the main stage audience through their presentations, “Maximize Your Client Experience,” and “What’s New With eMoney,” other attendees took in the the waterfall of knowledge that is our ongoing 1:1 training sessions with eMoney’s best and brightest.

But it wasn’t until after the electrifying opening remarks from none other than the man, the myth, the Summit emcee that is Drew DiMarino, that the Summit officially kicked off. As eMoney’s EVP of Sales, Drew took his talents away from the surf to help set the scene for the entire conference and introduce our theme: Experience Matters. As Drew put it, “The only source of knowledge is experience. And the experience matters!”

Immediately following Drew’s remarks, Joel Bruckenstein returned to interview our CEO, Ed O’Brien. Ed’s insightful answers and cutting frankness helped generate quite the buzz and showed why he’s earned the respect of the entire eMoney staff.

Next up was Burt White, Chief Investment Officer of LPL Financial and Managing Director of LPL Research with his Market Update. Burt delivered a few crushing blows to the Fed interest policy, delighted the audience with some personal stories from his modest Southern upbringing, and demonstrated his overall prowess on all things economics – all while keeping our advisors laughing throughout.

The day rounded out with two more main stage events. First was the ever-insightful J.J. Johnson who gave his take on all things politics. Followed by the Consumer Expectations Panel, which treated the audience to a panel of real investors who weren’t shy about sharing their feelings.

And finally, as the sun set, everyone broke to their respective dinners, dine-arounds, happy hours, and pool plunges.

Stay tuned for what tomorrow will bring!