Insider’s Forum conference is upon us again. This is our favorite financial conference of the year because not only does Insider’s Forum provide exceptional content year after year, conference organizers Bob Veres & Jean Sinclair provide they different tracks for CEOs, Advisors, and Operations folks. No other conference focuses quite as much on the needs of operations staff in a financial firm than Insider’s does.

This year, we’re extra excited because of some topics near and dear to our heart (details below):

Operations Track

Presentation to catch - How to stop wasting time selecting technology

Roundtable lunch topic to join - Stop struggling with Cybersecurity training

Action to take - Join an Operations Study Group

Business Owner Track

Presentation to catch - Planning Profession Trends from Bob Veres and Angie Herbers

Spotlight presentation

Jo Day’s topic will be especially relevant for those looking to purchase new technology in the next year.

While the pros from Trumpet have tips on how to avoid time wasters when vetting technology, Jo is adding some new twists for Insider’s.

This year, Jo will walk attendees through a repeatable process for researching, vetting, and getting buy-in for new technology.

The process includes the use of a number of tools, which will be explained in detail. At the end of the presentation, Jo will give attendees access to all of the tools she shared in one, easy-to-download toolkit.

Top Picks

I sat down with Jo to ask her what she was especially looking forward to for Insider’s Forum 2017.

Jo: There are two sessions I’m really excited about. The first is Roy Balletine’s of Ballentine Partners, who is speaking on structuring internal equity trensitions. Roy is just one of the most refreshing, candid speakers to grace any conference stage. I love learning from one of the true leaders in the profession. The other is Abacus Planning Group who is covering process design for growing your firm. Anything shared by Cheryl Holland and her team is worth its weight in gold. They always have very proven tools and strategies that will save your team a ton of time.

Liz: Anything else you’re looking forward to?

Jo: Yes, actually! Along with my presentation, this year I’m also hosting a lunch roundtable about cybersecurity training. This past year especially, advisory firms have been hammered with the message to protect client data from breaches, but no one is talking about about how to actually train employees. It’s such a dry topic, I want to explore how to make it more engaging so people don’t dread the message so much they tune it out, yet really get the key take aways on how to keep the firm and clients safe.

Other Ways to Get Involved

So many of our clients belong to an Operational Study Group now. If you are an operations manager or Director of Ops and haven’t joined a study group yet, definitely check out Shaun Kapusinki’s presentation on HIFON Study Group for Ops Professionals.

Hiring is hot topic this year – in fact, Bob Veres just did a special write up of some of Trumpet’s hiring tech and new employee onboarding techniques –- a great read for the plane ride over! If you’re hiring this year, definitely catch up with me at the conference so we can swap ideas!

Plus, a special callout to Angie Herber's (How to build a $1B firm) and Susan Bradley’s (Financial Transitions) conference workshops – everyone who attends their workshops speaks highly of the excellent content.

Details about Insider’s Forum

If you’re already planning to go to Insider’s Forum this year, make sure to stop by the Trumpet table (spot 14) and say hi to Jo.

If you haven’t registered and would like to learn more, you can visit the website at www.insiderforum.com. Bob Veres and Jean Sinclair create an amazing environment where fiduciary financial advisors (and colleagues) can network, grow their technical know-how, and learn to serve their clients better.

We hope to see you there!