A curiosity on the advisor conference circuit last year, Future Proof staged its second run on the beach in Southern California Sept. 10-12 bigger, faster and stronger than in 2022 — making it one of the wealth industry's most popular event franchises this year.
When Future Proof debuted in 2022 as the first and only "wealth festival," the idea of a conference featuring music, arts and entertainment in the staid industry seemed novel at best.
However, the proof was in the execution this year: Several thousand advisors, asset managers, content experts and fintech founders — as well as a few sports celebrities and rock stars — gathered in Huntington Beach to create an experience that combined professional development, networking and fun.
Produced by industry innovators Advisor Circle and Ritholtz Wealth Management, Future Proof doubled in size this year; plus, the beachfront space it occupied expanded to over a quarter of a mile in length.
Hundreds of industry participants showcased their wares in colorful exhibit tents along with stages for content presentations, tech demos and concerts — and attendees were presented with multiple options to customize their activities.
"Breakthru" meetings were introduced in 2023, so attendees could use the conference app to identify the people and companies they were interested in connecting with and schedule meetings.
"Over 70% of the more than 3,000 attendees participated in our breakthrus, and we facilitated nearly 17,000 1:1 meetings," said Matt Middleton, CEO of Advisor Circle.
Opening the conference was a panel discussion on organic growth, particularly relevant as the industry is aging with baby-boomer clients entering decumulation and study after study documenting the slowing growth of advisors.
To combat those trends, the panel of advisor marketing experts — including Gary Foodim, chief marketing officer of Mercer Advisors; Samantha Allen, senior vice president at Carson Group; Kendra Wright of Rebel Media Agency, and Doug Boneparth of Bone Fide Wealth — detailed how advisors can regain and also enhance their marketing swagger.
Most notably, all were focused on digital marketing and better targeted content as the best way to scale growth. "The industry suffers from a 'sameness' problem in that current advisor messaging misses the mark and needs to adapt," Foodim explained.
