Conference planning: the busy fall season

(September 6, 2005) Fall means back to school, the end of a long summer, and a frenzied lineup of conference offerings catering to every sector of the financial services industry.

Seminars on everything from leadership advice, practice management techniques, regulatory updates and business forecasts are lined up this year for industry members looking for education and networking, or just a few post vacation working days out of the office to collect continuing education credits.

A lot of these opportunities are included in events such as IFIC’s annual conference, Advocis’s marketing workshops for advisors, Morningstar Canada’s investment conference, the IAFP’s annual symposium and the IFB’s fall summit.

The IFIC annual conference kicks off Tuesday, September 27th with the fund industry association’s annual general meeting, a networking cocktail reception followed by an evening with comedian Rick Mercer. Other notable speakers in the lineup of industry panelists and education sessions include Toronto Argonauts president, Michael “Pinball” Clemmons, ex-finance minister John Manley, customer services speaker Dennis Snow and David Foot, University of Toronto professor and best-selling author of Boom Bust and Echo

The Advocis Advisor Growth, two-day Precision Marketing Workshops start in Vancouver on September 14-15, and run in different locations across the country before wrapping up in Calgary on December 7-8. The association’s Ontario Chapter is also holding its 2005 Ontario Congress on September 16 at the Sheraton Parkway North Conference Centre in Toronto.

The Institute of Advanced Financial Planners holds its annual symposium in Ottawa this year on September 29-30. The RFP association takes a case study approach, this time focusing on a young couple who have become newly wealthy.

Speakers at the Morningstar Risk Rewarded: Essential Portfolio Strategies conference on October 27 in Toronto include Don Coxe of BMO Financial Group and Harris Investment Management, Stephen Kangas of BluMont Capital, Morningstar’s Scott Mackenzie, Satish Rai of TD Asset Management and Fred Sturm of Mackenzie Financial Group.

In this full day of seminars, advisors will learn how to manage risk across investments such as active and passive funds, hedge fund products, fixed-income securities, precious metals and others.

Regulatory session aplenty start with the Strategy Institute’s Limited Market Dealers’ Audit Readiness seminar on September 12 in Toronto, followed by a public address entitled, by David Dodge, Governor of the Bank of Canada, entitled Getting the Regulatory Framework Right, presented by the Toronto CFA Society. Also from the Toronto CFA Society, author and former chairman of Noranda Forest and Peter Dey, partner at Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP present Corporate Governance — Has the Pendulum Swung Too Far? in Toronto on September 29.

The Strategy Institute also presents its National Registrant Regulation seminar on October 25-26 in Toronto, and the 5th annual Advanced Forum on Securities Litigation, presented by the Canadian Institute, takes place at the Sutton Place Hotel in Toronto on November 14-15. The annual Dialogue with the OSC — based on the theme “Setting The Standard” — is scheduled for November 17, also in Toronto.

Business outlook season starts early this year with the Toronto CFA Society 2005 Annual Forecast Dinner on September 14 at the Sheraton Centre in Toronto with speakers Martin Barnes, managing editor of the Bank Credit Analyst BCA Research in Montreal, and Mike Rothman, head of integrated oil research at International Strategy & Investment in New York. The Conference Board also presents its 2005 Business Outlook Conference on October 6 at the Sheraton Centre in Toronto.

For planners in Quebec, Objectif Conseiller magazine is staging a one-day conference in Montreal on November 14 on best business practices, including a case study presented by Annie Boivin and Michel Lavoie. This French-only workshop includes information on corporate taxes, estate planning, investment solutions, insurance and retirement planning.

If you’re interested in travelling outside of Canada, the Financial Planning Association is in San Diego this year, September 15-18, for its annual gathering, while the Knowledge Bureau’s Distinguished Advisor Conference is set for November 8-11 in Laguna Beach, California.

National Review stages a series of four-day workshops for those studying for their CFP exam in various locations across the country in October and November.

For more information on these events, including the Independent Financial Brokers Fall Summit on November 1-2 in Toronto, and Tax Planning with Evelyn Jacks on November 17, please visit the Advisor.ca events calendar.

Filed by Kate McCaffery, Advisor.ca, kate.mccaffery@advisor.rogers.com