Conference season: Your guide to this fall's major industry events

(August 27, 2003) After a short summer break, the financial industry’s conference schedule picks up again in earnest next month, with at least 20 events on a busy fall calendar, including the cross-country Advisor Forum series.

The first major fall event is IFIC’s annual conference, scheduled for September 9-11 in Toronto. Keynote speakers include business guru Donald Cooper, Lloyd Atkinson of Perigee Investments and communications expert Nicholas Boothman. The investment fund industry conference features four seminar streams: marketing, leadership, compliance and operations.

The Advisor Forum conference series kicks off in Montreal on September 30-October 1. Keynote speakers include authors Jean-Marc Chaput and Éric Brassard. The forum then shifts to Calgary October 28-29, followed by Vancouver on November 3-4. Marketing guru Bill Good and advisor/fee-based advocate John De Goey are the keynote speakers in those two cities.

Good also appears at the Toronto Advisor Forum November 18-19 along with legendary U.S. advisor and author Nick Murray. The series ends in Halifax on December 1-2, also with Good and De Goey as keynote speakers. Each of the Advisor Forums includes a Top Advisor Panel, where three advisors will offer business-building, prospecting and client retention tips.

Advocis stages an advanced financial planning conference November 7-9 in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. The event, based on a case study, includes presentations from fund industry analyst Steve Kangas, tax expert Jamie Golombek and top advisor John De Goey.

The fledgling Institute of Advanced Financial Planning, promoters of the RFP designation, holds its first symposium, October 26-27 in Toronto. That event is also based on a case study and features author Jim Otar and divorce specialist Akeela Davis.

For the insurance industry, the Independent Financial Brokers holds its fall summit November 4-5 in Toronto. The Peel Institute’s fall symposium is set for November 10-11, also in Toronto.

The Strategy Institute is focusing on hedge funds this fall, with three separate conferences in New York City, Montreal and Toronto.

South of the border, the Financial Planning Association’s success forum takes place November 1-4 in Philadelphia.

Here’s a list of this fall’s major investment industry conferences, with Web site links for more information:

September 8 — Canadian Foundation for Investor Education, Toronto

September 9-11 — Investment Funds Institute of Canada, Toronto

September 15 — Strategy Institute (hedge fund compliance), New York

September 16-19 — Association of Canadian Pension Management, St. Andrew’s by-the-Sea, New Brunswick

September 25-26 — Infonex (regulation of financial institutions), Toronto

September 30-October 1 — Advisor Forum, Montreal

October 2-3 — Strategy Institute (hedge funds), Montreal

October 26-27 — Institute of Advanced Financial Planning, Toronto

October 28-29 – Advisor Forum, Calgary