As spring break festivities take over Miami Beach and other Florida locales, the Future Proof Citywide conference makes its entrance, attracting 2,500 financial professionals, including advisors, family office representatives, and wealth management executives. This event aims to “break down traditional barriers” and connect three diverse sectors: the established Wall Street firms (like Merrill Lynch and UBS), the expanding cohort of Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), and the emerging “alternative” sector that encompasses crypto, hedge funds, and ultra-high net worth investors. This marks the fifth iteration of the Future Proof conference, and its inaugural event in Miami follows previous gatherings in Huntington Beach, California.
Networking Takes Center Stage
True to the spirit of earlier Future Proof conferences, this event is located right on the beach, specifically in the vibrant South Beach area. As the conference kicked off on Sunday afternoon, attendees Jeff Corey and Lincoln Hurney from Claro Advisors in Boston sought refuge from the warm 85-degree weather while attending a session on private equity and credit. According to Corey, their attendance is driven by three primary goals: engaging with fellow financial advisors in similar circumstances to strategize their growth, learning about responsible AI usage, and reconnecting with colleagues from past conferences for insights on various products, platforms, and career trajectories.
The desire to reconnect with peers in the RIA and investment community is a significant draw for many attendees. Alex Barned from Absolute Capital Management expressed his enthusiasm for meeting colleagues, emphasizing the value of such interactions. He operates a turnkey asset management program (TAMP) designed to assist financial advisors in managing investment accounts efficiently. “All the major RIAs are represented here,” he noted, pointing out that the conference facilitates meetings with key decision-makers from those firms. He highlighted that their previous participation resulted in establishing two dozen new connections, enhancing their visibility among clients and prospects.
Doug Gill from Castleview Partners in Dallas echoed this sentiment, stating, “Networking is what makes this event effective.” Gill also leads a TAMP that assists asset managers in optimizing their account operations. He views the potential to connect with boutique asset managers and RIAs managing significant assets as essential to the value of attending. However, he added that the quality of content presented at the conference is another compelling reason for his participation. In addition to guidance on business growth and management, attendees can expect panels covering topics like succession planning, family office governance, and generational wealth transfer.
Bitcoin remains a prominent topic of discussion at the conference. On Monday morning, I will be interviewing Michael Saylor from Strategy, whose firm possesses 500,000 bitcoin and holds strong views on the cryptocurrency’s future. The recent fluctuations in the market are also a focal point, with insights from Fundstrat’s co-founder, Tom Lee, on the market’s trajectory scheduled for Monday morning. Additionally, my colleague Dom Chu will explore the broader economic landscape on Tuesday, interviewing key figures such as Brian Belski from BMO Capital and Gabriela Santos, Chief Market Strategist for J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Dan Ives from Wedbush Securities will also share his perspectives on the trajectory of the AI revolution during his session on Tuesday.
A key topic of interest is the intersection of public and private markets, which I plan to discuss with Joe DeVico, co-head of U.S. Wealth Advisory for BlackRock, on Tuesday. While this Miami Beach edition of Future Proof may lack some of the quirky sessions that characterized the California conferences, such as culinary classes, the core focus remains on networking through technology. “The unique element of Future Proof lies in the networking opportunities we create,” stated Middleton. “We aim for participants to reconnect with existing contacts while also broadening their networks.” This goal is facilitated through a “speed dating” format that pairs investment professionals with sell-side providers for brief, 15-minute meetings. In the previous Future Proof event held in September, an impressive 32,000 meetings were arranged, ensuring that the traditional Wall Street community remains engaged and satisfied.
