Be part of the profession's most important conversations

No matter where you are in your career or how you practice, Annual Forum 2021 offers stimulating content and sessions relevant to you.

View the forum Schedule

Navigating Today’s Markets

Liz Ann Sonders, Senior Vice President, Chief Investment Strategist, Charles Schwab, & Co., Inc., and Jim Pavia, Money Editor, CNBC

Join Liz Ann Sonders and Jim Pavia as they discuss the unique nature of the COVID crisis and the relationship between economic data and the stock market.  They'll examine the short- and long-term implications of surging government debt and whether the surge in bond yields is a sign of pending inflation problem, and they’ll look under the hood of the stock market performance at leadership trends, valuation, and sentiment conditions.

1 CFP® CE Credit

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Where are We in the Cycle for Equities? Threading the Needle between Recovery and Resolution

Larry Cordisco, Lead Portfolio Manager, Osterweis Fund

With a year of strong equity returns in the books and some measure of political uncertainty resolved, Osterweis thinks investors need to consider the potential for greater equity dispersion as attention shifts from secular growth stories to sectors and industries that may benefit from a sharp cyclical upturn.

While there has been no shortage of prognostication regarding the shape of the recovery from the pandemic this presentation will set out a framework for how active management can help advisors move beyond value/growth and secular/cyclical narratives. Larry Cordisco, Lead Portfolio Manager for the Osterweis Fund, argues that in order to thread the needle between recovery and resolution the focus for equity investors should be on high-quality businesses with underappreciated growth drivers that are resilient to a wide range of economic outcomes.

1 CFP® CE Credit

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Real Estate Market Update & Lending During the Pandemic

Mark Maimon, Vice President & Team Lead, Freedom Mortgage

Enjoy a roundtable discussion between top NYC real estate experts on current trends and opportunities for your clients in the local market.  They'll discuss how to help your clients navigate lingering challenges they may face with their mortgage application as a result of the pandemic and the more complex hurdles that self-employed applicants may encounter.  Get all of your questions answered in this Q&A session.

1 CFP® CE Credit

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Policy and Politics: Implications for Investors

Michael Townsend, Vice President, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.

Join Schwab’s Washington insider, Michael Townsend, for an entertaining and informative discussion on how policy and political developments in the nation’s capital are impacting the markets. Mike will provide his perspective on the new political order in Washington and its implications for the policy agenda in 2021 and beyond. He’ll discuss the latest developments with regard to taxes, retirement savings, regulatory proposals, and other timely issues – and what it all means for the markets, individual investors, and investment advisors. 

1 CFP® CE Credit

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Panel: Keys To Understanding and Working with Professional Women Through Life Transitions

The global pandemic has arguably accelerated trends in technology, financial markets, and the media. Join moderator Sharon Epperson, CNBC Senior Personal Finance Correspondent, and a panel of successful, leading women in the financial planning profession as they examine how professional women are redefining success and working through life-transition challenges introduced by the pandemic and accelerated future trends. Featuring René Nourse, Founder & CEO of Urban Wealth Management; Susan Bradley, Founder of Sudden Money Institute, and Pam Friedman, Managing Director & Principal of Robertson Stephens Wealth Management.

1 CFP® CE Credit

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After the Storm: Investing in 2021 and Beyond

Dr. David Kelly, CFA, Managing Director & Chief Global Strategist, J.P. Morgan Asset Management

After one of the most extraordinary and difficult years in modern history, we are all hoping for a better 2021 and there are good reasons for optimism. Multiple vaccines have been approved and, as they are distributed in 2021, the pandemic should finally draw to an end. After a very difficult winter, the U.S. economy should re-accelerate in the second half of 2021 as many shuttered service-sector businesses are able to reopen. While the elections of 2020 didn’t end political division in America, they did bring more clarity to the direction of policy and both fiscal and monetary policy are continuing to support the economic recovery and financial markets
 
Despite these positives, many uncertainties remain about the pace of the global recovery, the duration and extent of further monetary and fiscal support, and appropriate valuations, particularly in U.S. equity and fixed income markets, following a strong year for investment portfolios.

1 CFP® CE Credit

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Applied Behavioral Finance: Mitigating Behavioral Risk

Jay Mooreland, MS, CFP®, The Behavioral Finance Network

For decades the financial industry has focused on reducing portfolio volatility but has ignored the problem of behavioral volatility.  Many risks are known and understood by financial advisers (investment risk, interest rate risk, etc.); this presentation introduces the concept of behavioral risk or the risk that your client says one thing and acts differently.  

Up until now, there has been cursory discussion on the topic of behavior and investors.  This presentation will cover several common influencers of investor behavior.  Attendees will learn how emotions and cognitive shortcuts encourage investors to act contrary to their long-term goals.  Several “coaching” concepts will be taught, and attendees will learn what they can do to help their clients make more thoughtful, deliberate decisions despite the urges to do the contrary.  

1 CFP® CE Credit

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In Practice: How to Comply with the  SEC’s New Marketing Rule

Seema Rambaran, Associate, Cullen and Dykman LLP

After almost 60 years, the old “Advertising Rule” and “Solicitation Rule” for investment advisors have been updated resulting in the SEC’s new Marketing Rule. The Marketing Rule is designed to modernize the regulatory framework for both advertising and solicitation practices. This presentation will highlight the key changes brought on by the new marketing rule along with practical considerations for compliance. Participants can expect to get an understanding of how the marketing rule redefines what it means to be an “advertisement”, general prohibitions on certain activities and statements, new disclosure requirements for the use of third-party ratings, the rule’s standards for including performance information in advertisements, and a general timeline for investment advisors to comply with the rule.

1 CFP® CE Credit

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Panel: Solving For The SEC Advisor Marketing Rule - Part 2: New Strategies for Registered Advisors

Join Caleb Silver, Editor In Chief of Investopedia, as he explores the update to SEC Advisor Marketing Rule and how registered advisors can adapt. The new rule may not be the panacea advisors hoped for but it did create new opportunities if firms and advisors are willing to take advantage of new processes and compliance workflows. Joining Caleb are Claire Akin of Indigo Marketing and Samantha Russell of FMG Suite who will walk through how advisors can establish compliant marketing strategies. Seema Rambaran, compliance attorney with Cullen and Dykman LLP, rounds out the panel by providing perspective on how the SEC aims to protect consumers through this revised landscape. Advisors who choose not to understand or embrace the rule will be at risk of falling behind.

1 CFP® CE Credit