“Be Bold” was the theme of Charles Schwab ‘Impact’ 2010 financial conference. And, would you live your life any other way? As a manager with the General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) and later, traveling on behalf of my own company, Cornell Capital Management, I have attended hundreds of financial trade conferences. There are two that clearly stand out from all the rest. The first, for managed money, is hosted by Charles Schwab Institutional (NYSE:SCHW) and was held at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center from October 26-29. The second, primarily for hedge funds, is the GAIM conference and will be held in Boca Raton January 18th-20, 2011.
The Schwab show is unusual because everybody who is anybody in the world of managed money is there. All the biggest money managers, over 275 mutual funds and 50 of the top tier providers of 3rd party information (think Morningstar) are there. In addition, they have excellent speakers. This year was no exception. Former US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson gave the keynote speech “On the Brink: An Insider’s Account of the US Financial Crisis in 2008.” Also speaking were former US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, Harvard professor/author Daniel Gilbert (Stumbling on Happiness) and political strategist Greg Valliere. CNBC journalist Tyler Mathesin was the moderator of the discussion on the future of social media featuring Chris Hughes, Biz Stone and noted futurist Gerd Leonhard. Maria Bartiromo, host of CNBC’s Closing Bell, was live from the floor of the conference during the afternoon session.
Schwab is known for attracting excellent speakers to its educational sessions. Many of the sessions were standing room only. The sessions were broken down into practice management, investments/trusts and retirement plans, and technology and trading. Some of the most popular sessions were Marketing Strategies to Attract Family Wealth Management Clients, A non-US Perspective on Global Equities focusing on Emerging Markets, Spread Sectors; Compelling Opportunities in Fixed Income, Accessing Alternative Strategies: Practical Considerations in Implementing Risk Management and Asset Allocation Concepts, The End of Bonds: Fixed Income investing in a Zero Interest World, Tips on How to Trade ETF’s and Build Efficient Portfolios, Understanding Managed Futures, Redefining decoupling – What’s ahead for Asia in the Next Decade, and my personal favorite, The Challenge Behind Successfully Executing Your Strategies.
