An impressive lineup of leaders and industry experts came together for BNY Mellon’s Pershing’s INSITE 2017 conference in San Diego from June 14-16.
More than 2,000 investment professionals, broker-dealers, independent RIAs and corporate executives attended the conference at the Manchester Grand Hyatt.
This year there was a big focus on exchange traded funds with several breakout sessions dedicated to the world of ETFs.
The first of these sessions was held Wednesday morning: “Supercharge Your ETF Strategies for the Year,” which was moderated by Michael Ludwig, Director, Institutional Equity Sales and Trading BNY Mellon Capital Markets.
The panelists were Jim Cook (Founder, J. Cook Financial), Kyle Ryan (Executive Vice President, Personal Capital) and Tim Van Lohuizen (Personal Financial Advisor, Sagepoint Financial Inc.). They discussed multi-faceted approaching to passive investing, including multiple trading solutions, enhanced access to data, and the rise of digital advice and strategies for managed accounts.
After lunch on the first day, part one of two of the panel “All Roads Lead to ETFs” saw a panel of industry experts come together to talk about trends in the global ETF industry.
This panel (pictured below) was moderated by BNY Mellon Managing Director Rosalia Koopman and featured William Belden III (Managing Director, Head of ETF Business Development, Guggenheim Investments), John Feyerer (Vice President, Director of Equity ETF Product Strategy, PowerShares by INVESCO), Deborah Fuhr (Managing Partner and Co-Founder ETFGI), and Stacy Fuller, (Partner, K&L Gates).
The esteemed panelists discussed the current regulatory environment, anticipated global growth, new innovations, smart beta investing and actively managed solutions.
An opening night reception was held in the Grand Exhibit Hall from 5 pm to 7 pm.
Day two of INSITE 2017 started with a 5K Fun Run & Walk for those up bright and early at 6 am – well before breakfast and the opening of the exhibit hall at 7:30 am.
Jeffrey McCarthy, Chief Executive Officer, Exchange-Traded Funds, BNY Mellon, delivered opening remarks at 8:45 am before back-to-back presentations on “Strategy to Support Your Success” and “The Science of Innovative Technology.”
McCarthy returned to moderate the breakout session “Active or Passive Investing? Or When to Use Both” on Thursday afternoon.
The insightful panel featured Rob Bush (Director, Thought Leadership US ETFs, Deutsche Asset Management), Christopher Davis (Portfolio Manager and Chairman, Davis Advisors) and Michael Jones (Chairman and Chief Investment Officer, RiverFront Investment Group) – they examined the benefits and challenges of passive and active investing.
At the same time, another breakout session “Strategic uses of ETFs in Asset Allocation Models” was taking place with moderator Matthew Forester, Chief Investment Officer and Director of Investments, Lockwood Advisors, Inc.
ETF issuers and industry participants discussed how to achieve investment targets with ETFs and important considerations. This panel featured Aram Babikian (Senior Vice President, Capital Markets and Institutional ETF Strategist, Direxion), Jack Horgan (Vice President, BlackRock Portfolio Solutions) and Roger Nusbaum (ETF Strategist, AdvisorShares).
After a mid-afternoon break, breakout sessions resumed including “Is the Smart Money Headed Toward Smart Beta ETFs?”
Tom Porrazzo, Managing Director, Business Executive, Relationship Management, Structured Products, BNY Mellon, moderated this panel about the emergence of Smart Beta and Multi-Factor Investing in ETF investing.
This panel featured Ed Lopez (Head of ETF Product Management and Marketing, Van Eck), David Mazza (Head of ETF Specialists and Head of ETF Investment Marketing, OppenheimerFunds), and Alexandra von Obelitz (Head of Institutional and Key Accounts ETF Distribution, Goldman Sachs). The trio discussed what Smart Beta and Multi-Factor Investing mean for current market cycles and how they will affect the industry in the future.
World renowned photographer Platon led a one-hour keynote address at 4:30 pm, offering an intimate look at humanity and leadership.
The Gaslamp Quarter in downtown San Diego then transformed into a block party for conference attendees with an evening of live music and food to wrap the day.
The third and final day of the conference featured one last round of breakout sessions, including part two to “Is the Smart Money Headed Toward Smart Beta ETFs?”.
The conference concluded with “A Conversation With Aaron Rodgers” – the Super Bowl winning quarterback and two-time NFL MVP.
For more information about next year’s conference, visit www.pershing.com/events/insite.