The just-concluded Exchange conference brought together more than 1,800 people on-site in Miami. The advisor and ETF community came together to learn from one another and industry experts.
Sessions were well-attended, whether they were keynotes from Dr. Richard Haass, ETF panel discussions on bitcoin, or practice management ones focused on succession planning. But connections also regularly occurred on the sidelines of the conference.
Personal Connections at Exchange
In my own way, I tried to capture these connections. I vowed to make a $5 donation to Susan G. Komen, which raises money to fight breast cancer, for every selfie I took and posted to social media. It was a lot of fun. Some were with old industry friends, and some were with advisors I was meeting for the first time. People whom I did not know came up to ask to take one with me so they could help the cause. I took just over 50 such photos, posted them to Linkedin, and will be boosting my initial donation later in the week. (Freely look through my posts to see them all.)
Why Komen?
I chose Komen as my charity for this effort because breast cancer affects so many families. Indeed, Tuesday morning, more than 100 people came out to walk or run to support Komen at Exchange. The event was lead-sponsored by BondBloxx, the firm behind innovative bond ETFs like the BondBloxx BBB-Rated 1-5 Year Corporate Bond ETF (BBBS). However, people from various asset managers and index providers were represented. They joined advisors and my colleagues at VettaFi even though at times the rain was steady, and ponchos were plentiful.
It was wonderful to see many people take a break, put on shorts and T-shirts to come together as a community. On-site, Exchange raised over $30,000 for Susan G Komen, with more donations likely to be tallied. This money will help as Komen addresses breast cancer on multiple fronts such as research, community health, global outreach, and public policy initiatives.
When VettaFi was formed two years ago, our mission was to transform financial services from an industry into a community, one relationship at a time. We are now part of the TMX Group, and community service remains paramount. Bringing 1,800 people together to support one another’s investment goals and efforts to be a better advisor was a high priority for us in organizing Exchange. However, we know it is important to give back to the community. Participating in the Komen two-mile walk was one of the highlights of my three days at Exchange.
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