Tooting, not blowing, your own horn at Schwab's Impact

The 1,500 registered investment advisers swarming into Washington, D.C. for Monday's official start to this year's Schwab Impact conference will have loads of educational sessions to scour for business tips and solutions. In additional to technology seminars coverings systems from CRM and portfolio rebalancing to client reporting, sessions include tried and true practice management topics like recruiting, streamlining operations and, of course, social media. A few sound particularly novel, including, “Brag! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It.” A few panels that likely will draw big crowds include a Washington update on the regulation of retirement advisers to be delivered by Brian Graff, chief executive of the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries on Monday. He'll likely offer the latest on proposed federal legislation that would require the Department of Labor to hold off on its fiduciary rulemaking until after the Securities and Exchange Commission boosts broker standards for giving investment advice. Along similar lines, Harvard University lecturer Robert Pozen will offer his own perspective on how to improve the U.S. financial situation, and how the Washington gridlock could be overcome. The former MFS chairman is looking at a combination of entitlement and tax reforms — both individual and corporate — to lead the way toward progress. Meanwhile, Schwab's chief investment strategist Liz Ann Sonders will offer a market outlook in a pre-conference session on Sunday afternoon for those arriving early. She'll be joined for the presentation by Greg Valliere, a policy strategist who will explain how the national political climate could impact the country's fiscal future. This pair was popular at last year's Impact conference in Chicago. Behavioral finance sessions offered last month at the Financial Planning Association's adviser conference in Orlando, Fla., were standing-room only, so I'm expecting to see a similar crowd at such Schwab sessions. Barrett Ayers and Bob Bridges will discuss how to incorporate investment strategies within client portfolios based on those clients' behavioral finance tendencies. In a separate session on Tuesday, Suzanne Duncan, global head of research at the State Street Center for Applied Research, will show advisers how investor behavior impacts the meaning of performance and in re-evaluating the adviser value proposition. Another session I expect to be wildly popular with advisers is how to protect clients and their assets from online fraud. Three Schwab experts will offer tips for making advisory firms as difficult as possible to crack for cybercriminals. I will be looking to pass on to readers some tips for surviving adviser exams from securities lawyer Thomas Giachetti. And, it will be interesting to see whether the session on impact investing draws a crowd to hear about the types of investment vehicles that offer social and financial returns, since many studies suggest there's been great interest in such pursuits. A presentation from former Defense Department chief Leon Panetta will be the final thing standing between advisers and the Tuesday night “Take Flight” party at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. The conference officially closes Wednesday at about noon with a few words from author Michael Lewis. See you there! And for those not attending, my colleague Jason Kephart and I will be pleased to bring you the latest insights for advisers as the conference unfolds.