Another night to remember: InvestmentNews Awards set for 2026 return

For one night in June, the center of the wealth management world will be just off Times Square.

On June 1, the InvestmentNews Awards returns to the Edison Ballroom on West 47th Street, inviting advisors, firm leaders and industry partners to swap spreadsheets for spotlights and celebrate the work they do for clients every day.

Nominations for the 2025 InvestmentNews Awards are now open until February 27.

For Marianne Caswell, president of Park Avenue Securities and 2024 winner of the CEO of the Year award, that recognition went far beyond the hardware. “It feels really wonderful to know the work that I've done and the work that my firm has done has been making a difference and that we're being recognized for it. … It's all about making a difference for them so that our advisors can go out and inspire wellbeing with their clients, and that our clients can live out their financial dreams.”

That sense of purpose echoed across last year’s room. When Dennis Morton of Morton Brown Family Wealth in Allentown, Pennsylvania, got the win for Advisor of the Year in the Northeast, his thoughts went straight back home.

“I'm really excited to take this [trophy] back to our community,” Morton told InvestmentNews. “There's a lot of good work being done here and there's an opportunity to do more. The community needs us, so we'll be really excited to take it back to Allentown.”

The night also offers a rare chance for advisors to step out of their day-to-day and into something a little more glamorous. For 2024 NextGen Advisor of the Year winner Julie Penwell, assistant vice president at Wealthspire Advisors, the atmosphere felt surprisingly cinematic.

“It kind of felt like a dream, and it felt a little bit like the Oscars for financial advisors. … I thought it just brought this really fun, bright levity to the event, which I think in finance, sometimes it’s important that we smile and we laugh a bit.”

Industry veteran Ric Edelman, co-founder of Edelman Financial Services and 2025 winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award, called the evening a break from the usual conference circuit.

“This is unlike any other event; whereas most events are focused on industry trends and policy regulation, market anticipation, this event is an opportunity for the best and the brightest in the industry to come together to relax and celebrate the accomplishments that we have achieved, which are serving so many Americans across the country.”

Advisors, firms and other stakeholders can now submit worthy names to be recognized through the nominations page of the InvestmentNews Awards website.

This year sees roughly two dozen categories spanning standout individuals and high-impact organizations — from NextGen Advisor of the Year and CEO of the Year to Lifetime Achievement in the Wealth Management Industry, Advisor of the Year for Alternative Investments, Financial Education Champion, Finfluencer of the Year, Custodian of the Year and ETF Provider of the Year.

To learn more, visit the official InvestmentNews Awards website here.

InvestmentNews Awards is one of the top RIA conferences happening in the USA in 2026 to grow your business and improve client outcomes.