Englewood, NJ, April 04, 2013 –(PR.com)– MarketCounsel, a leading business and regulatory consulting firm to some of the country’s preeminent independent investment advisors, today opened registration to their annual conference and announced that former Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd (D – Conn.) and former House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barnett “Barney” Frank (D – Mass.) will, for the first time ever arranged, deliver a joint keynote address and take questions from attendees. This seminal event runs from December 10-13, 2013 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas, NV.
Now in its 6th year, The MarketCounsel Summit (formerly the Member Summit) has become host to the industry conversation, bringing organization and thought leaders together with some of the county’s most prominent independent investment advisors and key service providers in a forum that focuses on providing context and solutions for realizing the entrepreneurial opportunity in this ever-changing and highly-regulated environment. Already hailed by the press as one of the few “elite conferences” in our industry, The MarketCounsel Summit features general sessions, breakout sessions and interactive workshops led by industry experts, inspiring leaders and MarketCounsel’s own staff over three days. The agenda is packed with a series of extracurricular events that provide for unparalleled networking opportunities among advisors, speakers and the industry’s top service providers, including an evening gala high atop the Las Vegas strip and a live auction to benefit the MarketCounsel Foundation.
Investment advisors face rapidly evolving challenges in protecting their practice while recognizing the seemingly limitless opportunities in growing their business. The MarketCounsel Summit is designed by a team that admittedly hates the usual lecture-based conferences. The team has created an unparalleled opportunity for advisers to not only learn from, but interact with the industry’s top leaders to better understand challenges while identifying a plan for taking advantage of opportunities.
“We are honored to have these distinguished leaders join us at this year’s event,” said Brian Hamburger, founder and managing director of MarketCounsel. “We set out to host a conversation among industry leaders and I can think of no other speakers better suited to lead the conversation. Each year, we aim to give the most compelling content a stage to lead discussions on the most provocative issues relevant to today’s independent advisor. We take tremendous pride in creating a really unique forum where everyone, from industry leaders to service providers, to advisors themselves, has a seat at the table and a microphone in hand — it’s a real opportunity for attendees to participate in the evolution of the industry,” he added.
Mr. Dodd, who retired in 2011 after a 36-year career in Congress, and Mr. Frank, who retired this January after a 32-year career in the U.S. House of Representatives, co-authored the historic Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010 in the wake of the financial crisis. This is the first joint appearance ever arranged for the two in a conference setting. Mr. Dodd and Mr. Frank will, together, address the Act’s intended and actual impact on business and the economy. In particular, the two will address the effect on investment advisers, such as proposals to improve investment adviser examinations which may result in requiring them to join a self-regulatory organization or be subject to user fees, as well as the “harmonization” of broker-dealer and investment adviser regulations.
“Both Senator Dodd and Representative Frank were enthusiastic about the opportunity,” said Marc Cohen, MarketCounsel’s director and conference producer. “This conference has always been a homegrown event for us. We do this utilizing our own staff. In the face of our success, our focus is on maintaining the quality and intimacy of the event,” he continued.
Recent speakers at the event included Tom Bradley (then-president of TD Ameritrade Institutional), Bill Crager (president of Envestnet), Michael Durbin (president of Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services), Joe Duran (CEO of United Capital), Neesha Hathi (vice president of advisor technology solutions at Charles Schwab Co.) and Mark Tibergien, (CEO of Pershing Advisor Solutions). In addition, top regulators and other industry spokespersons have lent their voices to the conversation.
The event also brings together service providers devoted to this space. This has included each of the major brokerage and custody platforms as well as Advent, Envestnet, Genworth Wealth Management, Black Rock / iShares, MoneyGuidePro, Morningstar, Orion Advisor Services, Pioneer Investments, Principal Funds, Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments and Salesforce.com, among others.
“It’s always about continuous improvement at MarketCounsel and we are excited to build upon our success,” says Ryan Marcus, executive vice president of business development. “We sold out our room block and all of our sponsorship slots at last year’s conference. This year, we placed the conference in Las Vegas’ premier venue, doubled our capacity, and blew the doors off with this keynote announcement,” he added. “We know that investment advisers have their choice among numerous conferences each year. But only one serves as the neutral gathering for advisors across all business models, as well as custodians and service providers to the independent investment adviser industry. This is it.”
More details about The MarketCounsel Summit including agenda details, attendee registration, sponsorship opportunities, and speaker nominations are available at www.mcsummit.com.
For more information, please contact Bill McGuire at (201) 705-1248 or bmcguire@marketcounsel.com. You can also visit www.marketcounsel.com.
About MarketCounsel
MarketCounsel is the leading business consulting firm to the country’s preeminent entrepreneurial investment advisors. Its comprehensive service offering delivers sound, yet business-savvy, regulatory compliance and practice management solutions by pairing best-of-class compliance professionals with state-of-the-art technology to meet, anticipate, and exceed the exacting needs of its clients. MarketCounsel provides true end-to-end lifecycle solutions for advisors, from start-up through exit.
About the MarketCounsel Foundation
The MarketCounsel Foundation supports the independent investment adviser movement through research, advocacy, and awareness; a direct supporter of innovative financial education; and leading an effort to provide support, mentoring, and placement to would-be entrepreneurs. Visit marketcounsel.org for more information.