Conferences for Financial Advisors: XYPN LIVE 2015 or FinCon Advisor Symposium?

In many ways, the financial planning industry is lagging behind the fast-paced changes other fields have undergone to better incorporate new technologies and growing needs of new consumers. Not only are traditional firms unable to serve a demographic poised to inherit $30 trillion dollars over the next few decades, many of them don't even want to.

And the feeling may be mutual. Gen X and Gen Y consumers prefer working with people who are accessible, responsive, technologically-savvy, and who aren't afraid to communicate virtually (whether by email or even Skype and Google Hangouts).

XYPN LIVE 2015 and the FinCon Advisor Symposium aim to change that. Both these conferences for financial advisors will give attendees the information, resources, and inspiration needed to lead the financial planning industry forward so we can build better businesses and serve next-gen clients with greater success.

These events were designed to meet the needs of financial advisors who are ready for a change in the financial planning industry. They're for advisors (and aspiring advisors) who want to serve Gen X and Gen Y and do so in a way that's free of sales and conflicts of interest, easy for members of younger generations to afford, and capable of using technology to provide better service for clients.

If you know that financial planning isn't just for Boomers anymore, you've found your ideal conferences.

But with two great conferences available to choose from, the question becomes: which should I attend? Here's the breakdown of each.

Who Should Attend XYPN LIVE 2015?

XYPN LIVE 2015 is the first ever financial planning conference geared towards advisors that want to focus on working with Gen X and Gen Y clients. This event will help bring together a community of financial advisors that are passionate about providing financial planning to a currently underserved demographic ignored by traditional firms who require huge asset minimums.

We think everyone deserves good finanical advice, no matter what stage of life you're in. If you believe in that and want to learn how to build and successfully run your own fee-only firm -- or learn how to better run your existing firm -- XYPN LIVE 2015 is the conference for you.

This event promises to be fun and energetic as you're encouraged to engage with both the content and other attendees to learn and expand your network.

Oh, and don't forget: you can leave the suit and tie at home.

You can also forget about “economic outlook” presentations or other dull, draining content that you get enough of at other conferences for financial advisors. We skipped over the boring keynote presenters droning on about things that don’t apply to you or your business, too.

Instead, we snagged Michael Kitces, Heather Jarvis, Carl Richards, and Bill Winterberg to provide our conference attendees with incredible keynote sessions that will add real value to your knowledge base.

In addition to your outstanding keynote presenters, XYPN LIVE 2015 will feature a number of panel sessions. Topics include How Advisors Can (Affordably) Outsource, Filling the Income Gap, The Profitable Monthly Retainer Model, and more.

If you're an aspiring financial planner, young financial advisor, or experienced financial pro, you'll find something that will make a difference in your business at XYPN LIVE 2015.

Why Should Financial Advisors Make Room for FinCon?

Some financial advisors may recognize the FinCon name in the FinCon Advisor Symposium event. You're right to think it sounds familiar. This is the same FinCon that is known as the must-attend conference for financial media, writers, and bloggers.

Right off the bat, the Advisor Symposium offers a ton of value via the networking opportunities and the chances to interact with these new centers of influence in the financial industry. By simply showing up, you can connect and collaborate with a number of high-profile experts and authorities that your potential clients trust.

But of course, you'll want to come for the incredible content, too. Like XYPN LIVE 2015, the Advisor Symposium is a first-of-its-kind event. Never before has a conference been dedicated solely to teaching financial advisors the what, where, when, why, and most importantly, how of inbound marketing techniques designed to expand your reach and grow your client list.

Traditionally, financial planning firms have relied on client referrals to generate new business. And while this remains a solid strategy, there's an entire world of opportunity out there for young and forward-thinking advisors that can help you do so much more than a quiet referral.

Inbound marketing, which includes social media, blogging, podcasting, email marketing, and more, can not only help you attract new prospects, but it can also set you apart as a leader, an authoritative source, and an expert.

Advisor Symposium attendees will learn from masters of media including CFPs like Jeff Rose (of the popular personal finance blog Good Financial Cents), Brittney Castro (of Financially Wise Women) and Brian Preston and Bo Hanson (of The Money-Guy Show, a podcast consumers love).

At FinCon, you can learn how to start and write a blog, and leverage your online platform to grow your brand and influence, ways to use video to establish trust with prospective clients, what it takes to use a podcast to grow a successful advisory firm -- and more.

Bottom Line: Both Conferences for Financial Advisors Will Serve You Well

So which conference should you plan on attending?

Trick question. If possible, the answer is both.

Both XYPN LIVE 2015 and FinCon's Advisor Symposium will provide incredible learning and networking opportunities for financial advisors looking to give their firm an edge. Each is wildly different than anything else the financial planning industry currently offers, and that means each offers exclusive opportunities for attendees.

XYPN LIVE 2015 is the first-ever conference that aims to serve financial advisors looking to work with Gen X and Gen Y -- and the first to provide tools, know-how, and resources to make that possible. This conference will teach you how to start your own firm, how to run your existing firm with greater success, and how to work with next-gen clients while still earning a profit.

FinCon's Advisor Symposium is another "first" in the world of conferences for financial advisors. It's the first symposium dedicated to teaching advisors how to use social media, blogging, and other inbound marketing tools to grow a financial planning firm. This track at the larger financial media conference, the annual FinCon Expo, will enable you to stand out in a sea of advisors -- and help you connect with and retain Gen X and Gen Y clients.

Each of these conferences for financial advisors provides amazing opportunities for education, growth, networking, and one-of-a-kind experiences. If you can, get yourself to both of these events!

Attending XYPN LIVE 2015 and FinCon's Advisor Symposium

We've tried to make it as easy as possible for financial advisors to attend these events. We learned an incredible amount about how to do a conference right from the 2014 FinCon Expo, and we're applying these lessons this year.

Before you dismiss the idea of coming to even one of these conferences (let alone both), consider this:

• Both XYPN LIVE 2015 and FinCon are being held in the same city, at the same venue, during the same week. XYPN LIVE 2015 runs from September 15th-17th, and FinCon runs from September 17th-20th.
• Each conference is held at The Westin in Charlotte, North Carolina -- where rooms are just $149/night until July 1st.
• XYPN LIVE 2015 conference passes cost just $299. (Note that prices do rise after June 30th!)
• You can add on the Advisor Symposium to your FinCon conference pass for only $99.
• Both XYPN LIVE 2015 and FinCon support hotel room-sharing to help lower costs for attendees, and help facilitate this with room-sharing documents.

We invite you to be a part of both of these one-of-a-kind events. We'll see you in Charlotte from September 15th-17th and 17th-20th!

About the Author

Alan Moore is the CEO and Co-Founder of XY Planning Network—a support ecosystem dedicated to helping fee-for-service advisors start, run, and grow their own financial planning firms and serve the clients they want. His favorite part about his job is dreaming about possibilities for what's next, knowing his stellar team will either tell him no or Get Sh*t Done to make it happen.