Sunday, February 21

Monday, February 22

7:30 – 7:00

9:00 – 10:00

Keynote: What’s Ahead for the Economy?
James Glassman, Former Under Secretary of State, Economic Expert and Author

There is no topic more urgent today than the fate of the global economy. With experience in business, media, and government, Ambassador Glassman speaks on “What’s Ahead for the Economy?” Ambassador Glassman is a former CNN talk show moderator, Washington Post financial columnist, and Under Secretary of State. His special expertise is explaining complex economic issues in plain, clear language. Ambassador Glassman makes a sober, realistic assessment of the situation, but his outlook is generally upbeat. His experience in government tells him that its effect the economy is more limited than most expect, and his faith in American entrepreneurship encourages a belief that a recovery may come sooner than the pundits are predicting.

11:30 – 12:15

Keynote: Healthcare & its Impact on Retirement
J.D. Kleinke, Chairman and CEO of Omnimedix Institute, Author and Medical Economist

With the debate surrounding health care reform in high gear, the discussion has often focused on the financial impact escalating health costs have on those in retirement. According to recent studies, prescription drug costs increased about nine percent over the past 12 months, marking the highest jump in years. For the millions of Americans who rely on Social Security as their primary source of retirement income, this has critical, real-life implications. Because there will not be a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) this year, and coupled with the rising costs associated with health care, millions of retirees will actually see their Social Security checks decline. Consumers nearing and planning for retirement need to look beyond the eroding guaranteed of income from Social Security, and create a retirement savings plan that will stand the test of time and allow them to plan for the rising cost of health care. Our speaker will share tips and planning insights to help financial professionals work with their clients to better plan for these costs.

Gains in the stock market over the past year have not necessarily been reflected in consumer confidence in investing.  This uncertainty influenced by economic reports, domestic and foreign political events and record unemployment challenge even the savviest of clients and the most experienced advisors are looking for solutions. In this session we’ll explore what top advisors are doing to help clients resolve the key issues confronting them and what wholesalers can do to best help them. We’ll hear what three top advisors are doing to help their clients regain the losses their portfolios and their confidence in investing.

General Session: Retirement Income – Service or Product?
Andrew Wilmot, Managing Director Allianz Global Investors, Moderator
Neil Bathon, Managing Director, PMR Associates and Partner, FUSE Research Network
Ed O’Connor,Managing Director, UBS Financial Services
Jeffrey Panchot, Principal, Insurance Marketing, Edward Jones
Michael Stern, National Sales Manager, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
                                               
How will the bear market impact advisor and sponsor firm practices?  Recent survey information revealed that offering more financial planning services, and specifically focusing on the retirement income needs of their clients, was the number one response.  Is retirement income a service, or is retirement income a product?  This session will begin by framing the debate with one of the most well known and well regarded research and consulting groups serving the retail asset management industry. Senior distribution executives from several brokerage firms will discuss their company’s approach to distribution planning.  Hear how various models are being used to address key distribution planning considerations:

• Method of withdrawal – how much to distribute
• Tax aware investment management – asset allocation coupled with asset location
• Asset allocation – consistency and the volatility of returns
• Methods of distributions – the order in which accounts are used

In addition, the panel will discuss how asset management firms are responding to the retirement income challenge, by leveraging some of the best ideas from the pension consulting world.

Tuesday, February 23

Keynote: How to do Precisely the Right Thing at all Possible Times
Dan Gilbert, Bestselling Author and Professor of Psychology, Harvard University

Floss daily, save for retirement, and don’t wear plaid pants before or after Labor Day.  Most experts tell us what to decide but they don’t tell us how, and so the moment we face a novel decision—should I move to Cleveland or Anchorage? Marry Jennifer or Joanne? Become an architect or a pastry chef?—we’re lost. Is there any way to know how to precisely the right thing at all possible times? In fact, there is a simple method for making decisions that most people find easy to understand and impossible to follow. New research in psychology, neuroscience, and behavioral economics explains why.

General Session: What Messages Resonate with Consumers?
Ann Glover, Chief Marketing Officer, ING U.S. Financial Services, Moderator
Gary DeMoss, Managing Director, Van Kampen Consulting
Antonio Ferreria, Managing Director, Wealth Management Practice, Cogent Research
Jeff Upshaw, Chief Strategy Officer, BBDO

Discover how the consumer mindset has changed in the current recession. Have the tone, approach, words and phrases that worked in the past been replaced with a new lexicon? How should advisors communicate with their clients? And is there a new value equation that will change product designs and marketing around important topics such as investing and having confidence in the financial services industry.

Keynote: Nexus of Economics, Politics, Culture & the Media
Marci Rossell, Former Chief Economist for CNBC and Co-Host of SQUAWK BOX

Marci Rossell electrifies audiences nationwide, speaking on the nexus of economics, politics, culture and the media. Her animated style was honed when she served as the popular, lively Chief Economist for CNBC in the months immediately following September 11th. She takes complex economic issues, often dull in button-down business. In this session, Rossell will present a very specific interest rate outlook for the next 18 months with a focus on the treasury bond market, inflation as well as the rise in the savings rate, and the changing retirement landscape. She will also discuss the behavioral aspects of people over 65 who need to generate income.

Simple Annuity and Other New Product Designs
Peter Stahl, Vice President & National Sales Director, Bank Channel Strategic Relationship Management, Hartford Life Distributors, Moderator
John Egbert, National Sales Manager Wire/Bank Channel, John Hancock Annuities
Bernie Gacona, Senior Vice President, Director of Annuities, Wells Fargo Company
James Pritchett, Executive Director, Annuity & Insurance, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney

This session will cover new developments in product trends for greater penetration within the various distribution channels, including RIAs.  How do these new products need to be designed? What should the appropriate fee-based retirement products look like and how are these to be regulated? Will these designs really work and gain market share?

Non-Traditional Income Benefits
John Carter, President, Nationwide Financial Distributors, Moderator
Christopher Blunt, Executive Vice President, Retirement Income Security & New York Life Insurance Company
Fred Conley, President, Institutional Retirement Group, Genworth Financial
Philip Polkinghorn, Senior Executive Vice President, and President, Life & Annuity, The Phoenix Companies

Many companies are getting creative and offering guaranteed benefits in conjunction with non-annuity platforms. This session will discuss some of these unique ideas and the opportunities in this new market.

How the Annuity Industry can Support the RIA
Frank Gregory, Partner, Director of Retirement Platforms, Lord Abbett, Moderator
Patrick Ferrer, President, Advisor Distribution Consultants
Lisa Plotnick, Director, Cerulli Associates
David Steiner, Principal, Zebulon Financial

There is a huge opportunity for Registered Investment Advisors (RIA) to sell annuities as part of the retirement income strategy for their clients. Most RIAs are not insurance registered, most existing annuities are not RIA friendly, and many distributors have not figured out an effective approach to this elusive market segment.  But the tide is shifting.  This interactive session will examine the unique dynamics of the RIA marketplace, and will look at how annuity-focused RIAs are approaching the market and how successful distributors to the RIA market are positioning themselves to assist RIAs and capture this rising interest in retirement products.

Merits of Passive vs Active Asset Management
Anthony Dufault, Assistant Vice President, Investment Marketing Group, Pacific Life Insurance Company, Moderator
Paul Brakke, Senior Managing Director, State Street Global Markets
Joseph Paul, CIO of North American Value Equities, AllianceBernstein
Kamilla Svajgl, Financial Risk Management Managing Director, VA Operations, Milliman

This panel will take a look at active and passive management in the context of both the larger mutual fund market and market trends and specifically within the annuity marketplace. Inherently, each strategy has its advantages and disadvantages.

How Can we Grow Market Share?
Lee Small, Divisional Vice President, Broker/Dealer Channel, AXA Distributors, Moderator
Jonathan Cressman, Senior Vice President, National Sales Manager, Wirehouse/Regional Channel, Prudential Financial
Bill Nash,Director Investments & Wealth Management Distribution Group, Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management
Robert Pettman, Assistant Vice President, Annuity Marketing, LPL Financial

How do we get managed money producers to incorporate annuities into their practice?  How do we get advisors who average one to two tickets per year to increase to over six tickets?  With large numbers of advisors transferring firms, how do we focus on this group to increase annuity sales?

Why our Industry Should Care about Social Media
Michael Ellison, Principal Partner & Executive Vice President, Corporate Insight, Moderator
Jon Caddell, Digital Advertising Director, ING U.S. Financial Services
Stephen Johnson, Director, Participant Services Marketing, TIAA-CREF
Donato Montanaro, Chairman & CEO, TradeKing

Corporate Insight has closely followed the evolution of social media among major financial services companies over the past few years, to gain an understanding of market trends and leading tactics currently utilized. However, their firm’s research has revealed that comparatively, the annuity industry has been slow to adopt social media.  Given the industry’s target audiences, do they need to use social media?  This session will bring together a group of industry experts to discuss how their firms have introduced social media features to clients and discuss ways that social media is beginning to reshape the way financial services firms communicate with their customers, as well as how investors interact with each other.

Income Strategy for Advisors
Farrell Dolan, Principal, Dolan Associates

The financial needs of investors are dramatically changing – from saving for retirement to living in retirement.  These change forces require advisors to think very differently about the new financial risks to their clients. During our discussion we will look at the opportunity awaiting advisors who are ready to meet this challenge. We will review “The 4 Box Strategy for Retirement Income” that will enable you to take your clients through a proven, logical approach that results in an income plan that will put them in control of their financial future and position you as the "go to person" for their financial needs.

Think you Know Everything about Annuities? Think Again
Curtis Cloke, Financial Advisor and CEO and Founder of Thrive Income Distribution System
Leslie Prescott, Chief Marketing Officer, Thrive Income Distribution System

This session will focus on what is new for retirement income planning. We will discuss how to achieve the three critical goals for retirement income such as: guaranteed inflation adjusted income, competitive rates of return and tax efficiency. We will stretch your mind and explore how not-so-well-known annuity products such as deferred income annuities when incorporated with other annuity products can create a symphony of music in retirement that is sweet to the retiree's ears. In addition to securing retirement income, we will also focus on how to maximize the legacy left to the next generation. It is a new twist for income and growth.

Listen and share with this panel of advisors that will discuss how they approach retirement income planning and if they have re-thought the role of annuities in their practice.