Following an introduction from IPA CEO Anya Coverman, Commissioner Iles offered attendees a warm Texas welcome, thanked the IPA and its member companies for their constructive collaboration with state regulators, and emphasized the ongoing need for a cooperative approach between the industry and regulators.
Texas is prioritizing creation of a favorable tax environment and a less burdensome regulatory framework.
Change was the watchword from Industry veteran Mark Goldberg’s kickoff in the first session. Goldberg’s comprehensive survey of the five major banks, largest independent broker dealers and large RIA/consultant firms:
Distribution partners’ expectations are evolving, and it will be crucial for issuers to align their offerings with changing demands.
Leaders from Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, LPL Financial, Morgan Stanley, and Fidelity Investments discussed the evolution and trajectory of alternative investments (alts). Their main takeaways:
Mark Sutterlin from Bank of America underscored the shift from viewing alts as luxuries to essential tools for portfolio diversification and emphasized both the importance of education in their distribution, and the significance of long-term relationships in reputation-building.
Michael Gaviser from Morgan Stanley noted the challenges of adoption, pointing out the complexities in purchasing, tax reporting, and the urgency to widen the market share for alts beyond the current 3%.
Bill Duffy of Fidelity Investments illustrated the concentrated nature of asset flows in their platform and emphasized the importance of diversified securities in optimizing platform functionality.
Steve Snyder from LPL Financial highlighted technological improvements to ease transactions.
The panel was united: advancements in education, technology, and strategic partnerships will be pivotal to the future trajectory of alternative investments in the financial landscape.
Greg Davies: Head of Behavioral Finance, Oxford Risk
Starting off day two of IPAVision, Greg Davies, Head of Behavioral Finance at Oxford Risk, presented a keynote on emotional behavior and its relationship to investing. Key points for financial professionals:
While humans may have an additional emotion factor that plays into investing and advising, they’re still better at investing than any machine ever could be.
For the second session of the day, industry leaders Kevin Gannon, Mike Kell, and Mike Bradburn shared the latest industry trends and performance from the past year.
Some “wow” factors in the alternatives space from Gannon:
Kell presented key findings from the 2023 investor survey results, with the key takeaway that 40% of investors are planning to increase their capital investments over the next 12 months, despite previous challenges.
Bradburn closed the session by discussing trends for 2023, highlighting an overall positive outlook for the year. He also projected $4-6B in estimated capital raises for the year and a 25% increase in sponsors year over year.
Market demand remains strong, despite lower than projected returns—which are still expected to move up.
A panel on AI usage in the alternative industry closed out Wednesday’s sessions. Moderated by Jason Goode and featuring Matt Malone, Glenn Hopper, Gil Haddad, Brian Knight, the group started off by addressing how AI is a new form of machine learning, which has already been used in the industry for years. Their concerns included:
But the the panel concluded that AI is a powerful tool that, used correctly, will be a tremendous positive for the industry.
AI will make analytics available to a much wider group of people. If the internet is democratization of data, what AI can bring is the democratization of science.
The afternoon of day two featured six deep-dive breakout sessions designed to explore in more detail some of the most pressing issues facing the industry. These sessions included:
IPAVision closed out with a popular “RIA Speaks” session, hosted by Brendan Cuddihy of CAIS, who brought together a diverse panel of influential RIAs, RIA aggregators, and family offices. The dialogue offered unparalleled insights into this unique distribution channel.
Experts Michael Mansur, Stuart Katz, Oksana Poznak, Clifford Lipscomb, and Arthur Loyd, delved deep into the trends, preferences, and concerns prevalent in the industry, offering a nuanced perspective on advising clients and the role of both mainstream and alternative investment products. Key takeaways:
The panel highlighted the evolving landscape and the rising significance of alternative investments in the RIA sector. It elucidated transformative factors shaping the industry and underscored the growing impact of RIAs in the wealth market and alternative investment spectrum.
The market is anticipated to see up to $10 trillion allocated to alternatives in the next seven years, emphasizing dynamic evolution and immense potential within the RIA domain.
This year at IPA Vision, we were proud to announce the winners of several annual achievement awards that honor visionary leaders that are making significant contributions across our industry. We were thrilled to honor Kevin Gannon, Chairman and CEO of Robert A Stanger with the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award. We were also proud to present the IPA Outstanding Service Award to Anne-Marie Vandenberg, President & CEO of RREEF Property Trust and Chair-Emeritus of the IPA, Sheila Rapple, Managing Director and Global Head of Investor Services at Blackstone, Howard Hirsch, Partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & LLP, Phil Graham, Executive Vice President of Strategic Relations at Inland Securities Corporation, and Nick Darsch, Managing Director at Ultimus Fund Solutions. Finally, we were thrilled to present the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Leadership award to Mark Fuentes, Director of Operations at Ashford Securities and former DEI Committee Co-Chair and Deborah Froling, Partner at Kutak Rock and former DEI Committee Co-Chair.
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