Speakers at In|Vest 2018 Share Top Picks

By Jay Palter

Wealth management is changing dramatically as traditional leaders and new players embrace digital transformation. From roboadvisors, blockchain, artificial intelligence and chatbots, the industry is witnessing a surge in innovation.

Now in its fourth year, In|Vest 2018 brings together the entire wealth management community to explore the digital evolution of the market and uncover solutions leaders are working on now, and for the future.

With such an influential speakers lineup, we wanted to know who the speakers themselves were most interested in hearing from – and why. So, we reached out to some of the InVest 2018 presenters to get the inside scoop on the event and bring some of the cutting-edge topics to life.

Michael Kitces is a Partner and Director of Wealth Management at Pinnacle Advisory and the writer of the popular finance blog, Nerd’s Eye View. He will be featured in the The Rise of the Model Marketplace panel and is a highly sought after influencer many others are looking forward to hearing from. Running between commitments in his hectic schedule, Michael suggested:

  • Kunal Kapoor: “I’m fascinated by the next generation leadership transition at Morningstar (no disrespect to the prior leadership!), and the vision of the company in the coming years and decades. I look forward to hear what Kunal has to share!”

Catherine Flax is the CEO of Pefin and will be leading a discussion on AI: Adding Value to the Wealth Management Industry. Catherine’s top picks include:

  • Jeff Cruttenden: “Acorns has been such a successful business, I am interested to hear more about how Say is evolving and how they are thinking about changing the existing shareholder paradigm.”

  • Michael Kitces: “I love his blog and always find him very insightful. Looking forward to hearing what he thinks is topical!”

  • Bradley Leimer: “Bradley has tremendous insights on how fintech is evolving and hearing more from him about what's hot and what's not is always intriguing!”

Abby Salameh is the Chief Marketing Officer at Private Advisor Group and she will be featured in a panel discussion on Driving Growth. Abby’s top picks include:

  • Michael Kitces: “He always provides some excellent financial intel and has entertaining thoughts around the advisory business. I am extremely interested in hearing his take on model management.”

  • Steve Sanduski: “Having a proven track record for growing businesses, I look forward to hearing Steve’s input in the panel session on acquisition strategies.”

Craig Iskowitz is the CEO and Founder of Ezra Group. He is also the publisher of three blogs:  Wealth Management Today, Blockchain Today and Winners of Tech, which provide in-depth industry analysis, interviews and unbiased product reviews. He is being featured in the Vendor Strategy Field Report portion of the conference. Craig’s top picks are:

  • Amber Baldet: “I’m interested to learn about her new startup Clovyr that is trying to be a Blockchain App Store.”

  • Jeffrey Cruttenden: “I can’t wait to learn how he plans to replicate the runaway success of Acorns with proxy statements via his new startup, Say.”

  • Catherine Flax: “I'd like to hear about the progress Pefin has made and what new features they have added that differentiates them from other robo-advisors.”

Nimish Shukla is the Co-Founder and Head of Retirement Income at Blueprint Income. and is participating in the 401(k)s Aren't Enough. Now What? panel. His top speakers picks are:

  • Neesha Hathi: "I am looking forward to hearing Neesha's perspective on why advisors and financial services firms should be looking to the digital space for growth and how Charles Schwab is attacking this channel."

  • Noah Kerner: "I'm interested to hear what is next for micro-saving and what Acorns has learned about digital customer acquisition and the end user experience."

  • Dann Bibas: "I'm curious to hear Dan's take on how AI can be used to disrupt the robo-advisory space given light of Fountain's upcoming product."

Dann Bibas: is the Founder of Fountain and will be featured in The New, New Robos panel. His top picks are:

  • Noah Kerner: "Acorns has brought a lot of novice investors into the fold, and gained the valuable trust of younger audiences. That is no small feat. I am curious to hear how they’ll continue to build on their successes." 

  • Jeremiah D. Desmarais: "Robo-advisors are going to need to find more affordable and scalable ways of attracting customers in the coming years. I’m looking forward to hearing Jeremiah’s thoughts given his marketing expertise."

Josh Book is the CEO of Parameter Insights and is participating in The Big Picture panel at InVest 2018. His top speakers picks are:

  • Catherine Flax: “I am really keen to see more innovative and meaningful use cases for AI within the category especially around planning. This could be a game changer for all stakeholders and I look forward to hearing from her about this.”

  • Neesha Hathi: “Charles Schwab has had some successes moving the AUM needle to their digitally led platform. It will be interesting to learn about the key success factors that are pointed to and drivers in the business case.”

  • Noah Kerner: “Acorns is one of the pioneers of the tech firm approach to a wealth solution and are a good example how to engage customers and take the long view. I am really excited to hear from Noah about the future of this firm and digital wealth management.”

If you are planning to attend the In|Vest 2018 conference and want to connect with Josh, please reach out in advance so he can book a time.

Jay Palter