TechLeaders Review

Where is technology for broker-dealers and their investment professionals going? With 30 solution providers and over 40 broker-dealers in attendance, the TechLeaders conference supplied attendees with broker-dealer centric research, solution provider updates, and collaborative thought leadership. Attendees came away from the event having moved their thinking forward in areas that are of strategic and tactical importance. Information on specific solutions as well as where the marketplace is on a number of key strategies that impact broker-dealers and their investment professionals was available and widely discussed.

Thirty presentations over two days is intense. Yet, the broker-dealers in attendance relayed to me that the experience was like being a kid in the candy store. Executives at broker-dealers had the opportunity to see same-category solution providers speak to their place in the the industry, their unique differentiators and value propositions. The solution provider presentations delivered in Dallas can be found athttp://techleadersconference.com/virtual-exhibit-hall.php. The entire body of work is impressive and will take some time to view, and is one of the first repositories of this type to be available to broker-dealers. Based on the presentations, solution providers have been busy. Without a doubt, it seems like the pace of technology progress has evolved faster in the past 18 months than it has in the past 10 years. It is safe to assume that this growth in technology is due to the evolution of needs that broker-dealers are experiencing as well as the demands of the Investment Professionals.

Educational round tables were everywhere. The conference had scheduled them on the agenda -  designed to promote free form conversation in support of collaberative discussion. The goal was to be able to supply marketplace context and perspective. Moderated by Marshall, Larry and myself, discussions centered on the evolution of CRM, transition services, and straight through processing the first day. The second day saw discussions centering on social media, operational books and records, and retention of assets. These sessions, unique in their format, provided a platform for broker-dealers to articulate their thoughts and wishes, which were then followed up by solution providers sharing where their products were going in the future. An exciting outcome of this discussion format was the appearance of ad-hoc round tables – attendees continuing the discussions and starting new ones after the offical session ended. We will be following up with a summary of these sessions in future blogs. You will also be ablt to find write ups in future editions of Investment Advisor magazine. Beacon will be supplying an information booklet to broker-dealer attendees that will include facts, marketplace baselining, and key points.

Stay tuned for more TechLeaders feedback . . .