Securities America National Conference Draws Record Attendance

LA VISTA, Neb., July 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Securities America hosted its annual conference June 5-8, 2010, in Huntington Beach, Calif. With more than 1,148 attendees, the conference set a new attendance record.

"The Securities America senior team is passionate and committed to serving our advisors," said retiring CEO Steve McWhorter in his general session speech. "They will continue to move the company forward."

The focus of the conference was to help advisors Grow, Perfect and Secure their practices. Several of the more than 90 breakout sessions focused on NextPhase™, the company's time-segmented income distribution program, including the roll-out of the new NextPhase™ Coaching program, which will help advisors engage, educate and manage retirement income for clients.

Six learning tracks were offered each day, addressing issues of business growth, practice management, asset management, financial planning and practice security. One of the practice management sessions focused on helping advisors determine their Business Growth Number through a newly-introduced self-assessment tool. Other breakout sessions included:

• Now is the Time to Re-Discover Your Clients
• The Future of Regulatory Reform
• Integrated Wealth Strategies Case Study
• Social Media
• Unprecedented Markets Create Historic Opportunities

As in years past, the conference included a full day of sessions for assistants and office managers on topics such as managing client relationships, managing for high performance teams, say "goodbye" to your filing cabinets and marketing activities. There were also several sessions for associate advisors, including the introduction of a new coaching program to help advisor teams lay the framework for growth and succession planning.

This year's Super Women's Summit, hosted by Janine Wertheim, senior vice president and chief marketing officer and president of Securities America Advisors, featured a panel discussion with four accomplished advisors: Minoti Rajput, Secure Planning Solutions; Denise Fries, Fries Financial Services; Lori Price, Price Financial Group; and Patty Laramore, Premier Investment Advisory Services, Inc. Wertheim posed a series of questions about their best decisions, biggest mistakes and ideas for improving their practices. Nearly 50 women advisors and executives attended this special lunch gathering.

Advisors also had an opportunity to listen to a panel of four consumers share their perspectives about saving, spending, investing, and working with financial advisors (or, in some cases, not working with financial advisors and why). The panel was led by Chip Roame, managing principal of Tiburon Strategic Advisors. The panelists' comments provided much food for thought as advisors considered what the perspectives and opinions of consumers in their home markets might be.

Other general session speakers included retirement expert Ed Slott, social security and tax reform expert Kathryn Capage and best-selling author Andy Andrews. Securities America executives Kirk Hulett, Janine Wertheim and Jim Nagengast also addressed the audience, sharing news about new technology, coaching programs and systems to help advisors Grow, Perfect and Secure their practices.

"Last year we spent over $9 million on technology and will do the same this year," said Nagengast. "One of our projects is making our e*Office Advantage system compatible with the iPad for convenience and portability." Advisors could see the prototype in the Technology Pavilion. 

Trudy Haussmann, CFP®, president of Haussmann Financial, Inc. a frequent name on Baron's top advisors list and one of Securities America's top advisors for many years, was the final conference speaker.

"Having one of our top advisors give closing comments and observations about the conference has become a tradition at Securities America annual conferences," Wertheim said.

"Our annual conference continues to be a high point for our advisors," added Nagengast. "They come for the education, for the introduction of new systems and services, for the opportunity to interact with home office staff, and for the camaraderie. This is what Securities America is all about."

About Securities America

Headquartered in La Vista, Nebraska, Securities America, Inc. has more than 1,900 financial professionals nationwide with more than $53 billion in client assets under their supervision. Securities America Advisors, Inc. is an SEC-Registered Investment Advisory firm with more than $14 billion in assets under management and administration that offers investment management, financial advice and financial planning through financial advisors. As your business growth expert, Securities America's mission is to foster the success of financial professionals so they can provide quality, objective counsel and services to their clients. Additional information is available at www.securitiesamerica.com.

SOURCE Securities America