Welcome back to the 2nd Annual The Advisor Network Connect 2026. We’ll kick off the conference by bringing together advisors, industry professionals, and partners for another opportunity to connect, learn, and share ideas. We’ll set the stage for the days ahead, highlight what’s in store, and officially get the conference underway.

Speaker: C.J. Dennis
Vice President, Sector Specialist, State Street

The Big Picture: Macro Markets in Focus will examine the economic and market trends influencing portfolio decisions, including growth, inflation, interest rates, equity leadership, fixed income opportunities, and investor positioning. Using State Street’s latest Chart Pack, the session will help advisors distinguish durable market trends from short-term moves and evaluate the implications for asset allocation and portfolio construction.

An interactive discussion focused on the opportunities, challenges, and trends shaping today’s advisory profession. Hear perspectives from fellow advisors, share experiences, and participate in an open conversation around the issues that matter most to your practice.

The Advisor Growth Lab is a practical practice management series designed to help financial advisors build stronger, more efficient, and more scalable businesses. Featuring a range of focused sessions, the series will explore strategies for driving growth, improving operations, enhancing the client experience, strengthening teams, leveraging technology, and preparing firms for long-term success. Each session will deliver actionable ideas and best practices advisors can apply directly to their own practices.

Carrick Lane, an independent, employee-owned investment manager with more than $3 billion in client mandates, specializes in customized options strategies focused on income generation, yield enhancement, and risk reduction. This session will explore how advisors can use these tools to help clients manage volatility, protect portfolios, and pursue more tailored outcomes—while adding capabilities that go beyond traditional asset allocation.

The Advisor Growth Lab is a practical practice management series designed to help financial advisors build stronger, more efficient, and more scalable businesses. Featuring a range of focused sessions, the series will explore strategies for driving growth, improving operations, enhancing the client experience, strengthening teams, leveraging technology, and preparing firms for long-term success. Each session will deliver actionable ideas and best practices advisors can apply directly to their own practices.

As electricity demand accelerates from data centers, AI infrastructure, manufacturing, electrification, and population growth, the need for a stronger and more resilient power system is becoming increasingly urgent. This session will explore the investment opportunities and challenges tied to rebuilding and modernizing the electric grid, expanding transmission capacity, and developing the energy sources needed to meet rising demand. From traditional generation and renewables to nuclear, natural gas, storage, and grid infrastructure, the discussion will examine where capital may be needed most—and where investors may find compelling opportunities.

Wrap up the first day with practical, peer-to-peer conversations focused on improving your practice. Share ideas, discuss challenges, and learn from the experiences of fellow advisors in a collaborative setting designed to turn the day’s insights into actionable takeaways.

Unwind and connect with your peers during this cocktail hour. Enjoy drinks and conversation while getting to know fellow advisors, building new relationships, and continuing the discussions from the day.

Enjoy dinner and take some time to relax, recharge, and connect with fellow attendees at your own pace. The evening is yours to explore, socialize, or simply unwind.

For those of you who would like to continue the conversation, prearranged dinners will be available for those who "opt in" in advance.

The Advisor Growth Lab is a practical practice management series designed to help financial advisors build stronger, more efficient, and more scalable businesses. Featuring a range of focused sessions, the series will explore strategies for driving growth, improving operations, enhancing the client experience, strengthening teams, leveraging technology, and preparing firms for long-term success. Each session will deliver actionable ideas and best practices advisors can apply directly to their own practices.

Speaker: John Hancock Retirement

The 401(k) market is evolving as plan design, technology, participant expectations, regulation, and employer needs continue to change. This session will explore how advisors can use those shifts to create new opportunities—helping businesses improve retirement plans, deepen relationships with owners and employees, expand wealth management conversations, and position retirement plan expertise as a meaningful driver of practice growth.

Engage in an open discussion with fellow advisors about the opportunities and challenges facing today’s practices. Share experiences, exchange ideas, and learn from your peers in a collaborative conversation designed to provide practical takeaways you can bring back to your practice.

Speaker:
Justin Gutwald
Client Portfolio Manager, Goldman Sachs Asset Management

Higher yields, attractive tax-equivalent income, and evolving credit conditions are creating a compelling backdrop for high yield municipal bonds. This session will explore why today’s market may offer an unusually attractive entry point, where opportunities are emerging across the municipal landscape, and how advisors can use high yield munis to help clients pursue tax-efficient income, diversification, and compelling long-term total return potential.

The Advisor Growth Lab is a practical practice management series designed to help financial advisors build stronger, more efficient, and more scalable businesses. Featuring a range of focused sessions, the series will explore strategies for driving growth, improving operations, enhancing the client experience, strengthening teams, leveraging technology, and preparing firms for long-term success. Each session will deliver actionable ideas and best practices advisors can apply directly to their own practices.

Speaker:
Kase Kinney, CFA®
Vice President, Institutional and Platform Sales, American Beacon

Inflation has historically come in waves when looking back over the last 100+ years of history in the US. This phenomenon is not just domestic, but over the course of 2,127 combined years of world history, only 8 of 62 identified inflation episodes were a single wave. Ever persistent inflation has been a huge problem for 60/40 portfolios in the past and current readings show that we could be headed for a second wave. Is your portfolio prepared?

Speaker:
Jeff Chang
President and Co-Founder, Vest

Jeff will explore how sophisticated investment technology and derivatives-based strategies can be transformed into clear, practical solutions for advisors and their clients. With more than $70 billion across 300+ products, Vest has built its business around making complex investment concepts more accessible, scalable, and outcome-focused. Jeff will share how advisors can use advanced tools to address real client needs while keeping the investment experience understandable and intuitive.

The fixed income landscape is evolving, creating both new opportunities and challenges for investors and financial advisors. In this session, we’ll explore the forces driving changes in bond markets, the risks associated with repricing, and how shifting interest rates and economic conditions may impact fixed income portfolios. Gain insights into navigating this changing environment, evaluating opportunities, and helping clients make informed decisions as they pursue their financial goals.

Private credit has faced increased scrutiny as concerns around leverage, liquidity, and credit quality have grown—but the opportunity set remains broad and highly differentiated. This session will separate the headlines from the fundamentals, examining where risks are real, where attractive lending opportunities still exist, and how advisors can identify managers and strategies positioned to deliver income, diversification, and compelling risk-adjusted returns.

Speaker: Peter Lang
Managing Director/Partner, Hightower Westchester

Engage in an open discussion with fellow advisors about the opportunities and challenges facing today’s practices. Share experiences, exchange ideas, and learn from your peers in a collaborative conversation designed to provide practical takeaways you can bring back to your practice.

The Advisor Growth Lab is a practical practice management series designed to help financial advisors build stronger, more efficient, and more scalable businesses. Featuring a range of focused sessions, the series will explore strategies for driving growth, improving operations, enhancing the client experience, strengthening teams, leveraging technology, and preparing firms for long-term success. Each session will deliver actionable ideas and best practices advisors can apply directly to their own practices.

Speaker:
David Wright
Head of Quantitative Investments - Pictet Asset Management

Explore the opportunities beyond U.S. markets and discover how international investments can play a meaningful role in a well-diversified portfolio. This session will examine the global forces shaping markets, the potential benefits and risks of international exposure, and where advisors may find opportunities as economic growth and market leadership continue to evolve around the world.

The Advisor Growth Lab is a practical practice management series designed to help financial advisors build stronger, more efficient, and more scalable businesses. Featuring a range of focused sessions, the series will explore strategies for driving growth, improving operations, enhancing the client experience, strengthening teams, leveraging technology, and preparing firms for long-term success. Each session will deliver actionable ideas and best practices advisors can apply directly to their own practices

Wrap up the first day with practical, peer-to-peer conversations focused on improving your practice. Share ideas, discuss challenges, and learn from the experiences of fellow advisors in a collaborative setting designed to turn the day’s insights into actionable takeaways.

Unwind and connect with your peers during this cocktail hour. Enjoy drinks and conversation while getting to know fellow advisors, building new relationships, and continuing the discussions from the day.

Advisor Tech Sprint is a series of fast-paced, 20-minute sessions focused on the tools and technologies helping advisory firms grow, scale, and operate more efficiently. Each session will spotlight a specific solution and show how advisors can use it to streamline workflows, improve the client experience, strengthen team productivity, and create more capacity for growth—delivering practical ideas that can be put to work immediately.

Advisor Tech Sprint is a series of fast-paced, 20-minute sessions focused on the tools and technologies helping advisory firms grow, scale, and operate more efficiently. Each session will spotlight a specific solution and show how advisors can use it to streamline workflows, improve the client experience, strengthen team productivity, and create more capacity for growth—delivering practical ideas that can be put to work immediately.

Advisor Tech Sprint is a series of fast-paced, 20-minute sessions focused on the tools and technologies helping advisory firms grow, scale, and operate more efficiently. Each session will spotlight a specific solution and show how advisors can use it to streamline workflows, improve the client experience, strengthen team productivity, and create more capacity for growth—delivering practical ideas that can be put to work immediately.

Advisor Tech Sprint is a series of fast-paced, 20-minute sessions focused on the tools and technologies helping advisory firms grow, scale, and operate more efficiently. Each session will spotlight a specific solution and show how advisors can use it to streamline workflows, improve the client experience, strengthen team productivity, and create more capacity for growth—delivering practical ideas that can be put to work immediately.

Advisor Tech Sprint is a series of fast-paced, 20-minute sessions focused on the tools and technologies helping advisory firms grow, scale, and operate more efficiently. Each session will spotlight a specific solution and show how advisors can use it to streamline workflows, improve the client experience, strengthen team productivity, and create more capacity for growth—delivering practical ideas that can be put to work immediately.

Close out the conference with final remarks and a thank you to everyone who contributed to making the event a success. We’ll recap key takeaways and leave you with a few final thoughts as you head home and put what you’ve learned into practice.