SESSION DESCRIPTIONS

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6

Jason Browning
John Hancock


11:00am-1:00pm | CFP Ethics
This program fulfills the requirement for CFP Board approved Ethics CE. It has been designed to educate CFP® professionals on CFP Board's new Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct effective July 1, 2024.

CE Approvals: CFP

1:00pm-1:15pm | BREAK


Austin Erickson
John Hancock

1:15pm-2:15pm | Super CE

CE Approvals: 

  • South Carolina* 16/3 credit hours
  • Georgia* 18/3 credit hours
  • North Carolina* 16/4 credit hours
  • CFP** 10 CE Credits (No CFP Ethics)
  • IWI (CIMA,CPWA, RMA) 10 General
  • IAR*** 6 credit hours (Product and Practices) and 6 credit hours (Ethics and Professional Responsibility)


Armando Urena
StepStone Group

1:15pm-2:15pm | Democratizing Private Markets
An exploration of the private markets landscape—what they are, why institutional investors allocate to them, and the growing role of individual investors. The presentation will examine the structural and behavioral shifts driving increased retail participation, and offer insights into emerging trends shaping the future of private market investing.

2:15pm-2:30pm | BREAK


Candice Tse
Goldman Sacs

2:30pm-3:20pm | Empower the Female Investor
Women are a powerful financial force, yet women often lack confidence when it comes to investing. Learn more about Womenomics and how to overcome financial planning challenges affecting the female investor.

CE Approvals: CFP, SC INS, IAR

3:20pm-3:20pm | Break


Brian Boughner
Parallel Financial

3:30pm-4:30pm | From AI Assistant to AI Strategist: Transforming Your Financial Practice with Strategic Thought Partnership
Learn to transform AI from a task tool into a strategic thought partner for your practice. Through three live demonstrations—content marketing, complex financial planning, and practice management—you'll master the CRIT framework to solve real business challenges and drive growth.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7

7:00am-8:00am | REGISTRATION AND BREAKFAST


Pankaj Patel
Astoria Portfolio Advisors

8:00am-8:50am | The Future is Now: Rebuilding Portfolios for a New Market Era
Investing is all about looking ahead—not in the rearview mirror. Yet it’s easy to fall into the trap of chasing yesterday’s winners, assuming the past will repeat itself. But markets change. Economic cycles evolve. And what worked last time may not work next time. With rising interest rates, global power shifts, and persistent inflationary forces reshaping the landscape, the road ahead looks very different from the one we’ve traveled. This eye-opening session will challenge outdated assumptions and explore how investors—and their advisors—can adapt portfolios for a dramatically different future.

8:50am-9:00am | BREAK AND SPONSOR TIME


Steve Deschenes
Capital Group/American Funds

9:00am-9:50am | The Asymmetric Risk Advantage: Leveraging
Inefficient Markets for Smarter Outcomes
 
In investing, not all risks are created equal—and understanding asymmetric risk can provide a significant edge. This session will explore how investors and advisors can identify opportunities where the potential upside far outweighs the downside risk. We’ll discuss practical frameworks for evaluating asymmetric risk, how behavioral biases and inefficient markets create these opportunities, and how to incorporate asymmetric strategies into diversified portfolios. Attendees will walk away with tools and insights to help clients pursue better outcomes while thoughtfully managing risk.

CE Approvals: CFP


9:50am-10:10am | BREAK AND SPONSOR TIME


Carl Richards

10:10am-11:10am | KEYNOTE: Your Money - Reimagining Wealth Through Simple SketchesThis keynote delivers a transformational experience for financial professionals. Carl helps advisors move beyond rigid financial plans toward a more adaptable, values-based approach. By exploring the critical tensions that define the advisor-client relationship, this session equips attendees with the language, metaphors, and frameworks to help clients make better decisions and have the conversations that truly matter.


11:10am-12:30pm | NETWORKING LUNCH & BOOK SIGNING


Ron Ulrich, CPC
ADP

12:30pm-1:20pm | Boost Your Advisory Practice: Navigating SECURE 2.0 and State Mandates
This course will enhance your advisory service opportunities by examining critical provisions of the SECURE 2.0 Act that impact employers. You'll learn how to flag for retirement services and guide your business clients in optimizing their benefits offerings. This is especially crucial for employers in states with mandates requiring them to either enroll workers in a state-sponsored retirement program or establish their own — avoiding potential penalties in the process.

1:20pm-1:30pm | BREAK AND SPONSOR TIME


Susan Rosenhoffer, PCC
Dimensional Fund Advisors

1:30pm-2:20pm | KPIs and HPFs: A Deep Dive into the Business
Metrics of High Performing Firms
In this session, we will explore the results from Dimensional's 2025 Global Advisor Study to understand how High Performing Firms are operating to drive growth and value in their business. This session will discuss key insights related to organic growth, human capital, business metrics, operations and technology, and the client experience.


2:20pm-2:30pm | BREAK AND SPONSOR TIME


Joe Virion, CFP
Avantis Investors

2:30pm-3:20pm | Behavioral Finance Concepts; Not Rational, Not Irrational, Just Normal – Tackling Behavioral Biases as Investors
Financial Professionals will have a better understanding of the various behavioral biases they encounter in their practice. By leveraging the work of accomplished behavioral academics, advisors will be able to see the science and the research behind it and how advisors are applying it in their practice. There will also be a few exercises they can walk through with their clients to help illustrate exactly what these biases are and how they can affect their financial behavior.

CE Approvals: CFP


FPA of South Carolina is a 501(c)6 non-profit organization. 

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