Institute CEO Sean Walters Examines the Future of Industry Conferences for Financial Advisors
Jun 1, 2026 8:00:00 AM
June 3, 2026 - Denver, CO — Sean Walters, CEO of the Investments & Wealth Institute, was recently featured in an article from The Daily Upside examining how the financial services industry is rethinking the traditional advisor conference model as continuing education increasingly moves online.
The discussion centered on a notable trend: live event attendance for continuing education has declined sharply, with the share of CE credits earned at live events dropping from 32% in 2019 to just 11% by 2024, according to Institute data. As online learning captures more of that activity, in-person events are being pushed to offer something distinctly different—namely, the kind of peer connection and collaborative learning that a virtual setting cannot replicate.
Walters has spent significant time over the last few years gathering direct feedback from Institute members, speakers, and event sponsors to understand what today's advisors actually want.
"I've been organizing and attending conferences for more than 30 years," Walters said. "There's no doubt that we're at something of a crossroads for industry events."
He pointed to a meaningful shift in conference design at the Institute, including dedicating significant portions of programming to small-group workshops and peer-to-peer meetings where advisors can exchange ideas and address shared challenges, formats that stand apart from product demonstrations or keynote-heavy agendas. "Our attendees are highly experienced, tenured pros," Walters said. "Most don't want to sit in a conference hall listening to PowerPoint presentations."
Instead, Walters said the advisors the Institute serves are looking for close access to experts in collaborative settings, with opportunities to discuss how to structure their firms and better serve clients. These are conversations that simply aren't available at large-scale events or through online coursework alone.