HTK hosted a new national conference, HTK Discover19, in Philadelphia for three days of learning, networking and inspiration. Nearly 250 attendees — with the vast majority including financial professionals who are affiliated with HTK, as well as HTK product sponsors and technology partners, and HTK home office associates — convened at The Bellevue Hotel from Monday-Wednesday, September 16-18, 2019.

Dr. Jeremy Siegel, the renowned Russell E. Palmer Professor of Finance at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, who is a frequently called-upon expert on the economy, served as the event’s keynote speaker and shared his insights on financial markets during his presentation on Tuesday afternoon.

Other highlights of the conference included:

• An update from Tim Donahue, HTK’s president and CEO, that included a review of recent enhancements made to the HTK RIA program and the announcement of the firm’s offering of AdvicePay, a payment solution for fee-based financial planning services;
• An executive update from Penn Mutual with Chairman and CEO, Eileen McDonnell; President and Chief Operating Officer, David O’Malley; and Executive Vice President and Chief Distribution Officer, Thomas Harris, CLU®, ChFC®, FLMI;
• A mainstage presentation from Daniel Egan, managing director of behavioral finance and investing at Betterment, and an interview with Dale Brown, CAE, president and CEO of the Financial Services Institute;
• More than a dozen breakout sessions covering topics on practice management, business continuity, behavioral finance, the HTK Advisory Series powered by Envestnet, investment solutions, investor profiles, high net-worth clientele and more;
• A Practice Management Pavilion and networking hour with more than 20 product solutions and technology vendors, and one-on-one trainings with the HTK home office.

“At HTK, we pride ourselves on being a high-touch organization, and our business is built on strong relationships,” says Donahue. “In today’s fast-paced, digital world, there is no substitute for the value of in-person connection. As HTK celebrates our 50th anniversary this year, it was the perfect time to bring our financial professionals together to celebrate all that we have accomplished together, and to provide the tools and knowledge to help drive our financial professionals’ success in the years to come.”

HTK thanks its sponsors of HTK Discover19: Hootsuite, Docupace, Forefront Analytics, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Manning & Napier and Symmetry Partners.

See photo highlights from the event below.