For the past few years, the Future Proof Festival has ditched the traditional trappings of the RIA conference in favor of a sunny California boardwalk. This year’s event drew more than 4,700 attendees and marks a deliberate shift toward a more relaxed, engaging, and inclusive environment.
Future Proof established itself as of the conference season landscape. We have attended Future Proof since its inception and have seen firsthand how it has grown and evolved. The festival leans hard into positive energy, short, speed-dating style breakthrough meetings, and genuine connections. After three years, where does this style of event truly shine? And, what could your financial services firm gain from flying out to the next one?
Diversity, strengths, and limits
We saw right away that Future Proof walks the walk when it comes to the visibility of women and diversity on stage. The conference went out of its way to fill panels with female voices and more diverse panelists, a welcome change from the usual male-dominated lineup found at most financial events. This didn’t happen by accident. The diversity on display speaks to a broader goal of including voices that have traditionally been underrepresented.
For women and people of color in wealth management, this shift offers something rare: a sense of belonging. There are more women and people of color present, yes, but they also led key conversations. It felt like a natural extension of the conference’s mandate to focus on relationship-building above all else.
That relationship-building is a part of every conference, to one degree or another, but Future Proof goes all out, foregoing ballrooms and totally indoor labyrinths to create a space where business doesn’t have to be buttoned up. For next generation wealth managers, it’s a great networking environment. For more established professionals, it can be a refreshing change of pace. That said, Future Proof’s venue and format may run into hard limits as it increases in size.
More than 4,700 people attended the conference this year, and we have already heard some people wonder if it’s starting to get too big. When a conference gets too large, it risks losing the personal touch that makes its networking and interactions feel organic.
Future Proof’s organizers reportedly hope the conference will reach 10,000 attendees next year. We want to see how the conference would manage that kind of growth without risking the intimacy and easy connections that are part of its primary draw.
What could others learn from Future Proof?
We found a lot of value in our time with Future Proof. Should every other conference copy their homework? No, but they could stand to mirror the conference’s successes when it comes to environment and inclusivity. Moving away from the stiffness of a ballroom and creating the possibility for more casual settings can lead to better, more honest conversations. Attendees and exhibitors alike celebrated Future Proof’s departure from the “suits and stuffy rooms” culture, where people often feel pressured to be a more corporate version of themselves.
Featuring diverse voices on stage sends a strong signal about who belongs in the conversation. More conferences could do well to focus on highlighting diverse leadership, especially in sectors where that representation has historically been lacking.
Future Proof may not be a one-size-fits-all solution for conferences, but it has shown that reinventing the traditional model can lead to a more engaging and inclusive experience. By prioritizing networking, diversity, and a relaxed atmosphere, it’s managed to stand out in an industry saturated with cookie-cutter events.