Day 2 of this informative and well received conference is today.  I was not able to make it but, due to the wonders of the internet (and Twitter in particular), was able to follow the event throughout yesterday and have written a review together with a list of the main points, tips and links which you can read here.

Just a year ago, you would be forgiven for thinking that Social Networking websites were just for kids, but all of sudden the business world is using them as a powerful new tool for networking, marketing and sharing best practice. And yes, even the financial advice industry is getting on board too – because according to IFA Life around a third of all IFAs now have a Facebook page, with many also using LinkedIn and Twitter on a regular basis.

Paraplanners too are getting on board and are using social networking sites to attract new clients to their employers’ businesses, whilst others use these sites to add value to and communicate with existing clients. So it’s very exciting that in January 2010 there is a special Social Media conference for IFAs, Paraplanners and Providers where you’ll learn from the likes of Google, YouTube, LinkedIn and others exactly how you can use social networking sites in your day-to-day work.

We’ve also negotiated a great deal for Paraplanners who are going to attend – just £150 plus VAT for two-day pass saving £££s on the standard prices! Visit www.ifalife.com/socialmediaFS for further details – but if you want to reserve one of the special tickets for Paraplanners please send an email to philip@ifalife.com.  Act quickly to reserve your place and to beat the VAT increase!

The IFP Conference starts on Monday and for the second year will have a dedicated paraplanner track including a session from Martin Vaughan.  The Paraplanner of the Year winner will also be announced on the Tuesday morning and we are looking forward to meeting Svenja.

If you are going to be at the conference please add a comment below as it would be great to meet with as many readers of the site (not just paraplanners) as possible.

If you are not going you can follow us and many other attendees on Twitter using the #ifpc tag . You can find out more about this here.  I will also be posting reviews, pictures and interviews on my own blog which you can find here.

I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Morningstar Investment Conference this year and it again confirmed my opinion that this is for me one of the most worthwhile conferences of the year.For those that don’t know the conference is two days of intensive presentations discussion and debate by some very high profile figures within the investment world and included alongside this are a couple of sessions presented by Morningstar analysts giving insight into their latest developments and explaining the methodology they use when researching funds. If you regularly use Morningstar’s statistical research or their fund ratings then having this insight allows you to better understand how they have given the fund the rating they have and what they have done to arrive at that decision.

One of the main benefits of the conference is that the fund managers who present are invited. Morningstar stress that the speakers are not paid to speak, in addition they are not there to ‘sell’ their new fund which therefore means as a delegate the fund managers presentations are focussed much more on their style, their methodology for stock selection, their processes and their justification for doing what they are doing and taking the approach that they are.

There were some very interesting speakers this year including Richard Buxton (Schroders) Sanjeev Shah (Fidelity) and Stephen Snowden (Aegon) amongst others. They were all very different, they all operated in a different space and all provided a great insight into their thoughts, their style how they work and what they believe will happen over the next few months and years.

By being able to listen to the fund managers you are also able to get some idea of how they think, you are able to start to understand what they have done previously, how much they use technical analysis and what other influences they have on the selection of the stocks in their portfolios.

The conference was also very interesting not least because of the current economic climate. We have just seen the stock market increase by over 30% in recent months are there was much discussion about whether this means the recovery to is on its way or whether this is just an opportunity for some shareholder to get rid of stock they don’t want.

For any paraplanner who wanted to get a better understanding of Morningstar’s methodology or wanted to have the opportunity to listen to and question leading fund managers this was a fantastic conference and one which I would recommend to you for next year.

Continuing with our feedback on training courses, seminars and workshops here is my review of the recent Morningstar Investment Conference.

Who was the organiser? Morningstar

Where was it held? Hilton Metropole Hotel, London

How long did it last? All day (I only attended the first day)

What was the format?  This was conference format. You were given a booklet which set out the timings of the conference sessions and gave a brief resume of the speakers for each session. There was also room in the booklet for you to make whatever notes you felt were appropriate.  There were various sessions throughout the day which were biased towards investment of various assets and portfolio construction.

What did you do? I attended each of the session on the first day. There was also a lunch break and coffee breaks during the day during which you could network and talk to other delegates.

Did you achieve what you wanted to achieve?  Yes

Were there many people there? About 500 with delegates ranging from IFA’s, Fund managers, product providers and fund analysts.

What was the best part? Listening to top industry names speaking about their subject.  Telling us their views on what they do and the changes which they feel the industry is going to go through.

What was the worst part? There wasn’t a worst part. It was an excellent conference very well organised which I gained a lot from.

Would you go again?  Most definitely! The conference was excellent, very well organised and extremely informative.  It was excellent to have an insight into what fund managers, asset allocators and well known industry commentators are thinking.

We are always looking for information to give to other paraplanners and we have asked for feedback from paraplanners and administrators about courses they have been on or seminars they have attended. I was fortunate to be able to attend the Financial Adviser Expo 2008 conference in Harrogate and thought I would share my thoughts.If anyone else was there we would really appreciate your comments. Similarly if you have been to any other seminars or conferences or received any training, please let us know what you thought using the following questions.

Who was the organiser? Financial Adviser magazine

Where was it held? International Conference Centre, Harrogate, North Yorkshire

How long did it last? All day

What was the format? There was a main hall where all the sponsors had their stands, this also offered refreshments (which you had to pay for yourself!) At the other end of the hall you went through to another room where you were able to choose to attend one of three presentations. The presentations lasted 30 – 45 minutes and were on a range of topics so there was plenty of choice for everyone.

What did you do? I managed to speak to a number of the sponsors who I had wanted to see, so rather than having them come to the office or have to discuss their product or service over the telephone or by email I was able to talk to them, ask questions and then make a judgement as to whether I wanted to take things further. I also attended three presentations which I found really useful.

Did you achieve what you wanted to achieve? Yes

Were there many people there? Yes but not as many as you would expect to see at a national event.

What was the best part?  Being able to talk to the providers I had selected and listening to the speakers I wanted to listen to all in a single day.

What was the worst part? The speakers were housed in temporary flexible plastic halls and all three speaking ‘rooms’ were in the same hall. This meant you sometimes found it very difficult to hear the speaker you wanted to listen to as you could hear what was happening in the other ‘rooms’. Not very good.

Would you go again? Yes if I had a specific reason to go, whether this be to see a product or service provider or to listen to a particular speaker, but not just for a day out!