“We are extremely grateful that our master’s program was invited to attend the conference back-to-back years,” said Tracy Schwartz, senior program director of Columbia University’s Master of Professional Studies in Wealth Management, regarding the program’s invitation to last month’s BNY Pershing INSITE financial advisory conference in Nashville, Tennessee.
A mix of high-profile speakers, cutting-edge technology updates, and expert industry analysis makes the annual BNY Pershing INSITE conference an essential event for professionals in the financial sector.
Hosted by BNY Mellon, this year’s conference focused on how investment firms and advisors can leverage technology, data, and other innovations to deliver advanced solutions for their clients. It also offered attendees exclusive insights with the unveiling of enhancements to Pershing X’s Wove advisory platform, Pershing’s groundbreaking wealth management platform, which now offers more solutions for advisors, investors, developers, and data professionals across the industry.
Among this year’s notable speakers was entrepreneur and The New York Times bestselling author Fawn Weaver, founder and CEO of Uncle Nearest, Inc. INSITE 2024 also featured thought-provoking discussions, such as an interview moderated by Bloomberg’s Carol Massar with industry leaders Hanneke Smits, global head of BNY Mellon Investment Management, and Jenny Johnson, president and CEO of Franklin Templeton, on the rapidly changing global financial market.
“The panel sessions are great, and students get to hear from industry leaders about the trends and best practices in the wealth management industry,” Schwartz said. “Additionally, there are many incredible networking opportunities. Last year, our student Tom Boyer met someone who wound up becoming his future employer.”
Schwartz was accompanied by three students who are currently enrolled in the M.P.S. in Wealth Management program at this year’s conference: Abel Diaz Valladares, Thomas Long, and Lucas Englehardt.
Diaz Valladares, who graduated from Baruch College in 2015 with a bachelor's in Business Administration and a focus on banking and financial support services, has a robust background that includes nearly six years at Columbia University's International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs (ICAP). He served in various roles, including financial reporting analyst, senior financial project manager, and associate director of financial planning and analysis, and is now a partner at World Financial Group.
“At the conference, you have the opportunity to network with executives with billions of dollars in assets under management,” said Diaz Valladares. “It was an incredible opportunity, and I got to learn about industry trends, such as alternative investments becoming more attractive for organizations and clients and emerging technologies in the wealth management space.”
Long, a 2022 graduate of Virginia Tech's Pamplin College of Business with a degree in finance, currently works as a financial planning advisor for Vanguard. Discussing his decision to attend the conference, he shared, "I chose to attend to learn more about current industry trends and, like my peers, take advantage of the networking opportunities."
“Attending the conference helped to make some academic concepts more practical and gave me insights into where firms are headed,” said Englehardt. “Panels like ‘The $5 Billion RIA’ were inspiring and I met a number of useful contacts. Additionally, I had the opportunity to participate on a panel, ‘Winning the War for Wealth Management Talent,’ with Anna D’Amico, managing director at BNY Mellon, Emily Barbour with Balentine LLC, Tim French with Altair Advisers, and Beveryly Flaxington, founder of The Collaborative, which was a lot of fun.”
Englehardt also shared how the M.P.S. in Wealth Management program has helped advance his professional career. “As someone who is new to wealth management, for me the program acts like a fast track inside the industry,” he said. “Each class offers a unique perspective into this varied and often intransparent world of wealth management—it’s kind of like viewing a diamond from different angles, all guided by experienced professionals who are active in the field.”
He added that he has been particularly impressed by the program’s diversity and the valuable industry insights gained from both his peers and professors, such as Bill Woodson’s The Wealth Management Landscape course. This course examines the opportunities and challenges in the wealth management profession, including its history and evolution, and analyzes how key trends (including the intersection of technology and wealth management) are shaping its future.
The event concluded with a celebration at the legendary Grand Ole Opry and a live performance by Keith Urban.
About the Program
A sixteen-month online program with asynchronous instruction, specially designed to accommodate working professionals, Columbia University’s Master of Professional Studies in Wealth Management program is taught by distinguished faculty with deep, applied experience in their respective fields. Additionally, it is a CFP Board Registered Program designed to help students meet the educational requirements for CFP® certification.
