Building Connections: 2024 MDRT Annual Meeting recap

Financial advisors exemplify a desire to learn from others and serve as listening ears to clients and community members alike. Once a year, MDRT encourages members to celebrate their successes together while continuing to grow both personally and professionally.

This event, known as the MDRT Annual Meeting, was held in Vancouver this past June. Thousands of advisors attended from around the world, all eager to connect and discover how to improve their practices. Here are some key takeaways from attending members:

Robert Cullen
King City, CA
13-year MDRT Member

“One of my favorite components of Annual Meeting is MDRT Speaks, which features quick-fire ideas presented by MDRT members. A client concept of financial freedom was shown, with 'Freedom' being an acronym for Finance, Retirement, Education, Estate, Disability, Obligation and Mortgage. The idea is to ask which of these is most important to a client, which then leads to a more targeted and personalized conversation. It's simple and easy and I plan to implement that strategy immediately.”

Heather Lindsley, LUTCF, RICP, LACP
Green Bay, WI
10-year MDRT Member

“My favorite presentation was Diana Chao from Letters to Strangers, or L2S. The foundation is near and dear to my heart and this year’s topic of supporting mental health care hit home for me. Because so many young people are dealing with mental health issues, I am introducing L2S to my church’s youth group. It is my hope that they will be able to utilize her curriculum to help others.”

Brandon Wellman, CFP, RICP
Springfield, IL
6-year MDRT Member

“This year’s Annual Meeting had several sessions focused on AI. This has been a buzzword that can easily get lost in the noise today, but these sessions were able to make sense of it and show me how I can actually use AI in my practice. While in the airport, I was able to use AI to build out a marketing plan for my office that I could easily present to my team. This Annual Meeting changed my mindset for what real, practical uses AI has for me today!”

Paresh Shah, CFP
Hicksville, NY
17-year MDRT Member

“I had the privilege of presenting two sessions at the recent MDRT Meeting. The first session, titled, ‘Technology is the Best Scalability Tool,’ focused on leveraging technology to streamline processes and enhance productivity in financial planning. The second session was a panel discussion on ‘AI for Beginners,’ where I was one of three panelists discussing the basics and practical applications of artificial intelligence in our industry. Preparing for these sessions was straightforward, since I could draw from my personal experiences and the technology I use daily. I dedicated several days to practice, ensuring my delivery was clear and impactful. My primary goal was to provide actionable ideas that attendees could implement in their practices to achieve better scalability and efficiency. The preparation and practice paid off, as I received positive feedback from attendees who found the standing-room-only sessions insightful and practical.”

Mike Ross
Burlington, MA
19-year MDRT Member

“I spent most of my time in Vancouver with great friends that I’ve met from years of attending MDRT meetings and volunteering. There isn’t just one memorable moment, but what I find especially valuable is talking to and sharing ideas with other advisors at breaks or at dinners. MDRT has an incredibly generous culture of sharing ideas and helping other advisors. You don’t see that in many other financial advising circles.”

This year’s conference focused heavily on how financial professionals can leverage tools like AI to make the most of what’s available to them. MDRT members also spent time exploring the city and getting to know other attendees from various parts of the world. Interested in attending the next MDRT conference? Learn more here.

About MDRT
MDRT (Million Dollar Round Table) The Premier Association of Financial Professionals®, is a global, independent association of the world's leading life insurance and financial services professionals from more than 700 companies in 80 nations and territories. MDRT members demonstrate exceptional professional knowledge, strict ethical conduct and outstanding client service. MDRT membership is recognized internationally as the standard of excellence in the life insurance and financial services business. For more information, please visit www.mdrt.org.