FPA reimagines its conference lineup for 2026

DENVER, COLO. (November 6, 2025) — The Financial Planning Association® (FPA®)  revealed today that its four annual national conferences are being reengineered and rebranded to make them more impactful and relevant in what has become a crowded financial services conference landscape.

FPA's conference slate is being thoughtfully redesigned to resonate with financial planners at various stages of their careers. FPA will tailor its events to reflect each financial planner's unique journey, from their early beginnings through growth, transformation, and leadership. Having been a trusted resource since many planners’ early career days, the Association is focused on ensuring each conference, beginning in 2026, offers targeted, meaningful experiences aligned with their evolving professional paths.

“FPA wants to provide our members with all the necessary education, best practices, and networking opportunities we can for them at every step of their careers,” said Dennis J. Moore, MBA, CFP ®, FPA’s chief executive officer. “We recognize that, as a profession, financial planning and the work financial planners do for their clients and in their businesses have evolved over the years. To meet that evolution, FPA engaged in a robust process to evolve its national events to meet the needs of the modern financial planning professional.”

The process of reenvisioning FPA’s national conferences began in January 2024 with the formation of a Conferences Task Force composed of FPA members from diverse backgrounds, career stages, and business models. The Task Force met regularly for six months, resulting in a series of formal recommendations to the FPA Board of Directors. After the FPA Board of Directors accepted the recommendations, FPA’s professional staff, in partnership with an outside marketing agency, has been working to address the operational, branding, and event experience issues outlined in the recommendations.

On November 5, at the closing general session of FPA Annual Conference 2025 in Las Vegas, the new naming convention and branding of FPA’s conferences were revealed. While each event will provide its own unique experience, when experienced together, they reflect a financial planner’s complete career journey.

Beginning in 2026, FPA’s slate of events includes:

 

• FPA Gather: Start Here—Formerly known as FPA NexGen Gathering, is the first step for newcomers to the profession or those entering the field looking for their community. The event, designed with the FPA NexGen community in mind and seeing increased attendance over the years, focuses on exploration, mentorship, and discovering what it means to be part of the profession and something larger. FPA Gather 2026 will take place August 18-20 in Dallas, Texas.

 

• FPA Summit: Grow Here—Formerly known as FPA Annual Conference, is being completely reengineered to become the center of learning, innovation, and collaboration in financial planning. It's where the financial planning community—including practitioners, firm owners, academics, students, thought leaders, and partners—will broaden their skills, explore business and career paths, and examine the trends shaping the profession's future. The location and date of FPA Summit 2026 will be announced in the coming weeks.

 

• FPA Shift: Transform Here—formerly known as FPA Retreat will focus on transforming how planners practice. The event has always been on the cutting edge of new, critical thinking in financial planning, but will evolve into a space where financial planning professionals at every career stage can step back to reflect, question assumptions, and intentionally connect with their peers. FPA Shift 2026 will be held April 20-22 in La Jolla, California.

 

• FPA Lead: Elevate Here—Formerly known as FPA Chapter Leaders Conference, is an invite-only event where FPA chapter leaders and executives come together to shape the future of the Association. The event, which has been a mainstay of FPA for many years, is focused on inspiring and empowering volunteer leaders and providing a space for them to support one another in reaching higher and leading more effectively. FPA Lead 2026 will be held February 5-6 in Denver, Colorado.

“This reenvisioning and reengineering of our national events is not simply about branding and marketing. The experiences our members and guests have at these events will also evolve to meet their wants, needs, and preferences. Our team is focused on ensuring the experience matches the exciting new naming convention and branding we introduced today,” added Moore.

Over the next several weeks, updated event websites and additional information will be shared with FPA members and the broader financial planning community.

For more information about FPA, go to financialplanningassociation.org.