The 2015 MDRT Annual Meeting in June was attended by 10,000 financial advisers from around the globe.
From an Australian perspective, this year’s Meeting was particularly significant, in that it marked the formal elevation of Queensland adviser, Ross Vanderwolf, to the MDRT Executive Committee. Mr Vanderwolf will sit on this Committee for five years, and in doing so, will become Australia’s first-ever MDRT President in 2018, before presiding over its 2019 Annual Meeting.
As usual, this year’s event distinguished itself by the willingness of its speakers and its participants to share the benefits of their experience and expertise with their peers.
Delegates at the conference were presented with a huge variety of sessions they could attend, in a range of very different settings. They were able to personalise their choices across three main categories of Client Solutions, Business Best Practices and Legacy and Succession Planning. Each of these categories in turn delivered topics spanning wealth management, protection, ‘whole person’, sales ideas, practice management and marketing.
In addition to the contribution from Mr Vanderwolf, who presented within the more intimate surroundings of the MDRT ‘ConneXion Zone’ as well as the main platform, other Australian advisers who delivered presentations included:
- Susan Paterson (Australian MDRT Chair): Evaluating employees
- Russell Collins: Guaranteed sales
- Brad Isaac: 17 years in and only 35