The 2018 MDRT Annual Meeting, held this year in Los Angeles, was attended by more than 15,000 advisers from 53 different countries.
In addition to the usual outstanding and diverse array of presentations, this year’s Meeting acknowledged, perhaps more than ever, that the global advice sector is undergoing fundamental and disruptive change.
The huge adviser audience heard main platform keynote messages about the present and the future – messages that were variously eye-opening, uplifting, motivational, sobering, reflective, challenging and informative.
Smaller audiences (up to a few thousand) heard focus session presentations on themes and topics more specific to the advice profession, where the prevailing approach from the audiences was one of willingness to learn how to become better advisers and run better advice businesses within the context of the rest of their lives.
Smaller, more intimate narratives were provided in the MDRT ConneXion Zone arena, which offered delegates the opportunity to hear from main platform speakers close-up, together with a dizzying cross-section of advisers and other industry contributors from around the world, all of whom possessed a message worth hearing.
Australian and New Zealand advisers were involved in all elements of this Meeting – as presenters, key organisers and volunteers, as the ANZAC influence within MDRT continues to grow.
It’s impossible to adequately convey in this report the feeling of inclusion and the sense of personal momentum that MDRT Annual Meetings can deliver for any advisers who are prepared to open themselves to this experience. Time and time again, we speak with advisers who relate how integral an association with MDRT has been to their growth as advisers, business people and individuals.
The 2019 Annual Meeting will take place in Miami, Florida, from June 9-12, and Australian advisers may also want to consider attending the inaugural 2019 Global Conference, which will take place in Sydney from September 1-4, 2019 (see: MDRT Heading to Sydney).