Attendees at next week’s LeafHouse National Retirement Symposium (LNRS) in Austin, Texas will be challenged: adapt or be obsolete.
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“LNRS is not another industry event. It is a wake-up call. A reminder that the work is evolving. The rules are changing. And the only way forward is motion,” said LeafHouse President and CEO Todd Kading. “Adapt or be obsolete.”
The entire agenda at this year’s event—taking place Oct. 8-10 at The Proper Hotel in Austin—is built around that theme.
“Every session is designed to build on the last, pushing the industry to confront a single truth: adaptation is not optional,” Kading said.
In addition to the usual speaker lineup of industry heavy hitters, this year’s event features a closing keynote session with Mike Rowe, the popular television host, narrator and producer best known for hosting Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs and for his narration work on other shows like Deadliest Catch. He is also the founder of the mikeroweWORKS Foundation, which promotes and provides scholarships for skilled trades.
“We are not ending in theory. We are ending with action. Mike and I will sit down for a Retireside Chat to connect the dots between closing America’s skilled labor gap and ensuring those same workers can retire with dignity,” Kading said.
The event begins Wednesday with an opening keynote from Antonio Neves, an entrepreneur, best-selling author, award-winning journalist and world-renowned speaker known for helping people get unstuck and make their next move with confidence.
“[Sponsor] MFS brings us Antonio Neves to kick things off with a challenge to advisors: you are the transformation you’ve been waiting for,” Kadin said.
Definiti Director of Strategic Accounts Erika Misenko follows with a look at how retirement industry work is evolving and what it takes to stay fit for it. Steve McCoy moderates “Adapt the Default,” where Capital Group, Franklin Templeton, and PGIM reveal how target dates are giving way to tailored solutions.
Continuing the day one agenda, Kading adds, “Tom Clark reminds us of the nightmares that keep fiduciaries up at night. Jeff Acheson pushes the audience to admit that what got us here will not get us there. Then Nevin Adams closes the day with the rallying cry: we’re mad as hell, and we’re not going to take this anymore.”
Day one ends with one of the unique features of the LeafHouse National Retirement Symposium: a charitable art auction benefiting Helping Hand Home for Children, Austin’s oldest continuously operating nonprofit, serving abused and neglected children for more than 130 years. The auction will showcase original works from acclaimed political illustrator Anthony Freda, whose art has appeared in TIME Magazine, The New York Times, and Rolling Stone.
“The initiative underscores a key theme of the Symposium: motion with purpose. By turning art into impact, the event extends its message beyond the retirement industry to support children who need safety, healing, and hope,” Kading said.
Day two starts with LeafHouse COO Kassandra Hendrix sitting down with Deane Mayerhofer, COO of SRP, for a candid discussion on what it means to move the needle without waiting for permission while working with unconventional CEOs.
Next, asset managers from BlackRock, First Eagle, Invesco, and PGIM tackle the question of what once worked and what doesn’t anymore. Architect Cory Brugger pulls attendees outside their bubble with The Poetry of Spatial Work. Nevin Adams leads recordkeepers Equitable, Manulife John Hancock, PCS, and Transamerica in showing how they are turning commoditization into innovation.
“The day continues with Steve Dopp explaining how to deliver Alpha in a world where information is Beta. Then Nevin Adams returns with Bluespring Wealth Partners, SRP, and Prime Capital in a panel called ‘Execution over Excuses.’ They will lay out how advisors can attract talent, fuel growth, and build sustainable businesses,” Kading said. “Franklin Templeton follows with ‘Innovation is Survival,’ a Titanium-sponsored session underscoring the need to push forward or get left behind.”
From there, the day two spotlight shifts to LeafHouse. James Olson and Aaron Bradford will unveil InvestGradeIQ, LeafHouse’s new technology suite designed to give advisors the intelligence, structure, and efficiency they need to thrive.
Then, following a “mystery session,” Kading will take the stage for his annual address, this year titled, “You Are Not Obsolete.”
“This is the culmination of every conversation before it. My message is simple: if we are not in motion, we cannot adapt. If we cannot adapt, we do not survive,” Kading said. “Motion is work. Do the work.”
The two-day LNRS closes with an off-site dinner, including a performance from Dee Snider of Twisted Sister fame.
For more information about the event, visit https://www.leafhouseevents.com/
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