Next Gen Panel, ‘SAM Talks’ Highlight Securities America Connect! Agenda

La Vista, NE, June 27, 2014 --(PR.com)-- A live panel of Gen X and Gen Y investors and SAM Talks, Securities America’s take on the popular TED Talks, top the list of highlights for the independent broker-dealer’s Connect! national conference June 20-23 in San Francisco. Securities America is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. (NYSE MKT: LTS).

The conference opens with keynote speaker Condoleezza Rice, former National Security Advisor and U.S. Secretary of State under President George W. Bush. Legendary rock band Three Dog Night will perform Sunday night. Captain Richard Phillips, inspiration for the Oscar-nominated film Captain Phillips and author of A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS and Dangerous Days at Sea, will close the conference.

“We wanted to mark Securities America’s 30th anniversary year with a special line up of speakers, education and entertainment for our advisors,” said Kirk Hulett, executive vice president of strategy and practice management. “Connect! gives our advisors and their staff access to the foremost industry thought leadership on every aspect of growing, perfecting and securing a financial practice.”

The conference takes an innovative approach to the industry focus on how to best engage and serve Generation X and Y investors with a live interactive panel. Panelists will watch prerecorded messages from financial advisors and give their instant responses through a dial. The audience will be able to watch the panelists’ reactions and hear their feedback on the messages. Panel moderator Lee Hartley Carter of Maslansky & Partners said Securities America is the first financial company she’s worked with to focus on the communications gap between advisors and Next Generation clients.

“This session lets advisors see the ‘thought bubbles’ over the clients’ heads,” Carter said. “Clients themselves are training the advisors on what they want to hear, what they want to be told, what they want to be educated on and how they want to be interacted with.”

In its own version of the popular TED Talks, Securities America has invited three top advisors to share their insights:

- Chad Parmenter, Mirus Planning, Kirkland, Wash.: It is easy for advisors to be distracted and overwhelmed by the myriad of things they face each day, sometimes becoming their own worst enemies. Parmenter will make the case that by doing less, it is possible to influence more of what advisors want.

- Paula Dorion-Gray, Dorion-Gray Retirement Planning, Crystal Lake, Ill.: As part of her growth and succession plan, Dorion-Gray made the decision to evolve to an ensemble practice. She will discuss the changes she is seeing in her practice, how her advisor partners are making changes and the affect of her new role on her, her staff and their clients.

- Howard Slater, Cedar Brook Financial Partners, Mayfield Heights, Ohio: Everyone will face adversity at some point, personally and professionally. Learning to find opportunity in challenging situations can bring unexpected growth and satisfaction in all aspects of life.

Three pre-conference sessions hit waiting list status weeks before the conference started – Using Technology to Achieve Unparalleled Office Efficiency, Asset Management Solutions for Increasing Scale and Efficiency, and Estate Planning Toolbox: How to Build a More Profitable Business. During the conference, advisors can choose from among 80 education sessions, network with peers and gain insight from thought leaders throughout the industry.

About Securities America

Securities America is one of the nation’s largest independent broker-dealers with more than 1,700 independent advisors responsible for $50 billion in client assets.