Last month’s Exchange conference brought together financial advisors, asset managers, and financial professionals for a face-to-face experience. Experts like Dr. David Kelly offered in-depth market analysis, providing attendees with their knowledge and deep understanding. Geopolitical expert Ian Bremmer shared a sobering outlook on the implications of broader global politics and investing.

There were sessions devoted to practice management and plenty of solid, concrete information circulating to make the conference more than worth the opportunity cost of attending. But what Exchange 2025 truly revealed was the importance of the human side of finance. 

Take a walk on the human side

Retirement expert and author of “Your Best Financial Life,” Anne Lester, led a powerful discussion keyed into helping advisors connect to their clients on a human level. “I think it’s challenging for people who spend their lives in a compliance-controlled environment, surrounded by numbers and graphs sometimes to remember that our clients are human beings,” Lester shared.

Jennifer Morgan started her keynote dancing to Pitbull and spent a sizable amount of time off the stage and in the audience, connecting directly with attendees. Aptly, her session was titled “Escape the Sea of Sameness.” Morgan argued that relationships are increasingly important for financial services professionals. In a crowded marketplace, it’s one of the few ways you can stand out. “If you build a relationship, business can come later,” she noted.

Put the spreadsheets down

Lester and Morgan weren’t the only ones prodding attendees to exit out of Excel and take in the people around them. Shaping Wealth’s Neil Bage and Brian Portnoy moderated a workshop devoted to “human first” financial planning. “What got us here isn’t going to keep us or sustain us going forward,” Bage said ahead of the workshop. “We need to pivot in the way we engage with the people we are here to serve.”

Bread’s founder Kyla Scanlon also brought her unique talents to Exchange. Again, the focus was on humans. “I try to center people and the economy because people are the economy, at the end of the day,” Scanlon shared when discussing her session on The Road to Exchange. Scanlon is known for bringing economic information and learning directly to her Gen-Z audience over social media. 

Products in the modern world

Like any industry, finance offers products and services to customers. An asset manager creating a unique ETF and getting investors to put money in it might be more complicated on paper than a diner selling a customer a cup of coffee, but at the end of the day, it all comes down to transactions.

Advertising has evolved as channels of communication between people have changed and developed. In the 1950s, Brylcreem advertised in black and white on TV that “a little dab will do ya” in a minute-long spot airing on prime time. By the aughts, restaurant chain Denny’s was advertising via an absurdist Tumblr account that replied to social media posts — often in the middle of the night.

The pivot to being human

These are all disparate threads that point to a common phenomenon; namely, that there is a widespread need for actual connection and authenticity across all industries. A social media account from a brand directly selling a product feels inauthentic and forced. The genius of the Denny’s Tumblr was that it had a very human voice that reflected the experience of being at a Denny’s at an unusual hour. Because it would reply to people who posted at it, often outside of working hours, it felt less like a brand and more like a human being, which, spoiler alert — it was! Serenity Discko put in exceptional work to be the human behind the brand.

In her session, Lester noted that many young people do not trust banks, institutions, asset managers, or financial advisors. They trust their peers. That’s why Scanlon’s TikToks and short videos have such appeal. She presents herself as she is: a human being trying to figure out the complicated mess that is finance.

Advisors still want to understand the market. They want to know about the opportunities that experts like Rob Arnott see in the market. But, increasingly, they want more than that. Compared to 2024, an additional 10% of attendees at Exchange 2025 indicated they were more interested in networking time, according to a post-event survey. 

Live events offer asset managers a chance to show their humanity

All of this is not to say that asset managers need to find their own version of Denny's Tumblr. But the world is becoming increasingly uncertain for investors. As global power dynamics shift and the world becomes, in many ways, a far scarier place, being human matters more than ever. 

Advisors are starting to understand the need for this shift. They are learning about the value of traditional soft skills. Exchange is curated in partnership with advisors. That’s why so many of the top spots on the agenda were focused on being human. 

Lester’s session urged advisors to understand the thinking and the shame that comes with money for many people. Morgan was doling out practical, concrete steps about how to make an impression on someone and connect. Scanlon was helping advisors see past their generational blinders to connect with tomorrow’s wealth owners. Bage coached participants directly on how to interact. 

Even the activations encouraged human connection. VettaFi leaned into the Vegas theme with a bespoke set of cards, but on each card was a question you could ask someone you just met. The networking cards provided attendees with conversational icebreakers in the form of a game. It’s not a surprise that the most popular booths throughout the conference were Nuveen’s Muni-rita bar and Lazard’s exhibit hall coffee shop. People wanted to enjoy a beverage while networking.

Fix your ability to connect, or stagnate

Behavioral finance is in vogue for a reason: People are seeking ways to connect to and understand each other. As Lester astutely noted in her session, often, when intellectual finance experts talk, people hear Charlie Brown’s teacher. Experts have a tremendous amount of knowledge, but the connection is critical. The smartest, most prescient products will continue to die on the vine if the issuer can’t connect with potential clients.

Conferences like Exchange offer a unique opportunity to get in front of an advisor community as a human being navigating the world. Experiential marketing is an easily overlooked tool in the marketer’s toolkit. Given today’s uncertain climate, it could be more important than ever. If the global economy slows or goes through a period of transition, many firms will be tempted to cut costs and lean on old tactics. The firms that will make it to the other side will be the ones that understand the importance of connecting as humans to other humans. To paraphrase Brylcreem’s legendary jingle, a little dab of face-to-face connecting will do ya.  

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