We live in a disconnected, fragmented world.
It's honestly easy to forget that, because despite (in my case) living like a hermit in the woods, all that shared-input of being terminally online creates a false-sense of interconnectedness. An imagined monoculture where, because we both watched the same baseball game, we are tribe.
I know this isn't true, because a few times a year, I crack-open my protective shell of woods and words and go to Future Proof.
That's my benchmark for "connected."
Beyond the Beach
The only word to describe my first Future Proof experience is "overwhelming." Now for me that applies to any group of more than 8 people, but toss a few thousand folks into the mix, and, putting my sneakers in the sand for the first time, I nearly turned around and ran.
I'm glad I didn't.
Over the years, Future Proof (both its Huntington Beach version, next week, and Citywide in Miami in March) has become my community anchor. It's where I actually shake hands with folks I otherwise see only online, and put faces to names. But even more than that, it's where I absorb months worth of ideas and walk away with a giant reading list. Because to me, connection is always about conversation.
And that's why I'm really excited for next week.
The brainchild of Matt Middleton, ETF.com CEO and Future Proof founder, the ETF Oasis at Future Proof is our own corner of the overwhelm. A place where the financial advisors and the ETF ecosystem can have meaningful conversations, not just about tickers, but about everything interesting going on in our world right now.
Over the course of two days, we're hosting (and recording) dozens of one on one conversations with some of the most interesting and innovative folks in the ETF space. Whether it's figuring out how to evaluate the flood of new ETFs in 2026, handicapping the global macro environment, using AI in portfolio construction or just hearing from market experts on surviving the now, you'll hear those conversations at the Oasis.
Here's a link to the full agenda , and I hope you'll swing by for something that piques your interest.
But as excited as I am for the great conversations, in a lot of ways that's just the excuse, right? Future Proof's biggest "aha" moment is that the content isn't the point, the content is a spark. A great idea, a clever turn of phrase, even a surprise meme can create the opportunity to lean over to the stranger next to you and continue the discussion, or even better: just wait 'til the mics are turned off and introduce yourself to the speakers.
That's the magic of Future Proof. Surprise connections. I had a lot of those last year, from playing pickleball for the first time with the folks from Cap Group or just geeking out with the AI nerds at Pictet, long after the cameras stopped rolling. I made new friends with a team of advisors who were really, really into Blues Traveller. I did yoga with a fund accountant on the beach.
More than any other event, Future Proof is what YOU decide to make it. I hope you'll swing by and tell us what's on your mind. Our whole crew will be there, with Sumit Roy, Brad Roth, Lara Crigger, and Brent Sullivan sharing the hosting duties with me. Come grab some selfies, a happy-hour beverage or just a spot of shade. You'll be welcome.
And if you walk by me and I seem overwhelmed? Please come say hi anyway.
That's the point.
