Future Proof Festival has quickly become one of the most talked-about gatherings in global wealth management. Held in Huntington Beach, California, from 14 – 17 September 2026, it offers a unique opportunity to connect with US peers, discover emerging trends, and bring a fresh perspective back to your business.
This isn’t a conference in the traditional sense. Future Proof replaces convention halls and fluorescent lighting with two city blocks of sun-drenched Pacific coastline – an outdoor festival where thousands of wealth professionals come together to learn, connect, and rethink what’s possible.
And 2026 is no ordinary year. This is the festival’s fifth anniversary, and the organisers are treating it not as a victory lap but as a reset point. It will be Future Proof’s most ambitious edition yet, with new formats, an expanded footprint, and a sharper focus on the issues that will define the next decade of financial advice.
Why Future Proof?
Since launching in 2022, Future Proof has grown at a staggering pace – from 2,200 attendees in its first year to over 5,000 in 2025, with delegates representing firms managing a combined $22 trillion in assets.
More than 300 sponsors now back the event, including virtually every major name in wealth management, asset management, and financial technology.
What sets it apart is its refusal to follow the tired conference playbook. Speakers are chosen on merit, not marketing budget with 80% holding C-level positions and sharing real, operational insight rather than polished sales pitches.
Five open-air content stages host over 100 sessions, and the festival’s signature Breakthru programme facilitates upwards of 30,000 pre-scheduled one-to-one meetings between attendees.
Past speakers and participants have included leading voices such as Vanguard’s global chief economist Joe Davis, industry thought-leader Michael Kitces, and Bloomberg’s Barry Ritholtz alongside hundreds of founders, operators, and practitioners building the future of financial advice.
Future Proof has always evolved, but the changes for 2026 are significant. Drawing on more than 250 conversations with leaders across wealth management since last year’s festival, the organisers have reshaped the experience around a simple principle: less passive listening, more hands-on participation.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
RIA Braintrust (New)
A brand-new format built for active participation. Curated, pre-sign-up discussions where peers work through real challenges together, not another panel where you sit and watch, but a room where you roll up your sleeves.
Show & Tell
One of the most talked-about elements from Future Proof Citywide (the organisers’ separate spring event) now comes to the Festival. These sessions go under the hood of how firms are actually operating and solving problems today — practical, detailed, and refreshingly honest.
Tech & AI Hub
A new dedicated area where leading technology and AI companies demo their latest solutions live. Not a trade show stand with a brochure, this is real workflows, real tools, and a chance to see what’s now genuinely possible in practice.
Level Up Stage
Focused sessions on the human side of the business – sharpening leadership, improving team dynamics, and deepening client relationships. A recognition that technology alone doesn’t build great firms; people do.
The Coastal Crawl (New)
Replacing the traditional sit-down dinner format, the Coastal Crawl is a series of curated Monday-evening receptions in partnership with select companies — food, drinks, and live entertainment spread across the beachfront. A more relaxed, social way to make connections.
Three Main Stages
Interviews, fireside chats, and the session formats that have worked well in previous years all remain, alongside the new additions above.
An Expanded, Redesigned Layout
The organisers have worked with the City of Huntington Beach on a bigger, more connected footprint with more open space for organic networking, better shade and stage environments, and a redesigned Breakthru meetings tent with improved acoustics.
We know that flying to California is a bigger commitment than catching the train to London, so here’s why we think it’s worth every air mile.
See around corners. The US wealth market is often 18–24 months ahead of the UK on technology adoption, regulatory innovation, and business model evolution. What you see at Future Proof today is likely heading your way tomorrow. The five themes for 2026, from embedding AI into operations to building firms that outlive their founders, are exactly the questions UK advice businesses are starting to grapple with. Attending gives you a head start.
Broaden your network beyond the UK bubble. The UK advice community is close-knit, which is a strength but it can also mean we end up hearing the same perspectives on repeat. Future Proof puts you in a room (or rather, on a beach) with thousands of professionals who think differently about advice, technology, and growth. Those conversations change the way you run your business.
Get hands-on, not talked-at. The new formats for 2026 – RIA Braintrust sessions, Show & Tell deep-dives, the Tech & AI Hub – mean you won’t be sitting in a darkened room watching slides. You’ll be working through real problems with peers, seeing live technology demos, and hearing exactly how leading firms are operating day-to-day. That’s the kind of insight you can act on the moment you get home.
Combine business with an unforgettable experience. Huntington Beach in September offers reliable sunshine, world-class hotels (including the Hyatt Regency, Paséa Hotel & Spa, and Waterfront Beach Resort all within walking distance of the festival), and the kind of setting that makes even the most seasoned conference-goer sit up and pay attention. Add in the Coastal Crawl, live music, art installations, and beachside socialising, and you have an experience you simply won’t find at any other industry event.
Join Us
AdviserSoftware.com has attended Future Proof since its early days, and each year we come back more convinced that this is an event UK advisers and advice firms need to experience first-hand.
Year Five isn’t just another edition – it’s a deliberate step-change in ambition, format, and focus. If you’re serious about staying ahead of the curve on technology, business strategy, and what great advice looks like in a rapidly changing world, Future Proof 2026 is where you need to be.
We’ll see you on the beach!
