Featured speakers

For 28 years, Bob Pisani reported live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as CNBC’s Senior Markets Correspondent. His book, Shut Up and Keep Talking: Lessons on Life and Investing From the Floor of the New York Stock Exchange, reflects on how markets have changed, what really moves stock prices, and why forecasting is so hard, even for experts. Bob has started a new chapter to share the lessons he has learned.

As Chief Growth Officer, Dale Riley leads Independent Advisor Alliance's strategic expansion, driving both organic and inorganic growth. He draws on extensive industry experience, including roles at LPL Financial, MetLife, and AXA Advisors, to execute the firm's nationwide strategy. Dale specializes in advisor recruitment, deepening partner firm relationships, and executing successful mergers and acquisitions. He is a Certified Financial Planner™ and earned his B.S. in Business Entrepreneurship from Elon University.

Cullen Roche is the founder of Discipline Funds, a financial planning–driven ETF firm focused on aligning investment portfolios with real-world time horizons rather than market predictions. He is the author of Understanding the Modern Monetary System, Pragmatic Capitalism and Your Perfect Portfolio. For more than two decades, his research and writing have helped shape the discussion around macroeconomics and portfolio construction, making him a leading voice in practical, evidence-based investing.

Todd Rosenbluth is the Head of Research at VettaFi. He oversees the firm's research into ETFs, product trends, and advisor behavior. He was previously the head of ETF & Mutual Fund Research at CFRA. Todd is frequently quoted in the financial press at outlets like Barron's, the Financial Times, Investment News, and the Wall Street Journal, and has spoken at various ETF conferences.

Robert Russo is the Founder and CEO of Independent Advisor Alliance. Combining his expertise as a former financial advisor with his entrepreneurial drive, Robert has fueled IAA's explosive success, growing the firm from just $100 million to more than $22 billion in assets under supervision. He is responsible for setting the long-term business strategy, identifying key growth opportunities, advisor recruitment, and overseeing all firm operations, empowering independent advisors to thrive. Robert holds a B.S. in Sports Management from the University of Tennessee.

Dana Ryan is the Director of Corporate Communications and Public Relations at Independent Advisor Alliance. Dana manages all media relations and strategic communications, ensuring key business initiatives reach the right audiences. She also supports IAA’s advisor-focused marketing service, Creative Capital. Dana brings more than two decades of communications expertise from diverse organizations, including NBC News, Comcast, and The American Red Cross. She holds a B.A. in Communication Studies from West Chester University.

Jessica Sexton is Chief Compliance Officer for Independent Advisor Alliance and is instrumental in safeguarding the firm and its advisors. With a focus on stability and integrity, Jessica proactively manages IAA's compliance landscape, ensuring adherence to complex regulatory requirements and internal policies. Her extensive background includes leadership roles at LPL Financial, as well as experience with TriCapital Financial Group and Progressive Insurance. Jessica holds a B.A. in English from Baldwin-Wallace University and maintains her Series 7, 24, and 66 licenses.

Jeffrey Sherman, DoubleLine’s Deputy Chief Investment Officer, is a thought leader, portfolio manager and public speaker in the industry. Mr. Sherman is a member of DoubleLine’s Fixed Income and Global Asset Allocation committees, and he serves as lead portfolio manager for the firm’s multi-sector and derivative-based strategies. In his role, Mr. Sherman guides the investment teams in developing top-down macro views and collaborative asset allocation processes throughout a market cycle. Additionally, he is a member of DoubleLine’s Executive Management Committee. In 2018, Money Management Executive named Mr. Sherman as one of “10 Fund Managers to Watch” in its yearly special report. Prior to joining DoubleLine in 2009, Mr. Sherman was a Senior Vice President at TCW, where he worked as a portfolio manager and quantitative analyst focused on fixed income and real-asset portfolios. Prior to that, he was a statistics and mathematics instructor at the University of the Pacific and Florida State University. Mr. Sherman taught Quantitative Methods for Level I candidates in the USC/CFALA CFA® Review Program for many years. He holds a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from the University of the Pacific and an M.S. in Financial Engineering from Claremont Graduate University. Mr. Sherman is a CFA® charterholder.

Todd Sohn is an ETF and Technical Strategist for Strategas Research Partners. He leads Strategas’ ETF research, examining industry trends and how investor flows fit with, or against, the consensus. His research acts as a complement to the firm’s Asset Management offering. Todd is also a member of the firm’s Institutional Investor ranked Technical Research team, providing weekly sector research as well as actively working with Strategas’ clients on tailored analysis for securities around the world. Todd has been featured on various financial press outlets including Bloomberg, CNBC, and the Wall Street Journal. Prior to joining Strategas, he worked in various roles at JPMorgan. Todd has earned the Chartered Market Technician (CMT) designation and is a graduate of Syracuse University along with an MBA from Fordham University. He resides in New York City and is proud to have completed four marathons.

Legendary podcaster and reporter Kara Swisher has been reporting on the tech industry since the early 90’s for outlets like The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. She was once called “Silicon Valley’s most feared but revered journalist” by New York magazine, where she is now an editor-at-large. She is the host of On with Kara Swisher and a co-host of the Pivot podcast. She also hosted HBO’s award-winning Succession podcast and is a regular contributor to CNN. Swisher has even appeared on HBO’s Silicon Valley and The Simpsons, as herself. Additionally, she recently authored the New York Times bestselling tech industry expose “Burn Book: A Tech Love Story.”

Jan is the CEO of VanEck Funds, a global investment manager founded in 1955. VanEck has become one of the world’s largest ETFs sponsors, offering over 180 ETFs and ETNs globally across international equities, global resources, and international and domestic fixed income. The firm has operations in Europe, Australia, and Asia, and manages over $132 billion. The firm was an early advocate of gold investing (1968), commodities, emerging markets, and digital assets. Jan joined the firm in 1991 and became CEO in 2010. In 2006, he founded the firm’s ETFs business. He holds a J.D. from Stanford University and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Williams College with a major in economics. Mr. van Eck is on the advisory board of USC’s Marshall Business School, the board of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, and the Williams College board. He has appeared on CNBC, Bloomberg Television and has been producing VanEck’s quarterly investment outlook. He was a 2013 Finalist for Institutional Investor's Fund Leader of the Year and was the recipient of ETF.com’s 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award. His Twitter handle is @janvaneck3, and he is on LinkedIn. He enjoys teaching business history to summer interns and is a New York Islanders hockey fan.