Ladenburg Concludes Inaugural Consolidated National Conference With Launch Of New Advisor Diversity Initiatives

MIAMI, June 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. (NYSE American: LTS, LTS PrA, LTSL, LTSF, LTSK, LTSH) ("Ladenburg"), a publicly-traded diversified financial services company, today announced the successful conclusion of its inaugural consolidated National Conference, the first of two national advisor conferences to be held this year. The event was held from June 5-8 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle for financial advisors from two of the company's independent advisory and brokerage (IAB) subsidiaries, Securities America and KMS Financial Services.  The second combined national conference of 2019 will be held in Washington, D.C., from Aug. 19 to 22 for financial advisors from Triad Advisors, Securities Service Network (SSN) and Investacorp.

Richard Lampen, Chairman, President & CEO of Ladenburg, said, "We are delighted with the enormously positive feedback we received from our first consolidated national conference's participants. By aligning our intellectual capital and access to innovative growth platforms with a carefully structured conference program, we delivered an event that energized and inspired our financial advisors.  The success of our conference underscores our ongoing commitment to embracing diversity across the firms we support, and the distinctive advisor communities they serve."

Underscoring Ladenburg and its IAB firms' commitment to driving greater levels of advisor diversity across the industry, the company announced a number of new initiatives at the event, including the enterprise-wide launch of the Super Women's Summit and NxG Connect Study Group for next-gen financial advisors.

Ladenburg Super Women's Summit Further Builds Community for Women Advisors

The Super Women's Summit is a women advisors' business workshop, first pioneered by Securities America, that has been rolled out to all IAB firms across the Ladenburg enterprise, with the first-ever Ladenburg-wide event held at the first of this year's national conferences.  The Super Women's Summit's aim is to build professional collaboration and a deeper sense of community for women advisors affiliated with Ladenburg's IABs, while fostering opportunities for peer group-based learning for women advisors across a wide range of career stages.

Nearly 200 female advisors attended the first enterprise-wide edition of the Summit, which included a pre-conference luncheon and discussion session led by physician and anti-aging specialist Dr. Pamela Smith. The session focused on women's health and wellness in the age of distraction and how female advisors, by attending to their own wellness, can provide more value to their clients. A similar Super Women's Summit will be held at the second national advisor conference in Washington, D.C.

Erinn Ford, President & CEO of KMS Financial Services, said, "As we seek to bring more women into the financial advice profession, it is profoundly important that we provide women advisors who are with Ladenburg's IABs with expanded opportunities to share their experiences and architect a community that can serve as a home for future generations of women professionals. Ladenburg's new enterprise-wide Super Women's Summit is a terrific platform that will help our women advisors feel even more deeply that they are part of a larger family that exists to support their business growth."

NxG Connect Study Group Drives New Opportunities for Advisors Below Age 40

Ladenburg's NxG Connect Study Group, also launched enterprise-wide at the national conference, is a nationwide study group for financial advisors across all the company's IAB firms who are under the age of 40.  Developed and tested by Securities America over the last five years to provide younger advisors with actionable insights to take their practices to the next level and build valuable connections with their next-gen peers, this year's NxG Study Group included nearly 60 financial advisors in an event that featured presentations by client acquisition expert Bill Bachrach as well as Jeff Sietstra of the Ladenburg Practice Management Group.

As with the Super Women's Summit, a similar session will be held in August at Ladenburg's second national conference.  Additionally, Ladenburg and its IAB subsidiaries are actively exploring ways to potentially enable members of the study group to meet on an ongoing basis in a digital format throughout the year.

Jim Nagengast, CEO & President of Securities America, said, "Despite all of the talk around the impending shortage of qualified financial advisors who can deliver professional guidance to underserved retail investors across the country, the industry has continued to fall short in translating noise into action.  With the launch of NxG Connect for all of Ladenburg, we are serving as a catalyst and guide for the career development of younger advisors, who are the future of our industry. Our first-ever enterprise-wide NxG Connect session marks the commencement of a new stage of concerted efforts from Ladenburg's family of firms to attract next-generation advisors, show them that they are not alone, and accelerate their career development.  Through NxG Connect, next gen advisors have dozens of senior advisors and industry experts who are there to support them, and who are invested in their success."

Link to the Future Program Attracts Record Number of College Student Attendees

As part of its national conference, Ladenburg also welcomed a record number of 36 college students who are pursuing potential careers in the financial advice industry to the event as part of the firm's Link to the Future program.

Rolled out to all IABs across the Ladenburg enterprise in January, Link to the Future seeks to identify and encourage future financial advisors by providing college-age students who are interested in careers in the industry with conference scholarships, comprised of funding and access to national Ladenburg events.  At these events, program participants take part in a specially-developed learning curriculum, while developing mentor relationships with established financial advisors and home office executives.

Janine Wertheim, President of Securities America Advisors, Inc. and Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Securities America, said, "We are thrilled to see the progress of the Link to the Future program. Having been closely involved with the program since its inception and rollout, it is clear that Link to the Future is resonating with talented college students across the country – including the daughters and sons of our current advisors – and that it is helping to build relationships that will pave the way to successful advisory careers for dozens of young people."

Other highlights of the conference included:

• General-session keynote addresses from entrepreneur, author and investor Josh Linkner; author and financial advice industry expert Bill Bachrach; and astronaut, author and retired U.S. Navy Capt. Scott Kelly
• A general session executive panel featuring Ladenburg Chairman, President & CEO Richard Lampen, Mr. Malamed, Ms. Ford and Mr. Nagengast
• Pre-conference workshops on a range of practice-management topics, including the first-ever Prepared Buyer Workshop on "How to Become an Informed and Confident Acquirer of a Financial Services Practice."

Adam Malamed, Executive Vice President and COO of Ladenburg, concluded, "Our commitment to continuously investing in the strategic depth of events such as these further demonstrates our company's ability to add value to our IAB firms and their advisors, while strengthening the shared values and relationships that define the broader Ladenburg community.  We are proud of our passion for innovation, our vision for the future of financial advice and our company's ongoing role as a champion for diversity across the financial advice profession."

About Ladenburg Thalmann
Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. (NYSE American: LTS, LTS PrA, LTSL, LTSF, LTSK, LTSH) is a publicly-traded diversified financial services company based in Miami, Florida. Ladenburg's subsidiaries include industry-leading independent advisory and brokerage (IAB) firms Securities America, Triad Advisors, Securities Service Network, Investacorp and KMS Financial Services, as well as Premier Trust, Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management, Highland Capital Brokerage, a leading independent life insurance brokerage company and full-service annuity processing and marketing company, and Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., an investment bank which has been a member of the New York Stock Exchange for over 135 years. The company is committed to investing in the growth of its subsidiaries while respecting and maintaining their individual business identities, cultures, and leadership. For more information, please visit www.ladenburg.com.

This press release includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding future growth, growth of our independent advisory and brokerage business and future investments. These statements are based on management's current expectations or beliefs and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the statements herein due to changes in economic, business, competitive and / or regulatory factors, including the SEC's proposed rules and interpretations concerning the standards of conduct for broker dealers and investment advisers when dealing with retail investors, future cash flows, a change in the Company's dividend policy by the Company's Board of Directors (which has the ability in its sole discretion to increase, decrease or eliminate entirely the Company's dividend at any time) and other risks and uncertainties affecting the operation of the Company's business. These risks, uncertainties and contingencies include those set forth in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 and other factors detailed from time to time in its other filings with the SEC. The information set forth herein should be read in light of such risks. Further, investors should keep in mind that the Company's quarterly revenue and profits can fluctuate materially depending on many factors, including the number, size and timing of completed offerings and other transactions. Accordingly, the Company's revenue and profits in any particular quarter may not be indicative of future results. The Company is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise, except as required by law.

Media Contacts:

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SOURCE Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc.

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