How We Design XYPN LIVE: The Decisions Behind the Experience

Designing a conference turns out to feel a lot like designing open enrollment for your clients: every choice shapes the experience that follows. Some decisions are easy. Others have tradeoffs—like when we can only feature three keynote speakers, how do we narrow it down? Every year, hundreds of these decisions shape the XYPN LIVE experience. Together, they shape how you feel after spending three days away from your office, surrounded by your peers who just get it.

We’re asked all the time why the conference is structured the way it is, what we choose to evolve, and what we deliberately keep the same year after year. The short answer is that many of the foundational decisions behind LIVE were made early and have guided every conference since. 

In the spirit of transparency, here’s how we built LIVE from the ground up, and those choices continue to shape the experience as we bring the Network together in San Diego from September 29 to October 1, 2026.

We designed the schedule around advisor inputs 

One of our earliest decisions was that we needed to build an educational experience that builds on the advisor's expertise. XYPN members don’t want a conference full of reheated ideas or intro-level content. Yes, you want to feel recharged and inspired. But you also want the kind of tangible, “I can implement this next week” action steps that actually move the needle. 

We created a format that combines the big ideas for long-term clarity with the tools you can use immediately. To ensure we’re hitting the mark, we consult our Member Advisory Board to weigh in on which topics should make the cut, ensuring the content remains relevant and actionable year after year.

Main Stage

From the beginning, the main stage was meant to set the tone for what’s next—at XYPN LIVE and for the next 365 days of independence. Our keynotes and leadership updates address the two most frequently asked questions: “What big ideas matter right now?” and “What’s XYPN doing to support my future?” 

It’s big-picture clarity, delivered by the people who understand the independent advisor journey better than anyone. And that hasn’t changed.

Content Sessions

We bookend the conference with hand-picked content sessions for a reason: learning is a marathon, not a sprint. These 60-minute blocks are your chance to soak up insights from industry experts and peers who’ve been where you are. When a topic warrants more than one perspective, we bring multiple experts to the session in panel discussions. But no matter the format, content sessions fit into one of three categories we’ve used to anchor the agenda from the start

• Financial Planning: Goes beyond the numbers to focus on the methods behind your madness as a financial planner. This is where you polish your review meeting skills or learn to build your own portfolio models (one more hat never hurt.)

• Practice Management:  This is where you become a more effective business owner. Yes, there’s an art and science to building the RIA that works around your life, and no, it doesn’t just happen overnight. 

• Niche: This is where our speakers go all in on the topics that matter most within their firm (think: care planning as DINKs or student loan planning.) It’s bold, specific, and advisor-led by design.

Workshops

After a few years, attendees requested more actionable, in-depth content, so 90-minute Workshops were born and quickly became a staple. These are longer, hands-on sessions designed for in-depth exploration of the details that matter. You’ll walk away with ready-to-use templates, repeatable processes, and pre-vetted frameworks you can take straight into client work. They’re designed to be hands-on, which is why advisors continue to show up to drill deep.

Roundtables

Roundtables are consistently cited as a huge source of value for attendees. That’s because the format is simple—no slides, no microphone, no pressure. Just facilitated a conversation where advisors can ask the awkward questions, share the uncomfortable truth, and talk about the realities of running a firm. 

Something special happens in those circles. Someone shares a frustration you thought was only yours, and suddenly the whole room nods. That moment of “oh… it’s not just me” is why Roundtables remain one of the most transformative parts of LIVE.

Community Events

From the start, we knew that the magic of LIVE doesn’t just happen inside the scheduled sessions. It’s shaped by the connections that form in hallways, over breakfast, on a morning run, or at a table full of strangers who don’t stay strangers for long.

Networking can feel intimidating, especially for introverts (hi, same 👋), newer firm owners, or anyone who doesn’t naturally wade into a crowd of people holding cocktails. So we refused to leave the connection to chance.

Our community events are intentionally designed so every advisor can show up in the way that feels right:

• Some bond over a 7 AM breakfast line
• Others connect on a shared run (looking at you, Type B-fun folks).
• Some prefer a structured activity, like “Share one professional win from the last six months.”
• And for everyone in between, Meet-Ups inside the app make it easy to create your own mini-community with just a few taps.

We hear over and over again that XYPN LIVE “...is the first conference I’ve been to where I could sit down next to a complete stranger and they were completely open to connecting.” That’s not luck. That’s design.

We reimagined the Exhibit Hall 

Back in 2015, Alan Moore made a call that initially confused a few people: dedicating an entire day to the Exhibit Hall. Traditional exhibit halls forced advisors to choose between sessions and vendors. And no one loved the awkward “I walked past your booth five times, but still haven’t stopped” dynamic.

So, we created XYPN LIVE’s Exhibit Hall Day: one full day dedicated to exploring the latest in FinTech and pulling back the curtain on what—and how—advisors are using in their tech stacks. From breakfast to happy hours, we decided to make the tools and solutions that matter to your firm the focus. In 2026, Exhibit Hall Day lands on September 30th.

We designed the schedule to support connection

Some of the simplest decisions were the most impactful:

• We start mid-afternoon so you can arrive, settle in, and actually prepare yourself.
• We cover meals during most of the conference because googling “lunch near Sheraton San Diego Resort” between sessions is a sure way to miss out on the on-site connection. 
• We schedule early morning and late evening events for those whose social batteries haven’t run out. 

And for those who want to squeeze every last drop of value out of their time away, pre- and Post-Cons are available on-site. In 2026, these events will be hosted the morning of Tuesday, September 29th. 

They’re priced separately, hosted by third-party experts, and are intentionally separate from the main conference. This allows you to delve deeper into a topic that’s important for your business. Think of them as elective credits: available when you want but never required to keep up with the core LIVE experience.

So there you have it.  We refine and improve our offerings every year based on attendee feedback, but the foundation remains the same: design with intention, prioritize what advisors actually need, and make room for genuine connection.

XYPN LIVE 2026 is no different

We can’t wait to welcome you to San Diego from September 29 - October 1, 2026. Grab your pass before December 31, 2025, at 11:59 PM PT to score up to $200 off the final pricing and book your hotel before September 8th, 2026, to guarantee the best rate on the hotel.