A contingent of Kiwi advisers joined around 5,000 of their peers from 53 countries attending the much-anticipated 2026 MDRT Annual Meeting in Anaheim, California last week.
New Zealand MDRT chair, Travis Hamilton and MDRT New Zealand member, Mat Page both delivered presentations within MDRT’s ConneXion Zone while MDRT Oceania Chair, Nick Longo, presented a Focus session during the event.
Hamilton, whose session was standing room only, discussed how to build, develop and maintain strategic centres of influence noting that real growth doesn’t happen in isolation – it happens through collaboration.
He explained how he has built an advisory practice by developing powerful centres of influence who refer hundreds of clients each year and how advisers can apply his framework to make referring easy for their COIs.
Meanwhile Mat Page’s presentation looked at “The 1% advantage: What Formula 1 taught me about financial advising.”
As a long-time fan of Formula 1 racing, Page told his peers from around the world he has realised that the way Formula 1 teams chase tiny improvements — the 1%ers — is exactly how advisers perform better as well. He spoke about how he uses that approach in his business, with his team and in how he plans and stays accountable each week to keep improving.
Similar to Travis Hamilton, Nick Longo’s Focus session also considered the power of referrals and building a COI network that delivers.
The session discussed how advisers can leverage COI partnerships that deliver real business results. Longo offered five proven COI marketing techniques designed to create a consistent pipeline of ideal clients and provide actionable strategies to enhance referral networks and drive sustained practice growth.
If there is interest among Kiwi advisers in experiencing the value the MDRT organisation seeks to deliver advisers around the world, its 2027 Global Conference is taking place in Sydney this year, from 23 – 26 August.
Unlike the MDRT Annual Meetings in North America, the annual MDRT Global Conference is open to any financial adviser to attend, regardless of whether they are qualifying members of MDRT.
Click here for more information about the upcoming 2027 MDRT Global Conference in Sydney.