Exchange is just around the corner. With the 2026 conference set to kick off March 15 in Las Vegas, it is worth looking back at the 2025 iteration. The event catered to the entire financial service industry, and advisors had plenty of opportunity to learn, connect, and grow. They also got to put the word out about their practices in a variety of ways, including interviews.
Building Bridges
Raymond Bridges, managing member of Bridges Capital, was interviewed at Exchange 2025. “Most of [my] clientele are retirees that moved to south Florida with their little nest egg and they are mostly in the distribution phase of their lifestyle,” he shared.
Bridges Focused on Returns
Sharing more about his practice, Bridges said he focused on risk adjusted returns for his clients. He also noted that tax planning is a part of what he does. “My investment philosophy grew from my clientele base,” he said, adding, “Because they are not accumulating, they’re not making contributions, they do want a stable return.” Accordingly, it is critical for his clients to outpace inflation. “They want to be able to take their distributions without seeing their account value fluctuate too much.” Minimizing drawdown is key for how Bridges approaches helping his clients.
On the Benefits of Exchange
2025 was Bridges’ second year attending Exchange. He went for the 2024 conference, which is in Florida, but was eager to come when the conference changed locations. “Vegas looked like an exciting time.” Asked what drew him to Exchange, Bridges praised the speakers and said, “I like to know what’s going on with the industry, what’s going on out there with competition, and networking.
In 2023, his firm launched an “all-weather” ETF and he enjoyed getting to learn about other all-weather ETFs at the conference. “I’d like to see how it does over time.”
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