As artificial intelligence and midterm elections reshape the trading floor, MoneyShow is bringing top strategists to Sarasota to help investors position portfolios for maximum profits with minimal risk.
The 45-year-old, investment-focused multimedia outlet and educational platform is known for organizing nationwide conferences featuring some of the financial sector’s most prominent names. Steve Forbes, chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media, will headline MoneyShow Masters Symposium Sarasota.
Ritz-Carlton Sarasota will host the end-of-year event from Nov. 30 through Dec. 2. Mike Larson, senior vice president and editor-in-chief at MoneyShow, said the symposium will help investors evaluate their performance and, with expert guidance, establish a winning strategy for 2027.
“This is an opportunity to really reflect on where you’re at, and what your goals are,” Larson told the Tampa Bay Reporter. “There are going to be concerns about all the big issues in 2027 that probably aren’t going away. The midterms will be in the rearview mirror, but obviously, what happens with that is going to impact the economy and policy in the new year.”
Kim Githler founded Sarasota-based MoneyShow in 1981. Her son, Charlie Githler, is managing partner and compared the family-owned business to an Italian restaurant, albeit one that is widely successful.
Githler attributed the holistic company’s success to consistently providing expert analysis that empowers retail investors and traders. MoneyShow produces multiple newsletters, a podcast, short-form social media videos, daily market columns and various live events to “keep up with the way people are learning today,” Larson said.
“We want to separate ourselves from a lot of the chaff you can find online or on social media.”
That “soup-to-nuts” approach extends to MoneyShow’s flagship symposiums. Githler said speakers are well known, well respected or directly involved in the topic. Each conference has a “bit of a different flavor,” Larson added.
Geopolitics and domestic policy will, however, take center stage at the upcoming event. Githler noted that Stephen Moore, an economist, writer and former presidential advisor, and Forbes will both discuss the midterm election’s impact on investing.
“A lot of policies dictate the markets and where they’re gonna perform,” Gilther explained. “It’s not really about your favorite politician being in; it’s about knowing what that said politician is going to do with their policies, or how reliable they are … that’s basically going to dictate how the market is going to be.”
Larson emphasized the importance of eliminating personal politics from portfolio management – a common stumbling block for retail traders navigating hyper-partisan news cycles.
“You may love one party or the other party, but as an investor, you have to sort of lock that out and say, ‘If this is how it goes, here are names that might benefit,’” he said. “If it goes the other way, you have to live with the market and the environment.”
The artificial intelligence boom will also dominate the agenda. Rather than focusing solely on tech stocks, the symposium will break the AI phenomenon into actionable segments for traders.
Larson highlighted two distinct approaches at the event: Michael Lee, known for early, accurate calls on promising AI investments, and Toby Wade, who focuses on the underlying technology.
“He’s talking about how his software, how his AI system works, and how you can use these tools to analyze your portfolio,” Larson said of Wade. “So you have people that look at it from a pure investment standpoint … and people who are looking at the underlying technology and saying, ‘This is how you can use it to improve your trading.’”
Larson noted that speakers range from macro-level thinkers like Ed Yardeni, a prominent national strategist, and Alejandra Grindal of locally based Ned Davis Research, to “bottom-up” analysts like Jason Bodner, who tracks “big money investors.”
Ryan Detrick and Sonu Varghese from the Carson Group will make their Masters Symposium debut. The duo, hosts of the popular Facts vs. Feelings podcast, are among the “big picture thinkers,” Larson said.
Interactions between attendees provide additional value. The organizers noted that unscripted moments – swapping investment stories at a reception or debating a keynote speech over cocktails – can sometimes yield the highest dividends.
Githler said veterans often share successful strategies with newcomers, which creates a deep sense of camaraderie. Larson echoed this sentiment.
“Think about who you might be sitting next to … you have people that may be extremely successful, but they’re not flaunting it,” Larson said. “They’re there to learn; they’re there to share their ideas. And that’s the kind of person you’re gonna be in the room with in Sarasota.”
Tickets for MoneyShow Masters Symposium Sarasota range from $199 to $599 through Nov. 17. For more information, visit the website here.
