The rest of the country can go freeze their asset management off, the ETF industry is partying in Fort Lauderdale.

At the seventh annual Inside ETFs Conference, over 1,500 ETF executives and advisors are here meeting, carousing, making deals and overall just strategizing how to whip the tail of the active mutual fund industry.

The shindig, which started yesterday and will continue through Wednesday, is taking place in the conference hall part of the swanky and glitteringly high tech Westin Diplomat in Hollywood, Florida.

The event boasts over 70 exhibitors and speakers such as Vanguard CIO Tim Buckley (the only man to have serves as both chief information AND chief investment officer at the low cost giant), Sallie Krawcheck, Tom Dorsey, and editors from The Onion (Yup. The Onion.)

Last night, attendees first drank and ate in gently sloped set of terraces that ultimately let out right on the beach, where ETF folk noshed on cuban sandwiches, empanadas (veggie, chorizo and shrimp), fresh made pasta and hummus and baba ghanoush.

Staffers from the local zoo brought a jungle of baby animals for attendees to hold, pet and be photographed with. They included a fenox fox, a lemur, a highly-excited owl, a giant snake and a baby alligator.

Oh my.

Meanwhile, attendees could watch a long line of cruise ships amble out of the nearby port to parts exotic and warm.

Afterward, attendees caroused at parties hosted by State Street and J.P. Morgan.

Meanwhile, the company formerly known as IndexUniverse unveiled its new identity as ETF.com, by which the company will now offer analytics on 1,500 ETFs to the public for free.

Tonight, the event goes nautical with a yacht reception sponsored by S&P Dow Jones Indices  

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