Some conferences deserve their own masters degree.

The IMCA 2014 Annual Conference held from May 4 to May 7 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston was all that and more.

Roughly 1,700 advisers, fundsters and other financial professionals attended the conference, which was held on the second and third floors of the center, viewable on this map.

Over 100 firms of all types were sponsors or exhibitors at the event.

IMCA ran a tight ship, hosting breakfasts in the exhibit hall, lunches with notable speakers and dessert and drink receptions that would end by early evening. Attendees would then avail themselves of Boston's renowned restaurants and night life afterwards in order to hob nob and do deals.

During school hours though, the IMCA content was graduate school level stuff. The association spared no expense bringing out the big brains.

For example, global macro economist Dambisa Moyo discussed the challenges democracies face in the new geopolitical environment (hint: there are a lot of them). Dan Heath, a senior fellow at Duke University’s Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship, spoke on the subject of being decisive while noted statistician Nate Silver on the challenges of making predictions.

A full list of the speakers can be here while a full brochure of the program is available here.

The workshops and sessions were equally comprehensive. For example, communications expert Mary Anne Doggett of Interactive Communications lectured attendees on how wholesalers can promote trust, while Wilshire research chief Mannik Dhillon gave attendees some key insights into how he selects funds for clients.

The only thing the conference lacked was a commencement ceremony. 

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