Any veteran attenders? Is it worth the trouble and expense to attend this? Promotional opinions will be faded.
chas, I went to the first five Online Trading Expos, and thought they were great and well worth my time and effort to go. The most valuable part of the Expo, in my opinion, was keeping in touch with my business acquaintances and contacts in the industry. It provides a great meeting place for everyone to get together from around the country twice per year. Granted, it is also an opportunity to see what the various vendors are offering in terms of new product features, etc, => But I always found limited value in this anyway. In short, if you are considering going for the purpose of seeing the new products in the exhibit floor displays, then save your time. You'll just get a load full of sales pitches. However, if you are going to interact with the people, then it can be well worth the effort. For example, at the last Expo I attended, I discussed connectivity and FIX integration at the ARCA and ISLD booths, finalized a contract with people at the Traders Library booth, moved sharply forward with a deal with a clearing firm, and met with my various trading friends and contacts from all over. My two cents... -Eric
chas, i attended the expo in NYC for the first time this year. it was loads of fun and well worth it. by actually speaking face to face with the vendors, one can easily seperate the "real thing" from the phonys. enjoy ! surf