Last week I bumped into Thor and Wonderwoman on the sidewalk…….

When I asked why these grown adults were dressed in costumes and full makeup on a Friday morning – I was told that they were attending Comic Con. The doorman in my office space eloquently described it as “Halloween for nerds”.

Intrigued I headed to the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Hell’s Kitchen.

What I found shocked me.

Comic Con was just weird – a conference with no round tables, breakout areas or panel discussions.

What were the organisers thinking? Weider still was the lack of people wanting to talk about the finer points of loan settlement……

Comic Con needs to take a long hard look at itself. This is no way to run a conference.

The formula for a great conference is, as everyone knows:

1.????? Stack panel discussions with self-aggrandizing investment managers claiming to have re-invented the wheel with a new product that bears an uncanny resemblance to a traditional banking product.

2.????? Ensure panel discussions take at least 45mns to provide absolutely zero insight into how participants deliver alpha to their stakeholders.

3.????? Lay on an expert session with 10 preloaded questions to which the only answer is “only my firm and its offering can really help you and the market!” and you have a tried and tested recipe for success.

4.????? Knowingly allude to AI changing the industry, safe in the knowledge that it has the scope to replace everyone in the room’s job except yours.

Comic Con had NONE of these. Honestly it was hardcore disappointing. $235 for that - I’ll not go back.

The author also attended the LSTA conference in New York.