It’s nearly Christmas and you know what that means – that’s right, it’s time to book on to the next #langcatlive event. Hot on the heels of our standing room only HomeGame 4 event, we’re straight back on it, returning to the fabulous Kings Place in London.  

Kings Place is so cool that Nick Cave chose it to launch his last record, Wild God. We don’t know for sure that he did so because we’d done an event in it a few months earlier, but equally we’re not ruling it out.  

So, what will we be talking about?

Our theme this time is Divide and Conquer, and as you might expect from the lang cat we’re going to enjoy playing with that and with some of your expectations.

Our industry and profession remain hopelessly divided, and as everyone eyes up doing everyone else’s job that isn’t getting any better. So instead of pretending everyone plays nicely all the time, we’ll get a bit more real.

Can we do our Duty, get the best possible client outcomes, avoid foreseeable harms and still make a living if we are Divided? To put it bluntly, can we Conquer? Or do we have to find a different way through? And if so, how do we do that? 

You’ll have to come along to find out – and we mean that; this event is in-person only and won’t be streamed. You’d miss too much of the fun sitting at home in your jimjams. 

You want more detail? We’ve got more detail.  

It’s ten years since we released our then-infamous Platforms Are Dead report. For a business that made much of its money at the time doing work for platforms, this was what Sir Humphrey might call a brave route to take.

But what we meant was that platforms as we knew them couldn’t keep going as they were; they’d have to change model and either find ways to reinvent themselves radically or explore vertical integration in lots of interesting and importantly revenue-raising ways.

So you can expect a good old-fashioned lang cat platforms session looking at where we are – from the perspectives of both planners and the industry. We’re expecting at least a bit of a Divide there.

As part of that session we’ll have a fireside chat with Steven Levin, chief executive of our anchor sponsor Quilter, who are sweeping all before them in terms of market reputation and new business at the moment, and who certainly have reinvented themselves in lots of ways in the last decade. 

If you want Division, you can reliably find some between the regulator and planners. We’re not afraid of tackling that, and nor is Sara Woodroffe from the FCA who’ll join us to talk consolidation, advice/guidance and more. 

And when it comes to healing Divisions, you’ll have a chance to buy your opposite numbers a drink with someone else’s money in the fantastic Lighterman bar across the road afterwards, courtesy of our evening sponsor Fundment.  

We could tell you more but then we wouldn’t have anything to write to you about in the weeks to come.  

In the meantime, book your place to join us on 6 February in London. Tickets free to advice professionals. £100 plus the tax for everyone else. You will be well entertained, fed and watered – it’s a lang cat event after all.