The 2026 Confidence Summit: Women + Wealth + Wellness – now in its fifth year – returns to Rancho Mirage on Feb. 28 at The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage. This one-day immersive gathering will bring together women from across Greater Palm Springs and beyond for a thoughtfully curated experience centered on the intersection of financial strength, personal wellness and purposeful leadership.
Each year, the summit tackles real-world challenges women face as they balance careers, caregiving, relationships, finances, and health. The 2026 theme, “Balance,” runs through every session and conversation, grounded in the belief that lasting confidence is built when financial literacy, physical vitality and emotional well-being are aligned.
Designed as both a reset and a catalyst, the summit creates space for women to step away from daily demands and focus on their own growth. Through expert-led discussions, practical education and meaningful connection, attendees will explore how to strengthen not just their portfolios, but their resilience, clarity and sense of direction.
For co-founder Robert Schein, Chief Investment Officer and managing partner of Blanke Schein Wealth Management of Palm Desert, the summit’s mission is personal. He has spoken openly about watching his mother shoulder both emotional and financial strain after his father’s death. For years, she had been the primary caregiver while his father battled cancer. When he passed, she suddenly faced estate planning, taxes and financial decisions that had previously been handled by her husband. The toll was heavy.
Schein remembers thinking: Who takes care of the woman who takes care of everyone else? That question became the foundation for The Confidence Summit – a one-day immersion focused on women, wealth and wellness.
A vision that grew
The event debuted in 2020. Even through a virtual pivot during the pandemic, it continued to expand, drawing hundreds of participants online.
Today, it has become one of the region’s most anticipated gatherings for women seeking practical tools and genuine connection. Organizers expect more than 150 attendees this year, aiming to reach 200. Previous events have sold out.
The City of Rancho Mirage signed on as host city sponsor, a partnership that reflects the city’s own female leadership. A Women in Government panel will feature Mayor Lynn Mallotto, Councilmember Eve Fromberg Edelstein, and Development Services Director Majna Dukic, offering candid insight into leadership and decision-making in public service.
Schein has said the city quickly recognized the summit’s potential, seeing in it the kind of long-term cultural impact created by other major Rancho Mirage events.
A program built on balance
The 2026 theme is “Balance.” That word is not decorative. It guides the programming.
Morning sessions lean into financial literacy and market strategy, anchored by keynote speaker Stephanie Link, chief investment strategist and head of investment solutions at Hightower Advisors. A familiar face on CNBC, Link brings a Wall Street perspective to an audience that may include first-time investors, entrepreneurs and retirees alike.
She will be joined by industry leaders, including Shannon Saccocia of Neuberger Berman, for conversations about navigating today’s financial markets with confidence.
But the summit does not stop at portfolios and projections.
The afternoon shifts to physical vitality and mental resilience, headlined by nutrition and fitness expert JJ Virgin, a bestselling author and entrepreneur known for translating complex health science into practical action.
A unique, special presentation of SBEMP Attorneys’ Off The Record podcast will be one of the afternoon highlights. In the episode, SBEMP partners Valerie Powers Smith and Carolyn Martino discuss estate planning and family relationship issues, largely based on the challenges faced by high-profile celebrities, as reported by major media. The “what can we learn from” theme of the podcast will provide examples of what those in the limelight could have done differently to avoid a wide range of financial and relationship problems that, in their cases, led to significant negative press and public embarrassment.
Additional sessions explore gut health, holistic nutrition and brain health, including discussions around neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability to adapt and grow.
The goal is alignment. Financial clarity without physical well-being is incomplete. Wellness without financial literacy leaves vulnerability. The summit aims to address both.
More than a conference
New this year is a VIP reception the evening before the summit. Organizers added it after noticing that women wanted more time to connect, catch up and build relationships beyond a tight schedule of panels and keynotes. What began as a one-day event is organically evolving into a two-day experience.
There is also a growing mentorship component. High school students from Rancho Mirage High School, including members of its championship softball team, along with students from Xavier College Preparatory, will volunteer and participate. The age range in the room can stretch from teenage girls to women in their 70s and beyond.
That intergenerational element is intentional. Confidence, organizers argue, should not be delayed until midlife. Nor should it disappear after retirement.
Why It Matters Now
Women continue to live longer, inherit wealth at higher rates and increasingly serve as primary financial decision-makers in their households. Yet many report feeling underprepared or excluded from financial conversations.
Events like The Confidence Summit attempt to close that gap, not with abstract empowerment slogans, but with tangible information. Estate planning pitfalls. Market strategy. Health optimization. Leadership lessons from elected officials.
Attendees often describe the experience as both practical and uplifting. They leave with worksheets, action steps and new contacts in their phones. Just as important, they leave with momentum.
For Schein, who is also the father of three daughters, the summit represents a long-term investment in cultural change. What began as a response to his mother’s hardship has grown into a broader mission through Society of the FEW – Financially Empowered Women – a nonprofit dedicated to education and community around financial decision-making.
What women can expect to gain
Women who attend can expect more than inspiration.
They can expect to:
- Understand how current market conditions affect their own portfolios.
- Learn practical strategies for estate planning and wealth transfer.
- Gain actionable tools for improving energy, metabolism and brain health.
- Build relationships with women across industries and life stages.
- Carve out one uninterrupted day to focus on themselves.
In a culture that often celebrates how much women give, The Confidence Summit asks a different question: What happens when women invest in themselves with the same commitment?
On Feb. 28, at least 150 women will find out.
