The Schwab Impact Conference kicked off Tuesday afternoon at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center and it looks like the market (and mutual funds) are back. This year's confab drew a total of 3,800 attendees, 1,700 of whom are advisors. Some highlights from the event:

The conference slogan

Walt Makes a Giant Revelation

With the Giants' 11-7 victory over the Rangers in Game 1 of the World Series Wednesday night, one might think that Schwab president and CEO Walt Bettinger would be basking in the win. But his favorite team is not in the World Series.

"People came up to me and said, 'It's a great day to be a Giants fan,'" Bettinger told conference attendees Thursday morning. "I didn't have the courage to say I'm a long-suffering Orioles fan."

CNBC's Maria Bartiromo broadcasts "Closing Bell" from the IMPACT exhibit hall

Money Honey in the House

Fundsters and advisors on Wednesday saw Maria Bartiromo anchor her CNBC program Closing Bell from the exhibit hall. The popular TV host attracted a crowd of bystanders, at least two of whom told The MFWire that watching the program unfold was "cool."

The day before, Bartiromo moderated a panel dubbed "Outlook 2011: Investors, the Markets and the Economy," featuring Ariel Investment president Mellody Hobson and Charles Schwab chief investment strategist Liz Ann Sonders.

Turtles and Dragons

Taking the stage Thursday morning, Matthews International Capital CEO Bill Hackett remarked before the audience at the general session room: "Yesterday we had the Ariel turtle," referring to the logo of Ariel Investments, the marquee sponsor of the conference. "Now we have the Matthews dragon. What's going on with the logos? There must have been something with the animals," Hackett quipped.

Funny thing is that we have seen those two logos in the same place before. Turns out that both are the work of the branding folks at Wechsler as revealed in the New York City consulting firm's "Bagel Tuesday" blog penned by Dan Ross.

Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes talks to IMPACT 2010 attendees

'Be Bold, But Not Stupid'

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes spoke Thursday morning, along with media futurist Gerd Leonhard at a panel moderated by CNBC's Tyler Mathisen.

Stone's advice to the members of the audience? "Start out slowly...Use our real-time search engine. Listen to what other people are saying, post interesting links to articles."

For his part, Hughes advised the audience to use social media to develop relationships with clients.

"Be bold, but not stupid," Leonhard told attendees, borrowing from - and expanding on -- the conference slogan, "Be Bold."

After the panel discussion, the trio moved to the social media lounge of the exhibit hall and took questions from conference attendees. No word on whether Stone stopped by the T. Rowe Price booth afterward.

Photo courtesy of John Hancock Funds

Hancock Lights Up

John Hancock Funds took advantage of its proximity to the convention center to stand out from a sea of Boston-headquartered mutual fund firms. Each night for the duration of the conference, lights on Hancock's headquarters on Congress Street formed the letters "JHF." Hancock officials did a similar thing when LPL held its conference at the same venue a couple of years back and again this summer. In those instances, though, the lights spelled "LPL." A Hancock insider said that for Schwab Impact, the firm decided to go with "JHF" and not "Schwab" because the latter's name is too long.

See You in San Fran

Next year's Impact will be held in Charles Schwab Corp.'s hometown, San Francisco, from November 1 to 4.  

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