Embracing Technology to Improve Your Cross-Border Business and Your Life

When working with clients across borders, you know how important technology is to build and maintain relationships. You're likely ahead of the curve among financial planners and didn't feel as big of a shock when the world went into lockdown. But are you leveraging technology to its fullest? Unfortunately, not a lot of financial planning software works cross-border, but in this presentation, we'll look at low and no-cost tools that will save you time, create a nice experience for your clients as they live and travel around the world, keep everyone safe in this digital world and help to make sure processes are consistently followed. We'll also touch on how technology is evolving business models around the world.

Key Points: 

• Advisors, and their staff, should focus on where they add the most value; not on repetitive tasks that can be automated.
• Eliminate manual processes that take time and lead to human error.
• Advisors and clients are targets for cybersecurity breaches; make sure your information and interactions are secure.
• Too often, systems and processes are in one person's head, creating a business risk if something happened. Use simple tools to extract those how to's for consistent implementation and business continuity.

Kate Holmes, CFP® started one of the first completely virtual, fee-only (no AUM), monthly retainer practices back in 2013. She worked with US expats around the world and as an avid traveler herself, her clients enjoyed playing "where in the world is Kate?" She wound up her practice when she went to work for Financial Planning Standards Board, owner of the international CFP certification program, where she worked with practitioners in over 35 countries. Kate has spoken on stages from Cape Town to Bangkok, Moscow to Brussels and, continuing her passion for evolving the profession and working with advisers around the world, recently launched Innovating Advice and The Innovating Advice Show podcast.