China is already the world's second largest economy, and great wealth is being created for its citizens—and for those who invest wisely in China. It might surprise many in the U.S. that financial planning is already a thriving profession in this populous, fast-growing country. But what does it mean to be a financial planner in China? How can the Chinese economy maintain its rapid growth? What is the best way to invest in this economic success story?
A 44-pl
anner delegation from the Financial Planning Association expects to gain answers to those questions during its goodwill tour of China from May 25 through June 4. To support the trip and deliver some of those answers, AdvisorOne will be presenting news and analysis focusing on China at a special FPA in China home page, highlighted by first-person daily blogs from several of those 44 planners, including delegation leaders and former FPA Presidents Dan Moisand and Richard Salmen.
Reporting from Beijing, Shanghai and other cities in China, those daily dispatches will be enhanced by photographs documenting the sights but also the gatherings of American and Chinese financial planners.
As FPA Executive Director Marv Tuttle (left) explains in a video with AdvisorOne and Investment Advisor's John Sullivan exploring the largest planner group's goals, this is the third bridge-building overseas trip sponsored by the FPA. The delegation's members intend "to share best practices, and learn best practices" from their Chinese financial planner counterparts, says Tuttle.
"Part of what we hope to accomplish is getting to know our fellow financial planners around the world on both the individual level and the professional organization level," says Salmen, senior vice president of GTRUST Financial, in a pre-trip interview with AdvisorOne. "The world is getting flatter all the time; as planners we are already serving clients with dual country residences or are working outside the country."
"China has a very well established financial planning community, there are several thousand planners eager to meet with us," says Moisand, principal of Moisand, Fitgerald, Tamayo, LLC, in another part of the interview. "Around the planet, financial planning already has standards and processes. The Chinese model may be different, but the process is the same, helping families achieve their financial goals."
The delegation's schedule includes small-table discussions with 45 Chinese financial planners, participation in a financial planning symposium attended by nearly 300 financial planners, talks with university faculty and students, meetings with a private banking group, and a visit to the Shanghai stock exchange.
"What happens around the world" affects advisors and clients in the U.S., Bob Reynolds (left), CEO of Putnam Investments, said in a Thursday interview, noting that half of all U.S. debt is held overseas, much of it in China. Moreover, he points out that a significant part of the companies in S&P 500 derive their revenue from international operations.
