Summary:

In this 9th episode of the Fintech Impact podcast, Jason Pereira, award-winning financial planner, university lecturer, writer, and host interviews Rona Birenbaum, a Toronto-based financial planner, and the CEO of Viviplan, a Canadian Robo planner that uses technology to more effectively provide financial planning to clients and a better price point. They chat about how Rona came to create Viviplan, what it aims to do for financial planning, and how it is growing.

01:09 – Rona sums up Viviplan.

●01:27 –Viviplan came out of Rona’s experience as a fee only financial planner for over 20 years.

●02:37 – Viviplan was accepted into the Ryerson DMZ-BMO Fintech Accelerator program in the summer of 2017.

●04:27 – Clients go through a rigorous but friendly onboarding process to gather the information to develop a comprehensive, tax-sensitive, goal-driven financial plan

●07:03 – The onboarding is all developed in-house.

●09:13 –Public relations coverage in The Globe and Mail and MoneySense has helped get the word out marketing-wise—along with podcast appearances.

●11:33 – To handle that overflow of inquiries and interest Viviplan is hiring another full-time planner.

●13:27 – College graduates trained for financial planning are coming to the realization that the only available jobs are sales jobs.

●18:14 – Viviplan doesn’t have in-house implementation, and they want to keep product and advice separate.

●20:58 –For the comprehensive plan clients get feedback, education, information, and direction on all aspects of their financial life. There are also lighter plans for people with less questions, without a full analysis.

●23:14 – Feedback from early users has been enthusiastic.

●26:17 – The biggest challenge is money. Rona is currently financing the company personally. Also, she desires the right partner that will fit in smoothly.

●29:26 – She is excited about building out a network of trusted professionals nation-wide.

3 Key Points:

1. Viviplan clients go through a rigorous but friendly onboarding process to gather the information to develop a comprehensive, tax-sensitive, goal-driven financial plan

2.College graduates trained for financial planning are realizing that the only available jobs are sales jobs.

3.Viviplan doesn’t have in-house implementation, and they want to keep product and advice separate.

Tweetable Quotes:

-“In order to do planning, you’ve got to sell.” – Rona Birenbaum.

-“Technology in my view, will not replace the need for people in financial planning.” – Rona Birenbaum.

-“We want to build out a platform of trusted professionals, vetted professionals, that our clients can then go to, and feel confident that they’re going to get the service to they need to implement what we have recommended.” – Rona Birenbaum.

Resources Mentioned:

●LinkedIn – Jason Pereira’s LinkedIn

●Facebook – Jason Pereira’s Facebook

●Woodgate Financial – Website for Woodgate Financial

●Viviplan – Website for Viviplan

●Twitter – Rona Birenbaum’s Twitter page

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