Implemented Portfolios to lead Silicon Valley delegation

The inaugural IP Thought Leader Study Tour will take place in September and see representatives from the Australian financial advice, funds management, licensee and technology communities meeting with leading US entrepreneurs, executives, financial institutions, researchers and academics, venture capital investors and practising investment advisers.

The groups will be discussing, among other things, the lookout for global best practice and collaboration opportunities.

IP chief executive, corporate development, Santi Burridge, said the tour will be an opportunity to investigate how US businesses are leading and reacting to technological disruption.

"The IP Thought Leader Study Tour will allow us to learn from the entrepreneurs and executives at the forefront of the financial services tech innovation boom," Mr Burridge said.

"It will also be an opportunity to showcase some of the technology and ideas being pioneered here in the Australian financial services community and build long-term relationships with US partners."

The invitation-only delegation comes off the back of the successful IP Adviser Study Tour program which has included numerous trips to the US. Having received overwhelmingly positive feedback from financial advisers who participated in the program, IP's leadership team devised a similarly intensive agenda aimed at industry executives, managers and technologists rather than client-facing practitioners.

Mr Burridge said he hopes the tour will help highlight the importance of developing an independent, client-centric and innovative financial advice provision culture in Australia.

The IP Thought Leaders Study Tour will be held in the San Francisco Bay Area from Monday 12 September to Friday 16 September and hosted by ifa contributing editor Aleks Vickovich.