Advanced Course in Global Financial Planning
GFP Advanced Course
What you’ll learn:
Course Overview
This course teaches experienced financial planners a transferable methodology for advising clients whose financial lives span borders — primarily Americans living abroad, or clients who otherwise hold substantial investment assets in the US. Every module is built around a reusable analytical framework you can apply to that client base, regardless of the specific country pairing involved.
The focus is on showing advisors what questions to ask, what obstacles to anticipate, and how to serve a client in a competent, ethical, and compliant manner alongside a team of country specialists suited to the client's circumstances.
Who it’s for
This is not an introductory course. It’s built for:
- Experienced advisors, CFP® professionals, and financial planners with some existing cross-border exposure
- Advisors with an identified client country pairing (e.g., US/Australia, US/Mexico)
- Advisors at ensemble firms building cross-border planning into a firm specialty or niche
- Planners in markets where cross-border questions keep coming up, such as New York, Washington, D.C., and other international hubs
- Planners with lived experience abroad, an immigration background, or a cross-border marriage who want to formalize it into a professional specialty
Suggested knowledge and experience
- Completion of the GFP Essentials Course in Global Financial Planning
- At least 3 years of experience at a financial services firm that serves cross-border clients
How the course works
A blended program of academic pre-readers, self-paced recorded lessons from practitioners in the field, and seven live sessions taught case-study style by subject-matter experts with real cross-border experience. Modules release on a staggered schedule from February through June 2027, and every module follows the same structure:
- Pre-work: Reader. A concise academic pre-reader (roughly 10–20 pages) tied directly to the module’s learning objectives, plus supplemental source material.
- Pre-work: Recorded lesson. A pre-recorded video from the module’s subject-matter expert, focused on concepts and case examples rather than country-specific trivia, giving you a framework for thinking through cross-border issues.
- Live session (60–90 minutes). Held during business hours and facilitated by the SME: a short introduction, Q&A on the pre-work, then a case-study discussion drawn from the SME’s real client experience, with breakouts for larger cohorts.
- Knowledge check. A short multiple-choice assessment tied back to the module’s learning objectives.
The emphasis throughout is on application, not lecture: you’ll leave each module with a framework you can use on client situations the course never covered.
Curriculum
The mental models every cross-border planner needs before working with clients in a specific country: the psychology of clients navigating an international transition, the ethics considerations unique to cross-border practice, and a universal framework for evaluating any country pairing across banking and currency, insurance, duration of stay, investments, and taxes.
How the US immigration and citizenship system intersects with financial planning: pathways to citizenship, the mechanics and cost of relinquishing US citizenship, and alternative residency and citizenship-by-investment options for globally mobile clients.
A practical framework for building cross-border, PFIC-aware investment portfolios: comparing investment environments across countries, navigating accounts that carry tax advantages in one country but not another, and applying a repeatable due-diligence method to any foreign investment structure.
Core US tax reporting obligations for Americans abroad and foreign nationals in the US: how source-of-income rules work, how tax treaties apply in practice, dual-status filing, and planning considerations for mixed-nationality households.
The everyday banking and lending realities of cross-border clients: the currency and account access challenges expats face, and how mortgage borrowing works across borders.
Building and distributing a retirement income that draws from multiple countries: coordinating US and foreign retirement accounts and understanding totalization agreements between countries.
How common-law and civil-law property regimes differ, what that means for wills and trusts that need to work across borders, and the estate and gift tax treaty issues that affect globally mobile families.
Join the launch list
Seven modules releasing on a staggered schedule from February through June 2027. Pricing and registration details are coming soon.
Need additional info?
The GFP is committed to transparency. If we can help with anything, feel free to contact us.
The Global Financial Planning Advanced Course
Expand on the key lessons from the Essentials Course and take your cross-border practice to new heights. Sign up to get email updates on the course's release.
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