Financial services software developer PlanPlus Inc. has expanded operations to the Los Angeles region, the Lindsay, Ont.-based company said Tuesday.

The company aid the expansion is intended to better support Canadian and US. west coast customers and to keep key personnel geographically closer to their growing customer base in Malaysia and China.

Brad Greer, vp global sales & China operations, is based in California where he can provide a strong presence for both U.S. and Asian customers. He
joined PlanPlus in October.

PlanPlus says Greer is a key North American financial planning resource in China. He has been invited to present workshops to Chinese bankers and financial planners both in Hong Kong and in mainland China. Greer will also be teaching best practices around creating and presenting written financial plans.

“The story in China” said Greer “is how to create trust in a new financial planning environment that is being complicated by a world-wide financial crisis.”

PlanPlus has also recently added Danielle Touchstone to its L.A. operations. Touchstone is a graduate of Texas Tech University’s Financial Planning Program and has experience in the U.S., Italy and England.

The addition of west coast operations expands PlanPlus support desk services from 8:00 to 20:00 ET. North American customers now have live support during regular business hours coast to coast.

“Expanding our sales and support to the west coast is an important strategic move for PlanPlus”, says Shawn Brayman, president of PlanPlus. “The unique skills of our initial L.A. team provide a nucleus that allows us to better support our traditional Canadian customer base while also becoming more proactive on our global sales and support activities.”

The new PlanPlus L.A. operation is multi-lingual. “I feel like our product is unique in the industry because it is multi-lingual and multi-currency. We are able to serve English, French, Spanish and Chinese customers and there’s no better place to start than in southern California if you want to have access to those kinds of advisors and clients,” says Greer. “Plus, it’s just a 12 hour flight to Shanghai!”