by Richard Allum on 26 September 2011
After coming a very close second in 2009, this year’s Paraplanner of the Year is Gary Tunstall of Brook-Dobson Brear Wealth Management Consultants in Harrogate. Gary received the highest overall score from the judging panel for his essay and the testimonial received from Andrew Brook-Dobson and also achieved the joint highest score in the technical assessment although he just lost out in the tie break. As the overall winner, Gary receives a cheque for £1,000, a full pass and accommodation to the IFP Conference (where the award will be made on Tuesday 4 October), access to Wizard Learning’s structured CPD system for 12 months plus online exam support for 3 years and a trophy.
The technical assessment was won by Sam Ogg of Hedgelands Financial Services in Devon and he wins an iPad 2 and £1,000 of training credits from Wizard Learning.
Well done to all those who entered – the standard was very high this year.
by Richard Allum on 12 September 2011
Jane Holt has recently joined Paraplan Plus and this blog records her first month as an outsourced paraplanner.
I never planned to be a paraplanner.
But having outgrown my previous job role of admin person / office manager / sometimes-paraplanner in a small but successful financial planning practice, I was excited as I started work with Richard three weeks ago to finally be able to call myself a ‘proper’ paraplanner.
I was also interested to see what life would be like “on the other side of the fence”, as Richard puts it. I was used to the client facing environment; familiar with the majority of my practice’s clients, having spoken to them on the telephone, greeted them at the office, written them letters, slaved over their reports, and had a hand in their financial strategies.
Week one was a whirlwind of information. New systems, processes, research tools, report styles.
Week two, things fell into place somewhat, and I felt confident about starting to write my own reports rather than just do the preparation as I had the first week.
Now in the middle of week three, I feel my feet have barely touched the ground since Monday, and the volume of work I’m getting through is astonishing me! [click to continue…]
by Martin Vaughan on 16 August 2011
The Paraplanner.com in association with the Institute of Financial Planning is pleased to announce the launch of this year’s Paraplanner of The Year award.
Now in its fourth year, our Paraplanner of the Year award is the original UK Paraplanner Award and is firmly established as the premier award for all Paraplanners in the UK.
Whether you are an in house paraplanner or an outsourced paraplanner, whether you have been in the industry for only a short time or for many years, this is the award you should enter. The dedicated site is up and running www.ppoty.co.uk and you can enter NOW! [click to continue…]
by Martin Vaughan on 7 August 2011
The NPAC in association with UBS is delighted to announce a further date of the extremely popular Lifetime Cashflow Planning session.
Due to popular demand we are holding a further session in Leeds on 8th September 2011.
The theme for this event will be the same as the previous sessions, lifetime cashflow planning – what is it, what is it for, why you should use it and how to produce a professional report. A brief agenda for the day is attached. [click to continue…]
by Richard Allum on 17 June 2011
This is a post by Lucy Courtenay, Qualifications Director at Institute of Financial Planning.
The professional qualifications which Paraplanners have historically obtained have been the same as those of Financial Planners. Amongst level 6 qualifications, the Chartered Financial Planner qualification provided by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and the much more challenging and more appropriate Certified Financial PlannerCM certification provided by the Institute of Financial Planning (IFP) have both proved popular with Paraplanners. Any individual who has achieved these qualifications (and in some cases even higher level qualifications too) will have demonstrated a commitment to many years of study and development as well as the ability to retain and apply highly technical knowledge to complex Financial Planning issues. [click to continue…]
by Richard Allum on 14 June 2011
This is a guest post by Claire Menni - Awarded Best Paraplanner at FT New Breed Adviser Awards 2010. If you’ve not been to an IFP meeting before I can definitely recommend it.
As the Chair for The Surrey Branch of the Institute of Financial Planning (IFP), I would like all Paraplanners in the area to know they are invited and encouraged to attend the branch meetings held in Guildford. The first meeting is free to attend as a non-member and after that you can pay as you go, or preferably your employer will pay your annual subscription!!
As well as learning from the speakers, the meetings are a great place to meet other local Financial Planners and Paraplanners and gain from their experience. I was a member attending the branch meetings long before I became Chair and I think it is a great way to not only expand on your knowledge but talk through issues and ideas with others.
The next Surrey branch meeting is on Tuesday 5th July at the Guildford Holiday Inn with refreshments served from 5.30pm and the speaker on from 6.00pm. We aim to wrap up the meetings by 7.30pm as most are tired from a long day by then! [click to continue…]
by Martin Vaughan on 28 May 2011
The NMG Paraplanner census which is run in conjunction with TheParaplanner.com is continuing to increase its awareness of the demographics of paraplanners and is also continuing to highlight the decision making made by paraplanners in a modern forward thinking financial planning practice.The latest survey is now open and it would be great if as many paraplanners as possible could take part.
The survey has been ruining for nearly two years and provides important information to both paraplanners and other companies who work within and around financial services, it’s important therefore to ensure that the data represent the views of all paraplanners irrespective of qualification and experience.Your view is important to the survey and if you could find 10 minutes or so to complete it would help enormously. If that wasn’t enough there is also the chance to win an Apple ipad! [click to continue…]
by Richard Allum on 1 April 2011
Interesting comments about how Colin Lawson of Equilibrium has set up their advice structure and paraplanning team. I would say this of course, but he’s right. Read the full article in Money Marketing.
Lawson and Equilibrium’s two other advisers are well supported, each assigned a team of five paraplanners who sit in on all client meetings. “It is an unusual structure but the use of paraplanners will increase as the retail distribution review approaches. Advisers are going to have to become more efficient, whether that means having people in-house or outsourcing. I believe using paraplanners is the best route for the industry but first the gap between adviser and paraplanner pay needs to narrow.”
At Equilibrium, the paraplanners are the most qualified employees, although Lawson says this will change after the RDR. “I have got one more exam to do myself and have chosen financial regulation. I figured it would be useful to know something about that area.
by Richard Allum on 31 March 2011
My business is in the fortunate position of being able to turn away new clients as we are so busy with our existing ones. However, we still get lots of enquiries each week and I felt quite bad not being able to help as most wanted to engage with a paraplanner. This lead to the idea of the directory. It’s the first time an IFA or financial planner can go to one site and see a listing of freelance and outsourced paraplanners (and administrators), review detailed information about them and make contact with as many as they want with a single click.
It’s a simple idea but I think it will work. The profile of parapalanners has grown rapidly in recent years and this is another step forward in meeting the demand for our services. You can find the Directory here and follow us on Twitter here.
