Paraplanners need confidence to challenge financial planners, says Jacqueline Lockie CFPTM Chartered FCSI, CISI head of financial planning
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I’ve been talking to paraplanners from around the country, listening to the various ways in which they are carrying out their roles. The picture varies widely across the country. In some roles, paraplanners take responsibility for the giving of the advice in a client’s report, being fully accountable, but in most cases not actually signing the recommendation letters.
In many other cases the paraplanners have an equally vital but slightly different role – to run the client reports but also to challenge the planners on their often preconceived ideas on the end solutions for their clients. One of the most interesting insights which came out of this process was when the paraplanner challenged the planner over a client situation or initial recommendation, it transpired that the planner had often left client information out of the file!
Having a paraplanner with the confidence and mechanism to challenge planners over client scenarios is a vital part of ensuring a robust client file, helpful for FCA visits. This will lead to improved business advice processes.
So, it is important that paraplanners are allowed and actively encouraged to do just this. Making use of their skills and technical knowledge and furthering their personal development should be a priority for all planners.
We are all working together for the good of the client and the support of the financial planning professions, in that order. We all have a responsibility to support paraplanning and financial planning. The issue of this challenge will be discussed at the Paraplanner Conference on 13 June.
This article first appeared in Financial Planning Today. Republished with permission.