Outsourced Paraplanner opens online provider directory to all

27 August 2020

Outsourced Paraplanner operation Plus Group is opening up its internal directory of provider details for paraplanners, administrators and financial advisers to use free of charge.

The directory lists providers, their contact details, current turnaround times, how they accept letters of authority and other information.

Scott Daniels, co-founder and director of Plus Group, says: “We were maintaining the information on our database and had noted how many details were changing during the crisis. Our 70 staff can talk to hundreds of providers a day and they update the database as they go along.

“With this level of change in the market, we thought it would be useful to make the database available to any advisers, paraplanners and support staff who would find it useful and a time saver.

“The Directory is interactive, enabling people to leave comments if they find current turnaround times have changed since it was last updated or any other changes that may have happened at the provider, such as reopening of offices or closing again in the event of a second wave of the virus.

“Our aim is to provide a community resource that will help the financial advice industry, particularly during the current ever changing landscape. We have had great feedback so far on the Directory, with people saying it is saving them a lot of time.”

The Directory currently has 400 individuals registered and is available at: providers.plusgroup.org. It requires a user name and password to be set up to enable access but Scott says he is hoping to do away with the need for registration shortly.

Plus group has been running a series of webinars on inheritance tax and is currently producing a series of videos which it will be hosting free-to-view on its website. “We will be focusing on the areas that tend to catch people out rather than being general IHT material,” Scott says.

Professional Paraplanner