What role do paraplanners play at an Investment Committee meeting? Or for this article, should that question be about the character they play in the Investment Committee story?
On World Book Day 2026, Natalie Dawes – Editor of Professional Paraplanner, shares a slightly unusual version of a well known story to reflect on her time as a paraplanner.
She pushed open the door and wandered into the unfamiliar setting, she wasn’t in the wrong place, she had been asked to attend.
Stepping into the Investment Committee meeting for the first time, she felt a mixture of curiosity and caution, a little like the original version of this story.
In this meeting, again just like the original story, there were three chairs.
She sat down at the first one. This first chair felt big and imposing.
As she sat there, she heard discussion that was confident and assured.
Asset allocation decisions were debated. Market outlooks referenced. Providers and funds analysed. Portfolio positioning reviewed.
This chair belonged to experience and to authority.
Goldilocks didn’t move from the chair; she stayed sat down – metaphorically! She tried to speak in the same speak. She was keen as ever to contribute. She had observations forming in her mind around the clients, around suitability and consistency.
But surrounded by such strong voices and established opinions, the chair felt too big.
She wasn’t lacking in knowledge, but she felt unsure whether her perspective carried the same weight.
So, instead she just listened.
Another meeting came along and Goldilocks felt there must be more that she can do. So, she tried the second chair.
The second chair was smaller. It was more defined and it came with a notebook.
From here, she recorded decisions, captured the rationale and documented the actions.
This chair felt safer than the first, it had more structure and it felt as though Goldilocks could be useful sat there.
But as she wrote, she began to question whether she had inadvertently relegated herself to the exterior of the discussion.
However, over time, her place in this smaller chair became clearer.
She began to notice where conclusions were reached without being fully explained. She saw where enthusiasm needed further articulation. She understood how the decisions being debated would later need to appear in suitability reports and client conversations.
This chair may have looked small, but it offered a detailed viewpoint. One that helped Goldilocks to learn, to further develop her knowledge and find her confidence in her place at these meetings.
I it was because of these things that the second chair was too small.
It was time to try the third chair and when she did, this chair felt balanced.
From the view point she had gained with her notepad, through the listening and observing she had done in previous chairs, she no longer felt that that she had very little to give.
Instead, she contributed from the position she knew best.
How does this align with our risk profiling process?
How will this translate into a suitability report?
And how will we go about explaining this clearly to clients?
There were of course lots of other things that Goldilocks was able to contribute, and for reference, there’s another lovely story on Professional Paraplanner about the many benefits paraplanners can bring to an Investment Committee that you can read later.
But back to the story in hand…
Little by little at each of the meetings that came, the tone of the conversation shifted.
It was meaningful, the questions being asked were practical. Goldilocks felt more grounded and the team focussed together on how strategy connects to good client outcomes and solid advice.
Everyone had their own chair at the Investment Committee table and each one of them was a little different in what they offered. Goldilocks grew to quite like that third chair over time and that’s because in the end, for her, it felt just right.
Looking back, she recognises that the discomfort of that first meeting was not unusual. Many paraplanners experience the same hesitation when stepping into Investment Committee discussions.
Paraplanners don’t need to sit in the biggest chair, nor should they feel confined to the smallest.
It’s about finding the one that allows them to connect investment decisions to their daily work, to the advice process and ultimately, clients. It’s about finding the chair that feels, just right.
Main image: giorgio-trovato-DAneRqk9D44-unsplash
