In the ‘Ask your peers’ section of our monthly parameters survey, you asked what other qualifications or pathways paraplanners were taking once they had achieved level 6, Chartered status. Fiona Bond collated what paraplanners said.
The career path of a paraplanner can be confusing, with job descriptions and definitions varying greatly from firm to firm. As such, it can be hard to know what qualifications are needed and how these can complement on-the-job learning.
Professional Paraplanner asked paraplanners what they believe the next steps are beyond Level 6 and what qualifications have been particularly useful after reaching Chartered status.
For many paraplanners, pursuing Fellowship was the most obvious option, enabling them to demonstrate their ability and skills.
One paraplanner said: “I went on to do Fellowship of the CISI/PFS, which gave me the technical know-how, and I did the CISI Certified Financial Planner license, which gave me the practical application skills.”
Another respondent told Professional Paraplanner: “I took my qualifications through the PFS but have since studied the Level 7 through CISI. The CISI makes you think more rather than memorise bullet point facts.”
A further respondent said a desire to build knowledge that would help clients was the key driver behind their decision to pursue Fellowship status.
“After reaching Chartered, I had to take three more multiple choice exams to obtain Fellowship status,” they explained. “I took exams which I thought would be useful and relevant in terms of helping clients rather than those which would be easier to pass.”
STEP also proved popular among respondents, with STEP certificates designed to offer introductions to estate planning and wealth management.
One paraplanner said: “Fellow, STEP, CFP are all valuable if industry qualifications are pursued. I think once Level 6 has been attained, you can keep your knowledge fresh via CPD and maybe concentrate on personal development courses not exclusively focused on financial services.”
The survey also showed an interest in more specialist qualifications, with respondents citing qualifications in long-term care, protection, mortgages and ESG as beneficial for their work with clients.
However, there was agreement that experience and soft skills around discussing needs, objectives and goals with clients and understanding and articulating emotional drivers behind investing were just as important as further qualifications in the professional development of paraplanners.
“I’ve found more use in maintaining knowledge and keeping current with the use of webinars and conferences,” said one paraplanner.
One respondent who hasn’t achieved chartered status, said: “I have found that the exams do not improve my ability to do my job.”
Another added: “I’ve seen a lot of highly qualified paraplanners and advisers who can’t transpose the qualifications into real life situations and end up making a lot of mistakes.”
