As a paraplanner, what development and career options are available to you? Sarika Dhanjal, Head of Advice Quality at Progeny, with responsibility for T&C and the group’s Adviser Academy, sees opportunities opening up for paraplanners.
Paraplanners often are positioned in the middle of a financial planning/wealth firm, with a broad range of skills which are very valuable and can be used to advantage in a range of roles. This means not only is paraplanning a career in its own right but opportunities can open up in various areas.
The obvious move is to become a financial planner. We see this at Progeny, where paraplanners become more involved in client meetings and better understand what it is like to be a financial planner and then want to go through training in our Adviser Academy. It’s an easy transition because they have the technical knowledge and our Academy is very much based around developing the people skills. No two clients are the same and it’s about asking open questions to find out what the client wants, what financial provision they have and how it relates to their objectives.
If you are well rounded as a paraplanner and have the additionalskills, there are plenty of opportunities in a financial advice business. We have had people who have moved into technical support roles, worked on the trade desk, moved into training and competence supervision, and been promoted into team leader and management positions.
I’d say when you have your one-to-one with your manager, talk to them about your career and what you think should be your next step. They may be able to suggest a strategy and help with the necessary training and exam support. Managers should take responsibility in helping paraplanners map out their career pathways.
Something we do at Progeny is develop learning pathways, as well as skills mapping, to understand where people see their career going. We look at what skills they may need to develop or enhance to achieve their goal and what training we can give them to help them get there. It’s not all altruistic, we find if we listen to people and help them map out where they are and where they want to be, we can develop the talent we have and keep people happy within the business.
