Career management – Tom Lloyd-Read, Thomas Miller Investment

26 April 2019

Growing influence of paraplanners

Perhaps the most significant change, Tom notes, is the increased role and influence that paraplanners now have within financial planning businesses.

“That’s because paraplanners are becoming more important. As a business you don’t want your advisers writing reports, you want them managing the client and building relationships. What you want is people that understand the financial planning process, who understand what products and services are available, and how they would fit with the client. That is your paraplanner.

“I would say this is the biggest change since I started as a paraplanner. Back then I had no say in asset allocation, or in choosing products and investments, the adviser would put together the product panels – I didn’t have much influence at all. Now, I think it’s the other way around, certainly in our firm. We have the choice as to what we use and what we think is suitable.”

Paraplanners as managers

Tom believes paraplanning is a good grounding to move on to other roles. “It’s still a great stepping stone to being a financial adviser, as you really do get to see the financial planning process. I think being a paraplanner is also useful if you want to go into compliance, because you see both sides of the business. You could move into training and development. And, of course, you can move into management.

“I think there will be more management opportunities in the industry as paraplanning teams grow because then you need someone to oversee the day-to-day running, the quality of the work and provide help with the technical detail.”

For anyone looking to move into a role where they will be managing a team of paraplanners, he advises that being as qualified as possible, although not necessary, is advisable. “My role, for example, stipulates the need to be chartered.

“I think if you are managing a team of paraplanners, and managing processes, and providing technical advice, which means you are having an influence on how advisers do their business, and they are chartered, then it’s best to be chartered yourself, as it adds more weight to what you are saying. Having that badge shows professionalism and the desire to improve.”

But experience is also essential, he stresses. “I get asked questions now that aren’t in a book, they can’t be learned through exams, they are practical in nature. So going into this type of role without that kind of experience would almost be impossible.

“And if you move into management then you have to understand that you won’t be writing as many reports as before, you’ll be doing other things. This can include appraising people, deciding people’s pay and bonuses, and it’s whether you will feel comfortable doing that, especially if you’re working in a small team. That can be difficult.

You’ll also get involved in a lot more things, such as project work, and again it’s whether you’ll feel happy doing that.”

For those that do want to take the management path, Tom believes that as financial planning grows and paraplanning within it, there will be a rising number of opportunities.

“It comes with greater reward, and if it is your thing, then there is a lot of job satisfaction on a day-to-day basis as you can be sure every day is going to be different.”

 

 

Professional Paraplanner