First steps into the role
Laura had what she describes as a “gentle path” into Paraplanning. A keen interest in business led her to start a degree in Business Studies at Bristol University but after the first year she decided to leave the course. “I knew that I didn’t want to be student; I wanted to start working and get going in an actual business,” she says.
She joined Monahans as General Insurance administrator in 2004 but shortly after the insurance side of the business was taken over and she joined the financial services arm, based in Trowbridge, Wiltshire. She started off doing general valuations work, and then shadowed the personal assistant (PA) to an adviser. Within Monahans, each adviser has a PA who works closely with the adviser and the clients, attending client meetings for example, and undertaking some of the administrative and follow up tasks. This wetted Laura’s appetite to progress within the firm and when her boss at the time said there were exams she could take she jumped at the chance. She passed the Certificate in Financial Planning in February 2007 and followed this with the Diploma in Financial Planning in September 2009, gaining the Certificate in Long Term Care at the same time.
Although she failed the Tax and Legal Aspects of Business (JO3) exam, the experience was very valuable, she says. “I’m really pleased that I took it. I learned so much from taking the exam that I’ve still put the fact that I have taken it on my CV.” She has just sat the IFP’s Certificate in Paraplanning and is waiting for the results.
Next on the agenda is the CII Platform exam. Ultimately, she says, she will look to gain Chartered status but she says she sees the qualification path as not just about upward progression but also lateral accrual of relevant qualifications. “As paraplanners we need to increase our knowledge base and for me that means looking at the qualifications that are going to be most relevant for my role here at Monahans. I don’t see any point in getting qualifications I’m not going to use on a day-to-day basis when there are plenty that I can put to practical use. I think relevance is important as well as level of qualifications.”
The CII Platform exam is a case in point, she explains. “We use the Standard Life wrap platform quite heavily but as an independent financial adviser firm we conduct ongoing due diligence on the platform market on a quarterly basis to ensure it remains the right prospect for clients. We use Defaqto research as part of our due diligence to see how other platforms are performing and this exam will strengthen my knowledge and enable me to help the directors in assessing platforms,” Laura says. “We also have clients who are off platform and again we need to be sure that remains the best thing for them.”
