Paraplanners also have a significant role to play in the subsequent financial planning meetings, Rachel explains. “We expect our paraplanners to present the cashflow model to the client. The financial planner will give the client a high level presentation of the financial plan and part way through that we show them their cashflow model and the impact of the advice and it’s the paraplanner who will talk the client through that.”
Rachel believes it’s essential for paraplanners to be involved with the client from the outset and to be involved in the client meetings. “It’s important for all sorts of reasons. It’s good for the paraplanner; it’s good for the client; it’s good for the business from a risk point of view that the client has a number of points of contact in the business; and it’s good for building the client relationship, in that clients can get a really good idea of the team approach that we are taking.”
She also sees the paraplanners’ involvement in the relationship with the client as core in helping them obtain a rounded experience of financial planning – in particular where they may want to go on in time to become financial planners themselves. “Our graduate programme is a very big part of what we do in terms of human resource and if a paraplanner isn’t experiencing building client relationships and presenting to clients then it’s going to be a much bigger jump for them to get to actually advising a client. Doing it this way it is an organic progression,” she explains.
The qualities a good paraplanner should have, Rachel feels will depend on their current role and the ethos of individual companies. “Here we expect to our trainee paraplanners to get their Diploma pretty quickly and then to work towards QCF Level 6. For us technical competence is very, very important but we assess that in a number of ways, qualifications being just one of them. For us, presentation skills are core, as well as relationship building skills and of course, the ability to maintain a great working relationship with the financial planners. Our paraplanners have masses of client facing opportunities as part of their role, so that’s really key, as well as being organised, and having a love of learning because that never stops. Above all, what I look for is enthusiasm for the role; all paraplanners must have that.”
