Moves to create a new benchmark for Paraplanners are underway and are being led by Paraplanner Powwow founder Richard Allum APP CFPCM Chartered MCSI.
Paul Welsh CFPCM Chartered MCSI, a Paraplanner at Liverpool-based Financial Planning Corporation, said it was an excellent proposal but he is concerned that bosses may not see the direct advantage to their own business and therefore support could be lacking.
The professional standard is to be crafted at a new interactive workshop-style event, stemming from the Powwows, with Paraplanners taking matters into their hands to put it together.
The lack of a universal standard or so called ‘kitemark’ has frequently been discussed at the Powwows.
Many say they have become fed up with the fact that anyone could call themselves a Paraplanner without the skills and training and they want something that is recognised across the profession.
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Mr Welsh said: “I think a Paraplanning standard would certainly be of benefit as the term has too wide a definition at present. I think it would definitely need to be driven by Paraplanners themselves and a peer to peer system is a really good idea.
“Obtaining any support or time commitment from planning firms themselves could possibly be an issue as the benefit to them might not be immediately obvious, but we are a determined bunch so I am sure such obstacles can be overcome.”
There has been an on-going debate about attempts to better define the role of a Paraplanner, which, despite the creation of IFP and PFS qualifications, has been hard to achieve.
Mr Allum has previously said the lack of a standard had been “very frustrating” for Paraplanners generally.
He said: "There’s lots of training stuff out there but it tends to be focused on the technical side of things. There’s nothing out there as a benchmark. There’s nothing really to tell them how to do the job day to day.”
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