Founder Richard Allum CFPTM Chartered MCSI announced he is stepping down as organiser of the unconventional conference, held in teepees in the Northamptonshire countryside. He has run four of the events since the first in 2013 and said it took 200 hours of work to organise the latest one.
Attendees tomorrow will debate whether this should this be the last national Powwow in its current guise. Many smaller regional Powwows have sprung up since the national event began and there are also various web-based spin offs giving Paraplanners a place to converse and learn.
Mr Allum said: “With local Powwows growing in popularity, a thriving community of Paraplanners getting stuck in to discussions in the (online forum) Big Tent, and plans for future online Howwows, now seemed as good a time as any to ask whether Powwowers think that the purpose of a national Powwow – on a yearly basis, at least – run its course?”
“And if it hasn’t then how would Powwowers like the event to develop in the future?”
“That’s the question I’d like to invite Powwowers to talk about when we gather together tomorrow.”
He pledged to carry on work with other Paraplanners to organising local Powwows and online Howwows in the future.
He said: “It’s up to other people if they want to take it forward.”
He never imagined there would be end up being four of the events when he ran the first one in 2013.
He said: “It’s become far more than what I ever thought it would be. At the time, I was bored with financial services events, they were all the same, just shades of grey.
“Part of my manifesto at the IFP was to do everything I could to promote Paraplanning standards and three to four years down the road we’ve had many events.
“A lot of the stuff we introduced in the Powwow crept into other industry events. I think we can say the profile of Paraplanning has improved and we now have an online place for them.”
Among the guest speakers at tomorrow’s event will be the FCA’s Rory Percival, who announced recently he is leaving the regulator.
Computer game developers whose work has included Donkey Kong are set to tell Paraplanners how they are utilising their gaming backgrounds to help develop Financial Planning.
Lee Musgrave and Mark Betteridge, co-founders of software firm Preciousbluedot, have built a mobile app for clients of Seven Investment Management.
The duo will talk about the gamifciation of Financial Planning and pensions.
• Check back with Financial Planning Today on Thursday and Friday for coverage of the event