Almost half (49 per cent) of Paraplanners believe that their roles are "poorly defined", research from the Lang Cat consultancy has shown, writes Chartered Financial Planner and Paraplanner Judy Tennant.

In my opinion,  this is a result of the rapid emergence and evolution of the role of Paraplanning in a post RDR world, without any constraints from the regulator.

While regulated advisers need to be diploma qualified, commit to at least 35 hours CPD, be fit and proper and adhere to ethical standards, there are no such demands on a Paraplanner.

This has led to a wide variance in the skills, abilities and qualifications of Paraplanners, as well as the expectations on them.

What does not help is the ushering in of new financial adviser recruits into Paraplanning roles first to gain experience and get qualified.

As someone who has over 12 years’ experience as a Paraplanner, I believe that Paraplanning is not to be viewed as merely a stepping stone into an advice role. However, addressing the issue of defining the profession may prove a challenge when firms have different expectations.

I think that a Paraplanner should be just as knowledgeable as the advisers they work with. They should be capable of offering technical expertise to create holistic advice, craft suitability reports, participate in client meetings and even challenge the adviser if necessary.

As a minimum, I believe that a competent Paraplanner would be diploma qualified and commit to an annual programme of CPD. However, getting to that level will require time, dedication and support from mentors and managers to inspire and retain new entrants.

Perhaps the only way of creating a level of consistency in Paraplanning is if the FCA steps in to develop a framework of expected standards.

The Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR) was created to address risks posed by adviser firms’ employees, whose role may allow them to do "significant harm to the firm or its customers."

Could the same logic not equally apply to Paraplanners?

Judy Tennant FPFS is a Chartered Financial Planner and Senior Paraplanner at Prosper Wealth Management in Wigan. She has worked in Paraplanning for the last 12 years. Prosper Wealth Management is a trading name of IWP Financial Planning Ltd.