EVOLUTION OF FINANCE
CISI PARAPLANNER INTEREST GROUP Chaired by: Dan Atkinson CFP™ APP Chartered FCSI, head of technical at Paradigm Norton
The role of the paraplanner has changed over the past 15 years from providing administrative support to being an individual who
works closely with financial planners to build solutions, says Dan.
“Alongside this growth in professionalism, we have seen many practitioners leave firms to set up their own paraplanning businesses. Remuneration and retention have become more challenging for firms in recent years and going forward we expect to see paraplanners assuming more senior roles and firms leveraging their technical expertise and networks to design propositions.”
Dan suggests that two key future skills in the FSSC Framework are particularly relevant to paraplanning: teamwork and relationship
management. He notes that financial planning relies heavily on teamwork as the financial planner, paraplanner, and administrator all need to work well together. They must be comfortable challenging and being challenged, knowing that the sum of the whole is greater than its parts.
“The paraplanner will often have relationships with other suppliers or providers such as fund managers (if the paraplanner sits on the investment committee) or wrap platforms (if the paraplanner gets involved in due diligence),” explains Dan.
“However, the most important relationship management stakeholder for a paraplanner is likely to be the financial planner – as a proxy for the client. That relationship needs to be based on trust and not lording over one another based on hierarchy of
job or of qualifications/technical knowledge.”
Dan adds that leading paraplanners will also invest in soft skills to drive effective communication to translate knowledge into client action.
“The content of our annual conference is designed to challenge paraplanners in their thinking but also their personal development,” he says.
“We also run a series of topical technical sessions throughout the year and collaborate with other organisations to ensure we are not repeating what is being done elsewhere.”
The group’s focus for 2022 is on helping financial planners and paraplanners work together and it will be hosting events in Bristol, Birmingham, and Edinburgh to share best practice.
CISI TRAINING, COMPETENCE AND CULTURE INTEREST GROUP Chaired by: Nigel Sydenham, Chartered FCSI, director of compliance training at CISI-Accredited Training Partner, CCL Academy, and joint vice chair of The Review Editorial Panel
“The [group] events are the most visible activity we undertake, but we also serve as a focus for expertise in specific areas,” says Nigel.
He notes an increase in professionalism in the UK since the Retail Distribution Review in 2012 raised minimum standards. Over the past three to five years, the focus has shifted to the SMCR, which has further increased awareness of the importance of competence, he says.
“In the past, someone taking on a role that might need approval from the regulator would fill out the paperwork and make sure they had the appropriate qualifications. That application would then go to the regulator which would make a decision on whether to grant approval.”
Firms would obviously be undertaking appraisals and performance reviews, but Nigel says this was more akin to the driving test approach of taking the test once and (assuming you didn’t get a ban subsequently and stayed in the same job) not being formally re-assessed. The introduction of annual ‘fit and proper’ tests has changed that.
“The new regime has implications for individuals who are deemed not to be fit and proper and able to perform their role as this is reported on in terms of references to future employers under the regulatory reference rules,” he says.
“Culture is a more recent addition to the [CISI interest] group and it could be said that regulators’ views on this topic are still developing,” says Nigel. “There is no single definition of an appropriate culture.”
He refers to developments in the area of consumer duty as being indicative of regulators looking to press the reset button and set a new standard and apply rules that create a culture in which the right outcome for the client is the primary focus.
While recognising that the skills highlighted by the FSSC are important, Nigel is also keen to stress that the activities of his forum colleagues are largely driven by the regulatory agenda.
“We would fall into the risk, compliance, and legal category where skills such as adaptability are essential to ensure the best user experience for those receiving the training,” he says. “In our role of facilitating training, understanding of technological developments such as artificial intelligence will also become increasingly important.”
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THE REVIEW SEPTEMBER 2022
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