RiF began researching the paraplanner market in 2013 on behalf of several leading asset management firms, platforms and life companies.
We quickly were able to ascertain that there was a fundamental change to the industry, helped in part by RDR, paraplanners were becoming more influential.
With over 40% of paraplanners now sitting on their firms investment committee, an average age of 36 and over 80% qualified to level 4 – they are critical to the future of financial planning in the UK. Paraplanners are also more than 50% female which also differentiates them from the adviser world.
Professional Paraplanner magazine was launched in May 2014 quickly followed by www.professionalparaplanner.co.uk in July 2015. Fast forward to 2024 and the brand has an established series of 17 Technical Insight Seminars across the UK and offers providers the opportunity to reach over 7,000 paraplanners each month.
2020 also marked the launch of two new event series – The Investment Committee for paraplanners heavily involved in the selection of funds for in-house portfolios and The Team Leader Seminars for managers of teams of paraplanners.
We also host the annual Professional Paraplanner Awards where 100’s of paraplanners nominate themselves, their firms and colleagues to recognise the contribution that they have made to financial planning. The paraplanners also vote for the product providers that have offered them the best service and support over the year. The 2024 event happens on the 18th July at the Merchant Taylors, London – do reach out for more information.
Asset managers, platforms, life companies, specialist product providers have recognised that to ensure their business thrives in the developing world of financial planning in the UK that a strategy to engage paraplanners is critical.
For more information on each aspect of the brand please take look below.
The Professional Paraplanner website went live in July 2015 and attracts over 7,000 paraplanners to its pages each month.
Where the magazine offers the audience the in-depth features the website offers the up to the minute content that is breaking daily.
The online offering also offers specific zones where paraplanners can find a veritable feast of information from the leading providers, experts and peers on the areas most critical to their roles.
The site offers the opportunity for paraplanners to engage in discussions with their peers, search for new roles via the careers section and catch up with the latest video content.
Professional Paraplanner launched its first Technical Insight Seminar on 9 June 2015 at the Grange St Paul’s Hotel, London. In 2024 we will run 17 events across the UK from London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham to Exeter and Southampton. We hosted over 800 paraplanners in 2023.
The investment and savings environment makes for a challenging backdrop to our seminars, which to gives paraplanners structured educational material from some of the best names in the industry.
As well as hearing from our speakers offering technical insights and strategic views on the trends and issues in the market, the more intimate nature of the seminar format means paraplanners can question and discuss matters with the speakers either during or after their presentations.
For 2024 we are extending the event programme to meet the delegate demand. The format for each event will includes plenary sessions mixed in with a series of focussed boardroom sessions. Each session is 40 minutes plus a Q&A and qualifies for structured CPD.
We are looking for new partners to bring even more depth to continue to educate this influential segment of the market.
We also run two complimentary event series – The Investment Committee for paraplanners heavily involved in the selection of funds for in house portfolios and The Team Leader Seminars for managers of teams of paraplanners.
Contact Richard Ley for more info.
