Paraplanners must ditch their ‘weak professional identity’ and finally step into the spotlight.
That is the view of outspoken Zara Okoro, senior paraplanner at JG Paraplanning, who is urging other paraplanners to showcase the value of their profession to the wider finance community.
Speaking to FT Adviser, she said paraplanners have weak professional identity due to limited exposure and therefore consideration.
She said if you search for the words ‘paraplanners’ or ‘paraplanning’ on LinkedIn, there are hardly any thought pieces and discussions on the occupation. This is in sharp contrast for the word ‘financial planning’ or ‘financial planners’.
The 25-year-old said: “It’s time for paraplanners to shed our weak professional identity and step confidently into the spotlight. By embracing our expertise and being more visible in the industry, paraplanners can demonstrate the immense value we bring, moving beyond the shadows to become recognised thought leaders in our own right.”
She added that when paraplanners conduct their research and visit providers' websites, they are given a selection of job description to choose from before they can access the website. This normally includes client, investment professional, financial adviser but not financial planner.
She added: “If paraplanners were recognised, we might see that question framed in a similar way to the investment professional option, such as ‘I am a financial advice professional’ or ‘I am an advice professional’.
"The most likely reason this is the case is that they don’t know what paraplanners do. This creates a brilliant opportunity to build the reputation of paraplanners and shape our professional identity.”
Okoro added that it is important that paraplanners speak up instead of being represented by financial planners.
She said: “When you read articles on financial planning topics, you rarely, if ever, come across articles that cite both financial planners and paraplanners. Instead, you get financial planners representing both professions.
"This is clear when you look at how they talk about the research they do, which masks the fact that the research is mostly conducted by paraplanners. Paraplanners need to put themselves out there because at the moment, financial planners are speaking for us.”
Okoro, who has seven-years of experience in financial services and is a member of the PFS Paraplanning Panel, believes this creates a huge opportunity for paraplanners to create more self-published content and share their expertise.
She said: “The UK has a prolific financial services sector, and that sector needs pragmatic voices. Paraplanners could be one of those voices, and they should be the pragmatic voice of the financial planning profession and industry.
"While financial planners are the strategic and client-focused voice, paraplanners are the technical, pragmatic voice, but that is not currently being heard to the degree it could be.
