As you might have guessed from previous blogs I think we have some excellent people in our profession. These people are passionate about getting the best outcomes for their clients, but also find time to encourage others along. There are no monopolies on good ideas and more than enough potential clients to go around. Passionate people attract each other and form collaborations.

In the last few of weeks I’ve been at two events organised by people like this. First up was the Paraplanners Powwow Down South in London. This was our largest ‘mini’ event to date and the first time we have run the event twice in one year. Paraplanners came from as far as the South Coast to share ideas. We split into three groups and had three sessions over the space of an afternoon adopting the ‘unconference’ style.
 
First up we tackled the topic of risk profiling and capacity for loss. With many tools available to choose from it was a great opportunity to find out how they worked in the real world. Different firms have slightly different approaches to figuring out capacity for loss and balancing this with other aspects of the risk decision.

In the group I facilitated we raised concerns that unless a client has actually experienced market falls they will struggle to really understand how much risk they are willing to take. Sharing and presenting the facts visually goes some way to set expectations.
 
Our other discussion session focused on the difference between what should be ‘on the file’ and what should be ‘in the report’. Some participants shared frustration at belt and braces approaches adopted by some firms and compliance consultants. The report should be there to enable a client to make an informed decision. We don’t always do a great job of balancing this with ensuring that we can prove that we have done the right thing.
 
We closed out the day with an entertaining run-through of global markets with Justin Urquhart-Stewart from 7IM. He reminded us that there is much to be confident about despite uncertainties and personalities that provide distractions. Financial Planning can help people make confident decisions about the future and follow through with them.
 
This spirit of sharing is not limited to Paraplanning.

One group that I have greatly benefited from recently is NextGen Planners. We met up for the London round table this week and I spoke to planners and prospective planners at different stages in their careers.

All were excited and motivated with a burden to encourage each other. Sam Sloma shared his personal journey with us and his passion to make everything his firm does ‘awesome’. With different people at different stages in their career it was helpful to be given insights into how we can build our personal networks.
 
Surround yourself with people who strive for improvement. Share your successes and learn from your failures.

Dan Atkinson FPFS MCSI APP is a Chartered Financial Planner and is head of technical at EQ Investors in London. @DanAtkinsonUK. e: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.