Scores of Paraplanners will head to Northamptonshire later today as the third national Paraplanners Powwow gets set to take place.
Professionals will get together for a pre-Powwow meal – or Chowwow - this evening. Ninety Paraplanners are expected to attend the main event tomorrow.

Designed to be an unconventional style of conference, the national event will again take place inside teepees in the countryside.

FCA technical specialist Rory Percival is this year’s star guest, taking the ‘guru’ speaker’s slot tomorrow afternoon.

Powwow founder Richard Allum CFP^CM, an IFP board member, said the regulator’s presence illustrated how well recognised it has become.

He said: “It shows that they’ve become an influential event and that the FCA recognises the role of Paraplanners and they want to come along and connect.

“It has turned into a movement in its own right and it’s independent of any professional body, it’s showing people what we knew all the way along that Paraplanners are very resourceful people.”

He believes the quality of other Paraplanning events has “gone up dramatically” since the Powwow started and he said it was “the young kid on the block”.

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Paraplanners, who will ditch their desk chairs and offices for the day for sofas and bean bags in a field, will debate various topics throughout the day. Top tips for day to day Paraplanning and 'release the Excel Ninja within you' are among the sessions planned.

At previous events there have been sessions on report writing, with a particular focus on pensions and investment switching, what a good review process looks like, and creating and building trust.

The Powwow movement has taken off since the first incarnation took place three years ago, with various smaller scale regional events also taking place.

A raft of innovations have recently been announced to enhance it further.

This includes Howwows - a series of online Paraplanner focused development activities - with a dedicated ‘Powwowers’ section with information on everyone involved in organising them to see who they are and for others to set up their own Powwow.