Paraplanning must continue to move towards being a recognised career with a minimum level of qualification established, a CFP professional and Paraplanning firm co-owner says.

Julie Pipe CFPCM, who runs Argonaut Paraplanning with fellow owner Alan Gow, sees a glowing future for the profession but believes more needs to be done to stop anyone simply professing to run a Paraplanning business.

She would like to see qualifications set at the same benchmark as Financial Planners.

In an interview for the My Business feature in Financial Planner magazine, published this week, she said: "My main concern at the moment is that anyone can call themselves a Paraplanner and set up a business offering a Paraplanning service.

"I think that we need to ensure that Paraplanning continues to move towards being a recognised career and that there should be a minimum level of qualification required."

Ms Pipe, who is also an Accredited Paraplanner, said: "I think in time all Paraplanners will need to obtain a minimum level of qualification and I think this should be on a par with that required by Financial Planners.

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"The future of the profession is bright and I think that, as it grows and attracts younger people, it will become more and more important as an integrated part of the whole Financial Planning industry.
"I hope to see Financial Planners and Paraplanners working together as equals."

Asked her concerns about regulation of the sector and what threats exist for her business at the moment, she said: "As outsourced Paraplanners we currently have little or no regulation.

"I expect that to change in the future as Paraplanning becomes more recognised in its own right and Paraplanning companies become more important in the Financial Planning industry.

"We are fortunate in that at the present time I see little threat to our business.

"The main one would be that in the future there are too many paraplanning companies and supply outstrips demand.

"I think we are a long way off that at the present time."

Ms Pipe said: "I hope that over the next ten years Paraplanning continues to grow and attracts more young graduates and school leavers to join as trainees. 

"At the moment there is a shortage of qualified, experienced Paraplanners with strong technical knowledge.

"Paraplanners are needed to meet the demands of Financial Planners who increasingly realise that their time is better spent with their clients than writing reports."

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