Outsourced Paraplanning firm the Timebank has launched a new support service that it believes will help Financial Planners and Paraplanners avoid the need to defer CPD due to the pandemic.

The Timebank has used its ‘Foundations Programme’ to provide CPD training support with existing clients for some time but is now opening it up to the wider profession.

The FCA announced earlier this year that it would allow advisers and Paraplanners to defer part of their CPD to next year to help cope with time pressures during the pandemic. 

However, Timebank says its new support service can help to avoid the need to defer CPD to next year by providing manageable CPD now, avoiding CPD backlogs in the future.

Melissa Hall, head of Paraplanning at The Timebank, said: “The thing that prompted us to launch our Foundations Programme now was the news from the FCA in May that they will allow people to defer their CPD until next year.”

“While this looks helpful, once you get into a backlog, it is just another thing you need to worry about down the road.  We designed The Foundation Programme as a way for people to get ahead of themselves.’ 

Part of The Timebank Foundations Programme includes 25-minute-long videos that cover some key CPD topics including:

• Busting myths on suitability reports
• How to build a Centralised Investment Proposition
• Cashflow tools
• MiFID II interim suitability reviews

Damian Davies, director of The Timebank, said: “We have picked subjects that I often get asked to talk about at seminars and webinars, so we know these are subjects that resonate with people.”

In addition to the videos, The Timebank Foundations Programme provides tools and resources including due diligence reports on providers and a tool to solve PROD issues.