The Paraplanners has bought two extra tickets for the IFP’s paraplanning conference in May to encourage fresh blood into the industry.
The Oxfordshire-based paraplanning firm, founded by Richard Allum, who has paid more than £400 for the extra tickets, is holding a competition for those interested in becoming a paraplanner or financial adviser.
Mr Allum said: “The team was talking about how people – in particular, undergraduates – find out about careers in paraplanning, and what the profession involves.
“We concluded that, unless they already had connections, gaining experience and insight into a paraplanning career must be quite difficult.
“And then it occurred to us: Events that are packed with paraplanners would be a pretty good place for start.”
The winners will go with The Paraplanners to the IFP Paraplanning Conference, which is being held near Kenilworth, Warwickshire, on 20-21 May.
According to Mr Allum, the tickets will include the eve of conference dinner, overnight stay at Chesford Grange and full access to the conference sessions.
He said: “If anyone is considering paraplanning as a career we’d like to invite them to submit a response to us – of no more than 200 words – that completes the following statement:
‘If I were granted three wishes to kick-start my career in the financial planning profession, I’d wish for…’
“Successful entries are likely to be well-structured, clear and concise. However, entertaining prose – which gives us an inkling of the entrant’s personality – will also be very welcome.”
Entries must be emailed to hello@theparaplanners.com by 30 April at the latest.
Adviser view
Alan Gow, director at Reading-based Argonaut Planning, said: “I think paraplanning, and the industry as a whole, needs new blood. Some paraplanners do progress into financial planning, and this leaves a gap, so we constantly need to be bringing new people in and training them up. Anything that encourages people to see what we do in the industry outside the circles in which we operate has got to be a good thing. It goes hand-in-hand with raising the qualification standards.”
