Gather at 1pm on 7 November 2024. 'What did Les Cameron learn from Labour's Budget?' Featuring Les Cameron of M&G Wealth. The promotion features a prominent image of Les Cameron to the left of the centre of the promotion. It’s a cut out image. He is pictured waist-up and is speaking at the Paraplanners' Assembly's Big Day Out event in 2023. He is dressed informally in a dark blue short-sleeved shirt. His arms are folded across his chest.

Join us online at 1pm on Thursday 7 November 2024 when perennial Assembly favourite, Les Cameron of M&G Wealth, will be joining us to share his thoughts on the Budget just one week before on 30 October.

As well as the fact that Rachel Reeves made history by becoming the first woman to deliver a budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer, were there measures that are sure to feature when Budget history is written?

Or were the widespread jitters among savers and investors ill-founded as Labour delivered its first Budget since Alistair Darling’s on 20 April 2010 – no fewer than 5,334 days earlier.

What actually happened?

Were the headlines screaming about capital gains and inheritance tax? How about pension tax relief and fuel duty? Or national insurance and the British ISA? Perhaps even VAT on school fees or measures affecting non-doms? And what about a wealth tax?

Whatever the contents of the red box, Les will be on hand to offer his thoughts and insights, and answer your questions and explore ideas that you raise in the chat.

Save your spot now

So will it have turned out to be one of the most consequential Budgets of recent years, more of a ‘pitch-rolling’ statement in preparation for future measures, or something else altogether?

Save your spot and find out.

Gather online at 1pm on 23 October 2024. How to level up your retirement income planning (in one lunch hour) featuring Patrick Ingram of Parmenion.

Join us at 1pm on Wednesday 23 October for an online Assembly where we’ll be asking what steps you can take to make sure your client’s plan will deliver a reliable income in retirement nowadays. 

After all, it’s an area of advice that is coming under some significant regulatory attention. Because not only is it the subject of a thematic review but the arrival of The Consumer Duty has also turned the spotlight on the suitability of advice too. 

Retirement income advice: why all the fuss?

The last few years witnessed big challenges for paraplanners seeking secure incomes in retirement for clients thanks to significant economic and political events.  

First there was pension freedoms and the surge in drawdown strategies. Next, rising inflation and interest rates conspired to squeeze income during the cost of living crisis. And that crisis prompted the search for secure income and a revival of annuities.

The paraplanner’s dilemma

But what’s the right balance between drawdown and secure income strategies? (Is there a balance to be struck at all?) What steps can you take so your client won’t simply run out of money? And how can you be sure that the FCA will agree that your approach to retirement income is consistently suitable?

Patrick’s practical planning pointers

That’s where our guest expert at this Assembly, Parmenion‘s head of strategic partnerships, Patrick Ingram, comes in. Because Patrick will be sharing some practical ideas that you apply straightaway to cases, and offering insights that will help you think through the planning challenges.

Among the areas that Patrick and host, Richard Allum, expect to cover in this lunch-hour Assembly are: 

Plus Patrick will share his secret weapon – a surprisingly simple ‘acid test’ for retirement plans that could change your approach. 

Save your spot now

Whether you’re new to paraplanning or a seasoned pro, expect fresh ideas and practical tips you can apply to level up your retirement planning game. Grab your spot now.

There’s nothing paraplanners love more than a case study to help bring a technical topic to life.

And that’s especially true when it comes to getting to grips with the complexities of inheritance tax (IHT) calculations.

Which is why you’re invited to join us online at 1pm on Friday 20 September 2024 for a case-study led online Assembly that’s all about calculating IHT.

Join Graeme Robb from M&G Wealth as he guides us through a case study in which he will break down each stage and address common misconceptions. During the lunch-hour Assembly, Graeme expects to cover:

Because it’s an Assembly, you’ll have plenty of chances to ask questions, share examples and make suggestions.

How does that sound? If you fancy joining in, save your spot now.

How are paraplanners feeling about things at the moment? About regulatory change? About day-to day pressures and workload? About emerging technology and its influence on advice? About perception of paraplanning as a profession and career? 

Upbeat? Pretty neutral? A bit meh?

Well wonder no more and join us online at 1pm on 25 September 2024 when Craig Spittal of Scottish Widows, will reveal the findings of Scottish Widows’ latest annual survey of paraplanners in the UK.

Craig and host, Richard Allum, will be joined by paraplanners Ceetal Katechia of PSA Financial Services and Sarah Lees of Forvis Mazars to discuss findings that are so fresh off the press, we can only give you a flavour of what we expect to cover during this lunch-hour Assembly. And they are:

Because it’s an Assembly, we’d love to hear what you’re thinking and feeling about the issues that crop up. So we’ll have lots of polls for you to vote in plus there will be lots of chance to contribute to the conversation in the chat.

For a long time, paraplanners (and paraplanning) were lucky if they received even a passing mention in the conclusions of surveys of advice professionals in the UK. And a dedicated survey only for paraplanners and all about what matters to paraplanning? Unthinkable.

So this online Assembly, packed with findings from original research commissioned and conducted among 200 paraplanners by Scottish Widows, won’t just offer a really clear snapshot of how paraplanners are feeling about the world of advice today. It offers us all a chance to reflect on what’s affecting our profession and help focus our minds on how we’d like to shape our profession in the future.

Want to take part in the conversation? Then book your spot now.

When it comes to gaining and maintaining inheritance tax (IHT) planning know-how and expertise, nothing beats a good case study.

So this special case study investigation, which features not one but two client examples, is bound to be right up your street.

Join Steve and Richard as they crack the case

Because in this 50-minute episode, Utmost International’s Steve Sayer joins host, Richard Allum, to explore why reversionary interest trusts (RITs) combined with the available nil rate band (NRB) threshold, can become a powerful and flexible feature of a client’s IHT strategy.

In a conversation that’s packed with practical insights, ideas and expertise, tax and trusts expert Steve unpacks two case studies which will help you:

– understand the mechanics and key features of a RIT
– consider planning opportunities using RITs especially in conjunction with other options
– be able to discuss and explain RITs and NRB with a client in a clear and concise way
– apply this knowledge to appropriate, individual, client scenarios

Whether you’re a seasoned paraplanner who wants to keep your knowledge fresh or the role of RITs in IHT planning is new territory for you, we’re sure you’ll enjoy the hands-on learning offered by this expert discussion.

Watch or listen now

Just follow the links for a CPD certificate and downloads.

It’s been just over a year since the arrival of The Consumer Duty.

So, whether you’ve been neck-deep in its implementation or still feel like you’re getting to grips with it, now seems like a good time to see how we’re all getting on with it.

That’s why you’re invited to join us online at 1.00pm on Wednesday 14 August 2024 for a lunch-hour Assembly that’s all about The Consumer Duty.

To explore the topic, we’ll be joined by founder of Compliance and Training Solutions (CATS), Mel Holman, and Tom Lloyd-Read, technical planning manager at Stonehage Fleming.

Mel has been providing advice and implementation support to a range of organisations while Tom has been deeply involved in implementation of the Duty within his firm.

Over the course of the lunch-hour Assembly, we’re bound to cover:

What’s more, if our pre-event prep is anything to go by, there’s every chance we’ll touch on cashflow modelling assumptions, dashboards and gap analysis too.

Of course, being an Assembly, not only are you invited to tune into the conversation, we’d love you to share your thoughts and ideas on what’s working, what’s not, and where firms are still figuring things out in the chat.

So if you’re up for an hour’s worth of thoughtful insights and practical takeaways, join the conversion and save your spot now.

Working out what to do with your client’s wealth after their death is all part of a paraplanner’s life.

But settling on the best strategy can be complex – especially when missing a vital detail can have costly consequences.

So what can you do about it?

Stay up to date with the latest thinking, that’s what.

Which is why Neil Macleod, senior technical manager at M&G Wealth, joined us to explore death and trusts and paraplanning.

During this lunch-hour Assembly, Neil covered:

What will I learn from this online Assembly?

By the end of this Assembly, you’ll be able to:

No matter how complex the cases you deal with, this is a great chance to tune in to Neil’s expertise, and get up to speed on death and trusts.

Believe it or not, it’s already been nine years since the introduction of pension freedoms. And while it’s fair to say that the arrival of drawdown has transformed the way that clients can plan income in retirement, when the new measures were announced back in 2015, they were made against the backdrop of a generally benign economic climate.

What had changed and what could paraplanners do?

Today, high interest rates and stubborn inflationary pressure, coupled with greater regulatory scrutiny courtesy of The Consumer Duty and the FCA’s retirement income review, make for altogether more changeable weather.

So how are paraplanners expected to make forecasts and hatch plans that will deliver sustainable incomes for clients in their retirement? Plans that stack up under scrutiny – and against the demands – of The Consumer Duty?

During this lunch-hour Assembly, Gareth not only explored these issues but dug into other considerations that could influence paraplanners, advisers and clients when thinking about accumulation and decumulation strategies including:

No matter what your experience or expertise as a paraplanner, this 60-minute session offers insights and ideas when considering options for successful and sustainable income in retirement for your clients.

Once upon a time, we were scouring our library of previous online Assemblies and realised something: we had never covered the topic of inheritance tax (IHT) planning using the alternative investment market (AIM)!

So we thought it was high time to fix that with a whistle-stop tour to discover why investing in AIM is right up there as a strategy for IHT planning.

Whether you’re new to paraplanning and in search of a primer, or you’ve been paraplanning for absolutely ages and want to make sure you really know what you’re talking about, tuning into this Assembly will be well worth your while.

To help us navigate the topic we were joined by the ideal tour guide: Canaccord Genuity’s senior investment director and head of IHT investments, Paul Parker. During our lunch-hour gathering we explored:

As ever, the chat was open for paraplanners to pose questions, or share ideas and observations – and the quality of contributions was great!

Watch Case Study Investigation: getting to the bottom of top slicing relief featuring Steve Sayer from Utmost International

It’s no secret that top slicing relief offers a powerful method of reducing tax liability by spreading bond gains across each year of the lifetime of the bond. 

But no matter how experienced a paraplanner you may be, working out the best way to make use of the relief, and getting the top slicing calculations right, can be tricky.

Join Steve and Richard as they crack the case

That’s why we think this case study investigation (CSI) on top slicing will be right up your street.

In this 45-minute special on top slicing, Utmost International’s technical sales manager, Steve Sayer, joins The Paraplanners’ Richard Allum, to pick his way through a case study featuring fictional client, David. 

Designed to give you the chance to consider the financial planning opportunities from all sorts of angles, this CSI will help you:

Watch or listen now

Whether you’re new to top slicing relief or are a seasoned pro, it never hurts to top up your knowledge and know how – especially when it can make such a big difference to a client’s financial plan.