A horizontal cover image featuring a dark green coloured background. The title ‘What can your professional bodies do for you?’ appears in large text on the right of the image. Across the bottom of the image are three cut-out head-and-shoulders shots of - from left to right - Nicola Mellor of PFS, Sally Plant of LIBF and Chris Morris of CISI. At the top of the image the words ‘Online. 1 pm on 25 November 2025. 1 hour CPD’ are displayed.

As paraplanners, many of us hold memberships with Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI), Personal Finance Society (PFS), or LIBF. We pay our fees, collect our CPD, maybe sit an exam or two. But are we really getting the most from these organisations? And with three professional bodies all operating in this space, how do we know which one best serves our needs? 

We want to know. What do the professional bodies think of and do for paraplanners? 

This Assembly is your chance to ask directly.

Your questions. Their answers. One lunch hour.

Join us online at 1.00 pm on Tuesday 25 November for a conversation that puts your questions front and centre.

We’re bringing together representatives from all three professional bodies – Chris Morris from CISI, Nicola Mellor from the PFS, and Sally Plant from LIBF – to answer the questions that matter to paraplanners.

Host Richard Allum will be asking the questions you’ve told us you want answered, including:

And of course, there’ll be plenty of time for you to share your experiences and ask further questions at the Assembly.

What can you expect to take away?

You’ll leave this Assembly with a much clearer understanding of what each professional body offers, which one might be right for you (or whether you need more than one), and how you can get more value from your membership.

Most importantly, you’ll have the chance to hear directly from the people who shape these organisations – and to understand how you can influence the future direction of professional recognition for paraplanners.

Sound like it’s worth an hour of your time? Save your spot now.

If you want to know what’s on the minds of other paraplanners, then this is definitely the Assembly for you.

That’s because Scottish Widows’s Craig Spittal joined host, Richard Allum, and guests Alison Neale of Principle Paraplanning, to exclusively reveal key findings of this year’s Scottish Widows‘ Paraplanner Survey ahead of it’s formal publication in November 2025.

Since recording the results have been published and you’ll find them here.

Original  insights on the big issues

During this recording of a lunch-hour online Assembly, Craig shares findings from a sample of 200 paraplanners who completed the third annual survey of paraplanners. Topics covered include:

What can you expect to take away?

Listen and you’ll hear practical insights, honest reflections, and a clear idea of where paraplanners like you think our profession is heading.

So tuck in to a helping of hot-of-the-press original research and take this chance to reflect on the attitudes and trends that are influencing paraplanning today.

Stop wondering if you’re doing the right things to grow your business: A power-up for outsourced paraplanners

Here’s a question that might keep you awake at night: how do you know whether what you’re doing to promote your outsourced paraplanning business is actually working? Or perhaps more fundamentally – where on earth do you even start?

If you’re nodding along, you’re definitely not alone. Whether you’re a new business needing to generate leads and build awareness, or you’ve been established for a while but want to grow and increase enquiries, the challenge is the same: cutting through the noise and actually getting noticed.

The good news? You don’t need an MBA in marketing or a hefty advertising budget to make meaningful progress. Just book your ticket to join us and your fellow paraplanners at this business power-up, Marketing that actually works (for outsourced paraplanners).

A full day focused entirely on practical marketing for outsourced paraplanners

Join us at Aegon’s London offices on Friday 14 November for a day designed specifically for outsourced paraplanners who want to take control of their marketing – without the jargon, without the overwhelm, and definitely without walking away with more questions than answers.

We’ve partnered with New Tradition, marketing and brand experts who specialise in making the complex simple, to deliver a hands-on workshop that cuts straight to what actually matters for your business.Plus, we’re delighted that Dr Tom Mathar from Aegon will be joining us to share his insights on achieving better success from referrals – because we all know that word-of-mouth remains a powerful tools in your arsenal.

What makes this day different?

This isn’t about theory or abstract concepts. You’ll spend the day building your own marketing plan using practical tools that you can take away and continue using long after the event ends.

We’ll focus on four fundamental areas that every successful outsourced paraplanning business needs to get right:

Who should attend?

This day is designed for outsourced paraplanners at any stage of their business journey:

What will you take away?

By the end of the day, you’ll have:

Most importantly, you’ll leave with the reassurance that comes from having a clear plan and the tools to execute it.

Agenda

Morning session

Afternoon session

Ready to take control of your marketing?

If you’re tired of wondering whether you’re doing the right things to promote your business, and you want to walk away with a clear plan and the tools to implement it, this day is for you.

Places are limited to ensure everyone gets the individual attention they need to build their own marketing plan.

Book your place now.

This image displays text promoting Aegon's association with the workshop outsourced paraplanners. The text reads "A personal and business power-up for outsourced paraplanners would not be possible without the generous support of Aegon UK". On the far right of the image is Aegon's logo. The overall design is minimalist with black text on a white background.
A horizontal image with a dark background. On the right hand half of the image, large white text says 'An informal Assembly for outsourced paraplanners'. Beneath it in smaller text is 'An online gathering in Zoom. 1-2 pm on Thursday 16 October 2025'. At the top of the image in an orange rectangular block, white text reads 'Save your spot now'. On the left-hand side the word 'Gather' is displayed with the Paraplanners' Assembly beneath it.

Are you an outsourced paraplanner?

Whether you’re the only employee of your paraplanning practice, or you lead a paraplanning powerhouse with employees and a hefty bank of clients, outsourced paraplanners share lots of things in common.

You just do.

But here’s the thing: despite the growing number of outsourced paraplanners in the UK these days, opportunities to get together to talk only about things that matter in the outsourced world, are surprisingly few and far between.

Switch off. Show up. Join in. 

So, if you’re an outsourced paraplanner, here’s our invitation: at 1pm on Thursday 16 October 2025, set your notifications to ‘do not disturb’, click on the Zoom link in your event invitation and gather with other outsourced paraplanners across the UK for an hour of conversation, ideas and practical insights.

There’s nothing to prepare. Just come along ready to share your answer to one question: 

‘What’s on your mind today?’

Spaces are limited. To save a spot hit ‘Book Event’ and look out for the calendar invitation in your inbox.

Here’s a question that might keep you awake at night: what do you tell clients who’ve spent years building pension pots specifically because they were IHT-free, only to discover that’s all changed?

On 21 July 2025, HMRC published their response to the pension IHT consultation, along with draft legislation that will bring unused pension pots into the inheritance tax net from April 2027. The writing’s been on the wall since Rachel Reeves’ October 2024 Budget announcement, but now we have the detail and it’s time to work out what this means for our clients.

As paraplanners, we’re about to face some of the most fundamental shifts in retirement and estate planning strategy we’ve seen in years. The days of treating pensions as the IHT-free golden goose are numbered, and clients will be looking to us for answers.

This isn’t just about understanding the new rules. It’s about completely rethinking how we approach pension planning, estate planning, and the delicate balance between the two.


Your crash course in the new pension IHT landscape

In what turned out to be an essential Assembly, we were joined by M&G’s Les Cameron to dive deep into the practical implications of these seismic changes. We strongly recommend reading M&G’s detailed response before watching the Assemly as it provides crucial context for our discussion.

During this Assembly, we evaluated the different options to mitigate pension-driven IHT liabilities, including:


What can you expect to take away?

You’ll leave this Assembly with a clear understanding of how the new IHT rules will work in practice and with strategies you can implement immediately to help clients navigate this changing landscape. We hope to give you the confidence to tackle those difficult conversations about restructuring retirement plans that took years to build.

Fair warning: there’s so much ground to cover that we may run slightly over our usual 60 minutes. If we do, we’ll schedule a follow-up session to tackle any outstanding questions.

Whether you’re just starting out in paraplanning or looking to make your next move, having a clear career plan makes all the difference. But how do you actually build one that works?

That’s what this Assembly is all about: the practicalities of creating a plan for your career; an approach that you can use no matter what stage you’re at in your professional life.

Your career roadmap in just one lunch hour

Caroline Stuart, owner and founder of Sparrow Paraplanning, hosted the conversation which featured four brilliant guests: Ellie Welling paraplanning team leader at Succession Wealth, Joe Jacob, paraplanner at FLP, Peter Spence, advice and paraplanning team leader at Fintuity, and Sarah Purves, learning and development expert at Aegon.

Together, they explored a practical framework for career planning that goes beyond wishful thinking to create actionable next steps.

What can you expect when you watch and listen?

During this Assembly we:

What you will take away

You’ll leave with a practical framework that you can use immediately to plan your next career step – plus real-world insights from paraplanners who’ve successfully navigated their own career transitions at different stages.

Most importantly, you’ll have a clear action plan rather than just good intentions. So if you’ve been thinking about where you go next in your paraplanning career, this session is the perfect place to turn those ideas into practical actions.

A big ‘thank you’ to Aegon

This Assembly would not be possible without the generous support of Aegon. Thank you to the team at Aegon for supporting and for backing the development of paraplanners and paraplanning in the UK through their support of the Paraplanners’ Assembly.

Catch up on the series

This Assembly was the last in a four-part series that’s all about breaking into paraplanning and, once you have, developing as a paraplanner. You’ll find all the details you need by following these links:

You’ve established yourself as a paraplanner, but now you’re thinking: ‘What next?’

For many paraplanners, staying in paraplanning is exactly what they want to do. But what does career development look like within the profession? How have people built on their paraplanning skills and experience? And what about those considering a move into other areas like financial planning or specialising in research or operations?

This Assembly, recorded on 3 September explored some of the career routes within and from paraplanning.

Our host Caroline Stuart, owner and founder of Sparrow Paraplanning, is joined by Ellie Bailey, paraplanning team leader at Succession Wealth, Farida Hassanali, client manager at Paradigm Norton, Rebecca Tuck, operations director at FLP Financial Life Planning and Sian Greenhill, operations executive and centralised investment and product committee at Brooks Financial – all sharing their perspectives on career progression and specialisation.

Over the course of the Assembly, they discuss:

You’ll leave this Assembly with your head full of good ideas for potential career development and a bucket load of insights from people who’ve successfully made these transitions and you can claim one hour’s CPD.

Catch up on previous Assemblies in this series

This continues our series on paraplanning career development. Don’t miss our previous sessions exploring how to break into paraplanning and choosing the right place to work for your early paraplanning career.

Thanks to Aegon

This Assembly would not be possible without the generous support of Aegon. Thank you to the team at Aegon for supporting and for backing the development of paraplanners and paraplanning in the UK through their support of the Paraplanners’ Assembly.

Once upon a time, when taxes were relatively low, ISAs and unwrapped investments seemed like pretty obvious choices for clients’ money.

But the big cut in the capital gains tax allowance and rises in tax on gains and dividends has changed things. Tax wrappers that once seemed like more hassle than they were worth (like investment bonds) could now be the ideal vehicle – especially for higher rate taxpayers.

But which wrapper is right in which circumstances and why?

That’s the question that guest Neil Macleod from M&G’s technical team was invited to answer when he joined host, Leanne Pickering, for this Assembly.

What you’ll learn by listening

Over the course of one lunch hour, Leanne and Neil explored when bonds are more suitable, when offshore makes sense, and why the ‘best’ mathematical answer might not actually be the right choice for your client. In this Assembly you’ll:

You’ll discover that the right choice for your clients isn’t just about what the spreadsheet says but about the broader thinking

What’s more, once you’ve listened, follow the link below and you can request a record of 1 hour’s worth CPD too.

Are you an outsourced paraplanner?

Whether you’re the only employee of your paraplanning practice, or you lead a paraplanning powerhouse with employees and a hefty bank of clients, outsourced paraplanners share lots of things in common.

You just do.

But here’s the thing: despite the growing number of outsourced paraplanners in the UK these days, opportunities to get together to talk only about things that matter in the outsourced world, are surprisingly few and far between.

Switch off. Show up. Join in. 

So, if you’re an outsourced paraplanner, here’s our invitation: at 1pm on Wednesday 13 August 2025, set your notifications to ‘do not disturb’, click on the Zoom link in your event invitation and gather with other outsourced paraplanners across the UK for an hour of conversation, ideas and practical insights.

There’s nothing to prepare. Just come along ready to share your answer to one question: 

‘What’s on your mind today?’

Spaces are limited. To save a spot hit ‘Book Event’ and look out for the calendar invitation in your inbox.

Participants in The Big Day Out 2025 are pictured in a group photo in front of the FarmED farm education centre

Paraplanners from all over the country gathered on Thursday 9 October 2025 at FarmED in rolling Cotswold countryside – the last time the Big Day Out was being at the venue.

An introduction to AI for Paraplanners

Participants were welcomed by The Big Day Out hosts, Aleks Sasin and Chris Wormwell, before Harriet Meyer kicked the day off with An introduction to AI for paraplanners.

What were the big takeaway messages from the session?
Used properly, large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Gemini can be powerful tools to aid the writing process that sits at the heart of your role. From client communications to suitability reports, the quality of your written work directly impacts client outcomes and regulatory compliance.

In this highly interactive session, award-winning financial journalist and AI trainer Harriet, cut through the AI hype using hands-on exercises where participants could practice effective prompt design and see real examples of how AI can improve client communications, streamline report writing, and support documentation tasks.

Whether you had never used AI tools, experimented with basic applications, or were already incorporating AI into your workflow but want to improve your technique, Harriet’s session offered lots of opportunities to learn together with paraplanning peers.

Technical pick-and-mix sessions

Ahead of the Big Day Out, participants were invited to pick two hour-long technical and financial planning client scenario sessions (from a choice of four). The topics were:

IHT Planning: Foundation

This session focused on helping participants strengthen foundational understanding of inheritance tax planning, and offer a structured refresher on core principles.

Through an interactive scenario-based discussion, they worked through client situations and explored different approaches, understanding the practical application of IHT planning principles and the trade-offs involved in different strategies. We explored the essential framework of “spend it, gift it, or insure it” and how these principles apply in practice. Issues covered included residence nil rate bands, tapering rules, and gifting allowances, alongside practical solutions like life cover. Participants also touched on the importance of Wills and Powers of Attorney, and even some discussion of deed variations.

IHT Planning: Advanced

This session tackled more complex planning scenarios involving multiple strategies and significant assets. Participants considered the complexities of advanced planning strategies, examining real-world trade-offs and the practical challenges of implementing sophisticated solutions, including the order of gifting, trust planning, and business relief considerations. With pensions now in the IHT net from 2027, the session explored how pension planning intersects with inheritance tax strategy. The session also examined when and how to use different planning tools, and the consequences of getting the sequencing wrong.

Retirement Income Planning: Foundation

If you wanted to strengthen your understanding of retirement income options and, particularly, building confidence around annuity recommendations, this was the session for you. Participants gained a comprehensive grounding in the core retirement income options available to clients with the session covering the fundamentals of drawdown versus annuities, tax-free cash decisions, securing essential income, and how State Pension fits into the picture.

Retirement Income Planning: Advanced

If you are comfortable with retirement income products but wanted to enhance your skills in creating comprehensive, client-focused retirement strategies that meet FCA expectations, then this was the session for you.

Participants explored sophisticated techniques for capturing client requirements, categorising needs into essential, desired, and legacy funds, and creating robust cash flow models. Groups discussed tax wrapper strategies, sequencing risk, and how to build retirement plans that will withstand regulatory scrutiny while truly serving client needs.

Paraplanner share a meal at a wooden picnic benches outdoors in a rural setting. The tables are filled with food and drinks. Behind the diners, farmland stretches to the horizon. In the foreground, a stone wall adds rustic charm. Foliage frames the scene, including vivid orange berries.
Your career, your choice: Designing your professional future

Paraplanner Zara Okoro invited participants to explore what really drives you professionally, where your strengths lie, and how to turn sector changes into career opportunities. Using a framework, Zara asked the Assembly to break out into groups of four and work through a series of questions which participants could use as lenese to explore where they are in their career today, and what they want to do next.

Whether you were early in your career or well-established, this session worked for anyone ready to take ownership of their professional development.

The ideal session for heading home knowing where to focus your efforts and how your future career growth could benefit both you and your employer.

The Assembly

Led by Big Day Out hosts Aleks Sasin and Chris Wormwell, and observing the Chatham House Rule, this open session handed the floor over to participants. Whether you wanted to dig deeper into topics covered earlier, raise something completely new, or simply pick the brains of the experts and fellow paraplanners in the room – it was entirely up to participants.

paraplanners and we also welcome administrators, so if you are not one please don’t book a ticket. If you’re still really interested in coming along then get in touch with us at [email protected].