Brian Radbone, Technical Counsel at Transact, joins Richard to unpack the post-lifetime allowance (LTA) world and its consequences for paraplanners.
In a bite-sized Assembly lasting less than eight minutes, Brian explores transition certificates, new lump sum allowances, and why timing is everything when it comes to crystallising benefits. Plus he discusses the importance of understanding provider restrictions.
If you’re in the market for a post-LTA primer but are pushed for time, this Assembly is ideal.
Canaccord Genuity’s chief investment officer, Tom Becket, joins Richard Allum for a primer on fixed interest investments that is ideal for paraplanners wherever you are in your career.
During a 20-minute conversation, Tom explains the basics of bonds and gilts, how interest rates affect their values, and how the recent spikes in interest rates have affected returns and revived annuities – putting an end to years of fixed interest investments’ appearing to be ‘uninvestable’.
The likelihood of lower inflation combined with potential interest rate cuts is positive for fixed interest markets.
But Tom is keen to stress that all bonds aren’t created equal and he offers his thoughts on where – depending on the risk appetite of your clients – opportunities might lie across a spectrum of fixed interest investments, from government debt to high-yield credit.
For paraplanners looking to get a handle on this significant but possibly misunderstood asset class, this bite-sized Assembly offers valuable insights to help navigate the fixed interest landscape.
In a special bite-sized Assembly, Transact’s Stuart Fleat explains how model portfolio services offered by discretionary investment managers are able to accessed on platforms like Transact.
In less than six minutes, Stuart explains how platforms and MPS providers are able to handle access to client accounts and data securely and confidentially, how portfolio rebalancing works in practice, practical considerations around capital gains tax, and how clients are invested into the model portfolios.
Paraplanners from all over the country gathered for the Paraplanners’ Assembly’s Big Day Out 2024 on 12 September 2024.
From its first meeting in 2013, the Paraplanners’ Assembly’s annual gathering has created space for sparking collaboration and conversation among paraplanners that is unlike any other event in the world of wealth management.
Why?
The Big Day Out is an informal gathering that offers six hours’ worth of CPD thanks to its combination of tailor-made interactive sessions led by hand-picked experts (and designed especially for the event), and group discussions facilitated by paraplanner hosts.
It makes for a supportive and encouraging space in which you can listen and learn, and share ideas, knowledge and insights. And it’s a unique environment in which you can really focus and flourish – both professionally and personally.
You’ll feel you belong at The Big Day Out because The Big Day Out belongs to you. Here’s what happened at The Big Day Out 2024.
Welcome!
Assembled paraplanners joined us in the conference barn for a welcome from Big Day Out hosts, Sam Tonks and Chris Wormwell.
Then we got straight into…
Hone it. Own it: One hour to perfect your development plan
New for this year, and designed especially for the Paraplanners’ Assembly, we open and closed the day with two really interactive sessions led by Arch Inspire’s Rachael Hurdman.
What were they all about? How to create an actionable and practical plan to achieve your personal and professional development goals.
But this wasn’t some dry run-of-the-mill classroom-type session because IT WAS A BIG DAY OUT! So Rachael shared practical tools, techniques and insights that (1) participants could try out throughout the sessions at your Big Day Out and (2) will last participants (and people back at the office they shared them with) for years.
Crop Rotations
Following the opening session, the Assembly split into three groups (called Crop Rotations) to tackle three topics over three 45-minute sessions.
ROTATION A
Quiz the experts
Our technical sessions are a perennial favourite among paraplanners.
After all, it could be the one chance you get this year to fire any question you can possibly think of at experts who – we’re pretty certain – will be able to answer them. (As long as it’s a technical paraplanning question and not e.g. ‘Yes, but what’s the universe expanding into?’)
This year is no exception. Your stellar quartet of experts includes:
– Les Cameron of M&G Wealth
– Gareth Davies of Scottish Widows
– Natalie Howard of Canaccord Genuity
– Brian Radbone of Transact
So begin collecting your questions today and you’ll be all set to quiz the experts on the day.
ROTATION B
Productivity tips you live by. Apps and tools you can’t live without.
Because the Big Day Out attracts paraplanners from companies large and small, and from in-house and outsourced teams, we know that the ability to influence things such as report content and formats, and choice of software and tech tools varies widely among participants.
But one thing that won’t vary widely is the way we go about getting our own stuff done.
So that’s what this session is all about: what’s the secret to your day-to-day personal productivity? What are the tips or techniques that help you get things done? And what tools, apps or websites do you keep coming back to?
Whether you’re the world’s leading expert on the application of the Pomodoro method, Eisenhower matrix and tried all the task management apps – or are thinking ‘Pomodoro what?’, this will be a fantastic chance to discover how and why other paraplanners do what they do, the way they do.
ROTATION C
You, clients and the future of advice technology.
You already know how influential technology is in day-to-day paraplanning. But what does the future of work look like for paraplanners with the arrival of AI? In this crop rotation – designed especially for the Big Day Out – NextWealth founder and managing director, Heather Hopkins, will lead a conversation that’s all about how technology is changing advice, what innovations are coming down the line, and how they’re likely to influence the practice of paraplanning.
This is a fantastic opportunity for you and your paraplanning peers to share what you think and feel about the future – and technology’s role in it.
From due diligence to data, and research to report writing, this is a unique chance to explore how emerging technologies will influence paraplanning facilitated by one of the most influential figures in UK advicetech today
Lunch
Locally sourced and freshly prepared, we tucked into pulled pork or vegetarian chilli (or both!) along with loads of healthy salads and slaws that were grown on the farm.
Hone it. Own it: Part Two
Rachael Hurdman returned and, in this closing session, invited participants to take a couple of practical steps that will enable you to gather the loose ends of your personal action plan. It was another really interactive session where you could try out your new tools, and round off your development plan – and Big Day Out – perfectly.
And finally…
The Paraplanners’ Assembly
It was time for the session after which the Assembly is named. Just like at our first gathering in 2013, Sam and Chris will opened up the floor for you to share anything that’s on your mind.
Rebalancing portfolios is a familiar task for paraplanners. Periodically – often after a client’s annual review – we make sure that fund allocations are tweaked so they’re true to original investment goals.
But how does rebalancing work from a platform’s point of view?
During this second episode in a three-part series on life behind the scenes at platforms, Transact’s national sales manager, Stuart Fleat, walks you through the rebalancing process.
In just four minutes, Stuart explains how a platform calculates and processes sells and buys, how long it takes and how to check tax impacts upfront.
Listen now
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Missed out on the first episode?
Catch up now with the first episode in this bite-sized Assembly series.
Part 1: A bite-sized Assembly on what happens when you place a trade on a platform. In just 5 minutes and 23 seconds, Transact’s Glen Sweet lifts the lid on what happens behind the scenes at a platform.
Is advicetech getting any better at helping advice professionals deliver a great advice experience to clients? Or are we destined for a future in which we struggle to get platforms, services and software to work the way we really want?
That’s what platforms, pensions and investments consultancy, the lang cat, wondered. That’s why they spoke to paraplanners, advisers and administrators for their latest report – A Fragmented World – published late last month.
The report combines findings from in-depth interviews with nearly 40 financial planning firms with responses to a comprehensive online survey completed by scores of financial advice professionals.
But will the lang cat’s findings chime with your own day-to-day experience of advicetech?
To find out, watch the replay of this online Assembly where the lang cat’s insight director, Steve Nelson, shares what they learned – and what it means for paraplanners and your use of advicetech in future.
From now on, there’s no need to visit Crowdcast to save your spot at an online Assembly. Just tap ‘Book event’ and follow the step-by-step instructions.
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For the first time in three years paraplanners from all over the country were able to gather for real for the Paraplanners Assembly’s Big Day Out at FarmED near Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire on 15 September 2022.
Learning objectives
We opted for a blend of small group sessions – which we called Crop Rotations – and all-together sessions.
Crop rotations: Morning
For the pre-lunch sessions, we split the Assembly into three groups: Barley, Oats and Wheat.
Participants were assigned to a group and each group rotated around the three topic sessions. Conversations in each topic session were facilitated by hosts and experts. Each session lasted for 45 minutes. The topic session for rotations 1, 2 and 3 were:
What will consumer duty mean to you?
Experts: the lang cat’s Mike Barrett and Mel Holman from CATS.
The art of challenging conversations
Expert: Becca Timmins from Time to Think and Emery Little led a session on challenging conversations.
Pep up your paraplanning processes
Experts: LIFT Financial’s Jonny Stubbs and Chris Baigent-Reed from Jigsaw Tree.
After lunch, participants were assigned to a NEW group: Apples, Cherries, Pears or Plums.
That’s because we combined two groups for the session on report writing but – by the miracle of organisation – ensured each group gets a technical Q&A all to itself. So the topics for rotations 4 and 5 were:
Technical Q&A
Panellists: Les Cameron and Neil MacLeod from M&G Wealth, and Transact’s Brian Radbone and Barnett Waddingham’s James Jones-Tinsley.
Three things that get in the way of clear, compliant and client-friendly report writing
Experts: Melissa Kidd of Motem with Mel Holman from CATS.
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A second exploration of FE and what paraplanners can do with it.
Learning objectives
In this session we covered…
- FE’s calculators on ex-ante charges and RIY
- Account admin and archiving Bespoke report builder
- Saving a favourite list of indices and to top it all off, charts, charts, and for the fun of it, more charts
We held a Powwow in the sunniest city in Scotland on the 18th of April and welcomed paraplanners from those far flung places such as Edinburgh and Inverness, as well as gathering up a gang of locals in Henderson Loggie’s offices. The event was hosted by Colin Stewart and Susan Pringle.
Interestingly, the most notable comment was that we didn’t know there were so many of us!
We decided to split the group into two tribes to attempt to cover as many subjects as we could in the time available. Not unsurprisingly, the most requested topics included Report Writing and Risk Profiling/Capacity for Loss.
A number of attendees said they either use report writing software or are considering it. Some offered good feedback of threesixty’s new templates which are more concise and client focussed. Some firms will break their reports down into ‘strategy’ reports, where the broad financial plan is presented and these are supplemented by more focused ‘implementation’ suitability reports.
All firms used risk profiling tools, the most common being Distribution Technology. In the main, this is because many investment managers map the risk of multi-asset funds to DT’s outputs. All agreed that a risk questionnaire and results are just the starting point for a discussion about risk. We discussed the difference between risk tolerance vs capacity for loss and a few firms use cash flow forecasts to assess capacity for loss.
Both groups were interested in the options available across the region to assist with exams and keeping up to date with industry changes. Indeed, post the Powwow, several paraplanners signed up for the PFS Purely Paraplanning Conference in Glasgow on the 4th of May. The use of Twitter and the Professional Paraplanner magazine were highlighted as being good sources of information, especially with CPD being available. Several providers were also pointed out as having paraplanning specific sites, including our supporters. The Powwow Big Tent allows users to post questions to be answered by other paraplanners and came highly recommended.
With regards to exams and techniques, many felt that that the text books were not enough in isolation and each used additional resources such as Wizard Learning, Redmill Advance and Brand Financial Training, with some having engaged with Expert Pensions to provide structured plans for AF exams. Old Mutual have also offered classroom courses. Unfortunately, it’s been very much a case of finding out what’s available through word of mouth.
We also touched on what a good review process involved. We all agreed that reflecting back on the client’s original objectives was paramount, and that having a process in place to ensure these were handled correctly was vital. There was a mix across the group of how involved paraplanners were with regards to attending client meetings. It was agreed that as most are employed in small IFA firms, time constraints mean that it isn’t always feasible to attend a client meeting.
Finally, we discussed the benefits or otherwise of paraplanners holding CF30. A few attendees have CF30, primarily for ‘locum’ reasons – the client would still be able to get advice from the firm in the adviser’s absence. Some argued that CF30 makes you a better paraplanner as you develop empathy with the clients through the advice process.
Edinburgh and Glasgow will be up next.