Paraplanner

About the position

Our client is a firm of Independent Financial Advisors, based in Southern Suburbs CT. They are looking for a Paraplanner and offering the opportunity to grow client interactions and put theory into practice. The Paraplanner will be responsible for supporting the financial planning practice and the practice’s Financial Planners with their servicing of existing client relationships, securing new client relationships and managing their individual financial planning practices.
Key Responsibilities:

• Adhering to Practice Notes and other internal policies/processes that are regularly introduced to the practice.
• Assisting Clients with risk profiling via, inter alia, FinaMetrica.
• Discussing client needs and objectives with the Planners.
• Analysing, assessing and interpreting client information regarding their goals, priorities, needs and affordability.
• Conducting and reviewing Financial Needs Analyses.
• Identifying Financial Planning needs based on data collected from the Clients. Establishing shortfalls or cash flow forecasts in conjunction with priorities and affordability.
• Undertaking research, both independently and with the Planners, to identify suitable solutions to meet the Clients’ needs.
• Compiling comparisons between various solution providers based on the comprehensiveness of benefits, costs, suitability and risk exposure to market sectors.
• Considering current and future allocation of capital for investment strategies about the Clients’ current and potential future financial position.
• Proposing investment strategies based on the client’s financial position, risk profile and needs for the Planner’s consideration.
• Requesting costs, values, return data for transfers and similar information from service providers as and when required.
• Obtaining client portfolio information via Astute and preparing Portfolio Schedules.
• Preparing draft proposals to be considered by the Planners.
• Populating compliance-related and/or application forms.
• Adhering to all replacement product procedures.
• Communicating and liaising with Service Providers via email, telephone and occasionally in person when they attend the company's offices.
• Communicating with Clients and providing clients with the information where appropriate via email, telephone and occasionally in person when they attend the company's offices.
• Arranging for the timely signature of documents by a Planner which may include the use of digital e-signing applications (QuicklySign) or similar and following up with both Advisors and Clients in this regard.
• Generating, preparing and refining investment and/or risk-benefit proposals for Clients, for consideration by the Planners.
• Generating, preparing and refining investment and/or risk-benefit Records of Advice, for consideration by the Planners.
• Preparing Annual Portfolio Statements (annual reviews) and similar, for the financial Advisors to send to their clients.
• Generating, preparing and refining more detailed progress reports for Clients, for consideration by the Planners.
• Recording and producing Minutes of meetings.
• Maintaining a positive rapport between clients and the company.
• Assisting the Planners with managing their practices.
• Record keeping and generating reports for the practice (Assets Under Management etc.)
• Monitoring and recording CPD activities for the Planners.
• Creating shared infographics and/or standard documentation that can be used across all Planners within the office.
• The Paraplanner may, from time to time, be additionally responsible for administrative tasks that the office Support Staff may normally expect to perform concerning a Financial Advisory Practice

Qualifications, Experience and Skills:

• BCom or similar
• Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Planning preferred (or on the path to completing)
• Good listener
• Curious and desire to learn
• Have a client-centric approach. Polite and friendly in all client dealings.
• Happy to be in a primarily administration-centric role for at least 3-5 years whilst acquiring appropriate experience and skills
• Comfortable with some exposure to face-to-face and telephonic client meetings and interactions.
• Able to withstand constructive criticism and take direction and training from existing staff and Financial Planners
• Enjoy working in a structured and process-driven environment.
• Enjoy working in a methodical and organized way with great attention to detail.
• Enjoy working in a team-based environment where there is a sharing of ideas and be able to get on with the team without drama.
• Be a good written and oral communicator in English (other languages will be a plus).
• Have a strong sense of morals, ethics and service.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to perform a Financial Needs Analysis
• Be numerically literate and comfortable working with spreadsheets and calculations.

Desired Skills:

• Paraplanner
• Client Interaction
• Administration