Billingham: Paraplanners must interact with clients

Paraplanners must have some sort of client-facing role within a successful advisory business, according to Phil Billingham.

Speaking at the Institute of Financial Planning's (IFP) Paraplanner Conference, Billingham, who is strategy consultant at threesixty, highlighted the importance of paraplanners in financial planning.

However, with many never directly interacting with clients, he urged paraplanners to take some responsibilities away from financial planners and advisers.

He said: "You can't get efficiency if everything is down to the financial planner. If it's all down to the planner, then it is not a business but a lifestyle.

"Pry tasks away from the planner and ask them: ‘Why are you doing that?'."

He gave the example of a client losing a platform password and contacting the adviser directly for help as they have been their only point of contact at the firm.

"You are part of the process, so why shouldn't clients get letters from you, introducing you," he added.

"Why haven't you got business cards? Your either part of the process or not. If your not part of the process, there's less value in the business.

"Set up a flowchart and agree what happens when you take on a client."

Research conducted by the IFP in advance of the conference found significant differences within the industry about the number of financial planners per paraplanner.

Although 30% of the 65 paraplanners surveyed work with just one adviser or financial planner, 26% work with five or more.

Meanwhile, 36% work in firms which employ between one and five people, with 30% in businesses with over 26 employees.