The Globe and Mail
Helen Burnett-Nichols
Published April 22, 2021
Pra-chid/iStockPhoto / Getty Images
The increasing focus on holistic financial advice and financial planning in Canada’s financial services industry may lead to increasing demand for paraplanners – especially among those who bring an advanced skill set to the table.
Paraplanning often involves the non-client-facing, data-driven aspects of a financial plan. According to Jason Heath, managing director and an advice- and fee-only certified financial planner at Objective Financial Partners Inc. in Markham, Ont., paraplanning services range from providing more administrative tasks to the development of complex financial plans.
It’s also an established service in the advisory space in places like Britain and the U.S. For example, a survey that Canada Life U.K. Ltd. conducted in 2018 found that almost half (49 per cent) of financial advisory firms in Britain employed at least one paraplanner; at that time, an additional 30 per cent were expecting to employ a paraplanner or paraplanning service in the near future.