Speaking to FT Adviser, she said paraplanners have weak professional identity due to limited exposure and therefore consideration.
She said if you search for the words ‘paraplanners’ or ‘paraplanning’ on LinkedIn, there are hardly any thought pieces and discussions on the occupation. This is in sharp contrast to the words ‘financial planning’ or ‘financial planners’.
The 25-year-old said: “It’s time for paraplanners to shed our weak professional identity and step confidently into the spotlight. By embracing our expertise and being more visible in the industry, paraplanners can demonstrate the immense value we bring, moving beyond the shadows to become recognised thought leaders in our own right.”
She added that when paraplanners conduct their research and visit provider websites, they are given a selection of job descriptions to choose from before they can access the website. This normally includes 'Client', 'Investment Professional' or 'Financial Adviser', but not 'Paraplanner'.
She added: “If paraplanners were recognised, we might see that question framed in a similar way to the investment professional option, such as ‘I am a financial advice professional’ or ‘I am an advice professional’.
"The most likely reason this is the case is that they don’t know what paraplanners do. This creates a brilliant opportunity to build the reputation of paraplanners and shape our professional identity.”
Okoro added that it is important that paraplanners speak up instead of being represented by financial planners.
She said, “When you read articles on financial planning topics, you rarely, if ever, come across articles that cite both financial planners and paraplanners. Instead, you get financial planners representing both professions.
"This is clear when you look at how they talk about the research they do, which masks the fact that the research is mostly conducted by paraplanners. Paraplanners need to put themselves out there because, at the moment, financial planners are speaking for us.”
Okoro, who has seven years of experience in Financial Services and is a member of the PFS Paraplanning Panel, believes this creates a huge opportunity for paraplanners to create more self-published content and share their expertise.
She said: “The UK has a prolific financial services sector, and that sector needs pragmatic voices. Paraplanners could be one of those voices, and they should be the pragmatic voice of the financial planning profession and industry.
"While financial planners are the strategic and client-focused voice, paraplanners are the technical, pragmatic voice, but that is not currently being heard to the degree it could be.
“Paraplanners love to talk amongst themselves about these thought-piece topics, and the conversations are engaging but not published, so my question is: why not? If we know it's something we're all interested in, it gets us thinking and engages our pragmatic minds, why not share that conversation with the wider community?”
Okoro added that creating relatable memes and short content about the paraplanner role and the issues they face would build a stronger sense of community and encourage more people into the industry.
She said: “Personally, I've found myself having a lot of discussions with budding paraplanners and people that want to move into paraplanning. Oftentimes, they're daunted by the idea. Yes, paraplanners are technically minded and pragmatic, but it doesn't need to be intimidating."
"The most successful paraplanners have processes and systems that break down the complex elements of what we do, so we could and probably should share that knowledge to support the development of the community and remove the intimidating complexity of what we do for new and budding paraplanners.”
Aamina Zafar is a freelance financial journalist.