Kaplan Professional has announced a dedicated paraplanning course this week which the industry education provider said is suitable for new and existing paraplanners “and those seeking a pathway into the financial advice industry”.
The online advanced diploma of paraplanning course is structured into four subjects — financial planning fundamentals, research, analysis and product recommendations, implement and assess the financial plan, and develop complex (multi-strategy) advice — and provides the knowledge and skill in preparing financial plans for retail clients across life insurance, managed investments and superannuation.
Kaplan Professional CEO Brian Knight said the course was developed after “extensive” feedback from corporate clients and industry professionals and that licensees and financial advisers have wanted to see a dedicated program to address the needs of the modern paraplanner.
“We hope the course will be of significant benefit to the industry because it enables individuals to develop in-depth knowledge and technical skills, as well as the ability to support financial planning practices in developing and maintaining compliant back-office procedures,” Mr Knight said.
“The industry is focused on supplementing its talent pool over the coming years, so this course will provide an accessible and suitable pathway for those who want to enter the industry and eventually become a financial adviser.
“The course also provides a pathway into higher education qualifications such as Kaplan Professional’s postgraduate financial planning courses and Kaplan Business School’s undergraduate courses.”
Enrolments are open now and individuals can start the course at any time.
The new course comes after financial adviser and founder of digital solution Scientiam, Nigel Baker, called on the industry to directly address the issue of attracting new talent on a recent episode of the ifa Show podcast.
Mr Baker said the businesses he speaks with are “flat out” but that the real challenge is attracting new talent and advisers into the sector.
“We’ve got this real gap of people who just haven’t been in the industry and fair enough. For the last 10 years, why would you join an industry that’s been bashed around?” Mr Baker said.
“You’ve got graduates coming out of uni going: ‘I don’t want to be a financial planner. That doesn’t sound much fun.’ Then the regulations are really quite tight in terms of bringing graduates into the system. They’ve brought in all the new educational requirements, but it’s almost too specific. It needs to be a little bit broader… anyone I believe who’s got a [bachelor of commerce]… or they’ve had their three or four years at uni, we should be encouraging them to come into the industry.”
Listen to the full episode with Mr Baker here.
What the industry need is a packaged course for people who just want to provide general advice. It has to cover, all the recent compliance obligations(e.g DDO, Anti hawking etc) a information on broad range of classes of product competencies that the old DFP covered, minus SOA-related content as it is irrelevant.
So essentially, it should have doses of regulatory obligation based on the corp act, Sis Act, as well privacy laws. It should also include some basic information on contract law, and common law obligations including fiduciary duty. And to package it up, it should have content related to ethics, and soft skills, e.g. how to build empathy, how to win customer trust, how can you assist a customer get the most out of what you offer, but minimise the downside risk Who is the first provider to crack this. I have looked around in the market, and it looks like all the providers are just sitting tight with individual subjects which are neither here, nor there. First provider is likely to win sizeable business,
What is the point of doing this tailored and most likely practical & highly relevant course? Just go out and do a Graduate Diploma and be done with it.
Is this at AQF level 9?, because FASEA showed us doing these courses, CPD, courses put on by the private sector or AQF level 8 by Uni’s to be worthless..Aged Care course, SMSF specialist courses….all worthless. FASEA clearly told us that If it’s not offered at AQF level 9 via a University (preferably Griffith Uni) that it’s not worth doing. Why spend the money.
Just hope there enough advisers left to assist them with their professional year once they have qualified as paraplanners and then advisers (by study).