PARAPLANNING
A relatively new position within the financial planning industry that involves the performance of the administrative duties of a financial planner. This function was created to allow financial planners to focus on the sell-side by working more closely with customers to identify their investing needs.Paraplanners do most of the grunt work (preparing plans and reports) for financial planners. Some large firms have developed new departments for paraplanners within their organizations, however, the cost of hiring paraplanners is extremely high, and as a result, this option may be unavailable to some smaller companies. This has led to the development of outsourcing companies who provide paraplanning services to companies upon request.
Working as a paraplanner is being utilized also by recent graduates to get a foot in the financial planning industry's door, where they can gain experience and move up to a financial planner themselves later.