UK investment and retirement platform business Embark Group is launching The Paraplanner Room, a dedicated resource hub offering information and tools for paraplanners to better serve their businesses.
The resource was built in response to Embark’s Paraplanner Survey which revealed that the majority of paraplanners (85%) saw paraplanning as a career in its own right, with three quarters stating that their firm sees them as essential support for advisers.
The Paraplanner Room has a range of resources to assist paraplanners. The first edition covers how paraplanners will be vital to helping their firms deal with the demands of the incoming Consumer Duty, as well as covering the results of the survey into what paraplanners think about their role today.
The hub will also have the ‘tool box’ which provides paraplanners with instruments to assist in day-to-day tasks, such as the fees calculator that allows paraplanners to easily break down the fees charged on both an initial and ongoing basis on Sipps offered by Embark.
Ranila Ravi-Burslem, group intermediary distribution director at Embark, said: “We wanted paraplanners to be able to have access to resources helpful to serving their business needs just as financial advisers do with Embark’s adviser gateway. We are excited to introduce this in the form of The Paraplanner Room, for a vital and often overlooked part of our industry.
“Our aim is that The Paraplanner Room will help to further support paraplanners and address some of the concerns highlighted in our previous paraplanner survey. We look forward to continue developing this resource further to provide a much needed service for the paraplanners and the wider sector.”
In 2021, Lloyds Banking Group acquired Embark Group for £390m ($475m, €442m) to “address the attractive mass market and self-directed wealth segment”.