Why Wealth Management Firms Are Losing Top Paraplanners to Adviser Roles

Paraplanners are some of the most sought-after professionals in wealth management today. Their expertise in research, report writing, compliance, and technical analysis is invaluable to financial advisers and firms.

Yet despite their importance, many firms struggle to retain them.

Too often, paraplanners progress into adviser roles because they don’t see a future in their current position. If firms don’t provide clear career progression within paraplanning itself, they risk losing top talent to roles that could have been avoided with the right engagement strategy.

The Demand for Paraplanners Has Never Been Higher

The shortage of experienced, diploma-qualified paraplanners is one of the biggest hiring challenges in wealth management right now.

• As paraplanners move into advisory positions, firms are left struggling to fill critical gaps in their teams.

• Employers are recognising that paraplanning isn’t just a stepping-stone to becoming an adviser - it’s a specialist career in its own right.

• The challenge is that many paraplanners feel they have no choice but to progress into advice due to a lack of alternative career paths.

Some professionals genuinely aspire to become advisers. But for many, the decision is driven by stagnation, not ambition.

Limited Progression Leads to Turnover

Paraplanning is often viewed as a linear career path - one that starts in administration and ends in financial advice. But this outdated view doesn’t account for those who would prefer to develop and grow within paraplanning itself.

The reality is that many paraplanners would stay in their roles if they had access to career progression that wasn’t just a transition to advice.

Firms that fail to offer meaningful growth opportunities risk losing their best paraplanners, creating a cycle where:

• Experienced paraplanners move on to adviser roles.

• Firms rush to replace them with less experienced candidates.

• New paraplanners receive minimal investment because they are assumed to be temporary.

• The cycle repeats, leaving firms unable to build a stable, experienced paraplanning function.

How Firms Can Retain Their Best Paraplanners

If you have a great paraplanner, you need to be proactive in giving them a reason to stay.

Here’s how firms can create meaningful career paths for paraplanners beyond adviser progression:

1. Provide Leadership & Management Responsibilities

Many paraplanners are natural problem-solvers and critical thinkers. Allowing them to lead a paraplanning team, mentor junior colleagues, or manage projects adds variety to their role and helps them develop leadership skills.

2. Offer Specialised Career Paths

Paraplanners don’t have to move into advice to progress. Firms should create structured pathways in areas like:

• Compliance and risk strategy

• Training and development

• Technical research and investment analysis

• Report writing leadership

By giving more roles and specialisms available to paraplanners, firms can boost long-term commitment.

3. Make Salary Progression Clear & Competitive

One of the biggest reasons paraplanners leave is pay stagnation. If salary increases are tied only to becoming an adviser, firms are effectively pushing their best paraplanners into leaving.

Decide salaries against the wider market and ensure that paraplanners are recognised financially for their expertise.

4. Recognise Paraplanners as Specialists, Not Support Staff

Too often, paraplanners are viewed as back-office support rather than key professionals in their own right.

Firms should actively promote their value, involve them in meetings, and ensure they feel integral to the advice process.

The demand for paraplanners isn’t slowing down—but unless firms take action, the supply will continue to dwindle as more professionals move into advice roles.

By offering meaningful career progression, better salaries, and leadership opportunities, wealth management firms can retain their best paraplanners and build stronger, more stable teams.

If your firm isn’t thinking about paraplanner retention, now is the time to start.

- Written by Dan Butler

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