Financial Planning

Advice for aspiring financial planning professionals

18 February 2020

Money & Life team

Money & Life contributors draw on their diverse range of experience to present you with insights and guidance that will help you manage your financial wellbeing, achieve your lifestyle goals and plan for your financial future.

As the 2019 FPA Paraplanner of the Year Award winner, Lachlan Haigh believes in the importance of building your knowledge base.

It was a clean sweep in the FPA Paraplanner of the Year Award category for Brisbane-based planning practice, Tupicoffs, with three of its paraplanners making the short-list of finalists. And taking out the top spot for 2019 was Lachlan Haigh.

Lachlan’s motivation to nominate for the 2019 FPA Awards stems back to a plan he wrote for a client earlier in the year. The plan ultimately made such a positive and meaningful difference to his client’s life that Lachlan was keen to see how this plan stacked up against his peers.

“Tupicoffs managing director, Neil Kendall CFP® encouraged me to enter the awards and benchmark myself against other paraplanners, which I was eager to do,” Lachlan says.

And it was a decision that paid off for the 33-year-old, with the judges commenting that Lachlan’s Statement of Advice submission clearly showed excellence in paraplanning, including a clear demonstration of how his work and research made significant improvements to his client’s situation.

The judges also added that Lachlan’s supporting documents showed that his research was thorough and well documented, showing that he put a lot of time and effort into ensuring that he went above and beyond to achieve a great outcome for the client.

Career change

Lachlan doesn’t disguise the fact that winning the 2019 FPA Paraplanner of the Year Award means a lot to him, validating his decision to leave the family carpentry business to pursue a career in financial planning.

“I began my working career as a third-generation carpenter, working with my father. But in my late 20s, I made the massive decision to walk away from carpentry and attend university, where I studied accounting and financial planning,” he says.

“So, winning this prestigious award means that the decision I made to walk away from the family business and pursue a different career path has paid off. It’s reassuring to see I’m heading in the right direction with my career.”

<sub>Building a solid future

When Lachlan first started at Tupicoffs, he sat down with Neil Kendall CFP®, where a career path was clearly mapped out for him. And a key part of this was allowing Lachlan to experience working in all parts of the business, as part of improving his overall understanding of the financial planning process.

“I started off in client services and after two years, I went into a paraplanning role. I love that at Tupicoffs, I have a clear career path within the business, which was communicated to me from the beginning, and that I’m being involved in every aspect of the business, allowing me to learn from my colleagues and develop and build my skills in a supportive environment.”

Lachlan is particularly pleased he has spent time working as a paraplanner, believing that paraplanning is “essential” in the overall makeup of the financial planning advice process.

“Paraplanning is the foundation of any sound piece of advice. It’s an important part of the advice process,” he says.

That said, Lachlan still doesn’t believe the profession places enough emphasis on the importance of paraplanning.

“I think paraplanning is an emerging profession in its own right. I currently work with some terrific paraplanners who have decided to make paraplanning their career. They’re exceptional people to work with and learn from, they are very smart and are absolutely brilliant paraplanners.”

Build your knowledge base

So, what advice does he have for anybody aspiring to join the profession, and particularly, for those considering a career as a paraplanner?

“After graduating, try to eliminate the expectation that you will know the role, either planning or paraplanning, straight away. Wherever you end up, you will learn immensely from your peers, working with clients and working in a team, so make sure you take it all on board,” he says. “And take as many opportunities to learn from those around you as you can.”

Lachlan made the decision to start at the bottom of the ladder, which has enabled him to climb each rung, allowing him to learn all the different aspects that goes into the overall financial planning process.

“I knew I had to learn the basics before I could go any further. For me, it was understanding my ability and committing to continued learning, that allowed me to develop into my paraplanning role.

“In order to become a true professional – whether that’s as a financial planner or paraplanner – you need to build your knowledge base, commit to ongoing learning, and be passionate about your clients and your work. I believe that’s the best advice I can give that will take you a long way in this profession.”

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Name:Lachlan Haigh

Age: 33

Educational qualifications: BCom (Financial Planning and Accounting)

Position: Paraplanner

Practice: Tupicoffs

Licensee: Tupicoffs

Years as a paraplanner: 14 months

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Congratulations

The FPA congratulates the runner-ups of the FPA Paraplanner of the Year Award:

  • Andrew Mann CFP – Tupicoffs (Qld)
  • Julian Stephenson – Tupicoffs (Qld)

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