›

Mortgage qualifications useful for Paraplanners?

PaulKPaulK Member
in New to paraplanning

Hi All, I'm using the current downtime to study for the CII Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning with the hope of making a career change into Paraplanning. I've seen the Mortgage qualification CF6 and the Equity Release module ER1 and am wondering whether to study these too, are they considered good for a career in Paraplanning? Many thanks, Paul.

Share on Google+

Comments

  • CaroCaro Member

    Hi Paul

    Welcome to the Powwow and welcome to paraplanning! I would say that any study and exam you take will be useful to you and help broaden your knowledge. Some planning firms will do mortgages, some are involved with equity release so it certainly wouldn't harm to have them in your arsenal, so to speak.

    It will depend on where you are on your journey too. There may be exams to do before those two that may be of more use initially. The PFS Paraplanner Pane put a booklet together to help new paraplanners on their journey - page 13 of this covers starting qualifications and future study options, which may be of use.

    https://www.thepfs.org/media/10122021/getting-you-started-in-paraplanning.pdf

    Happy to have a natter if you like! :)

    Share on Google+
  • PaulKPaulK Member

    Hi Caro, many thanks for this :) . I've completed studying for R01 and R03, and was planning to take the exams this month, but the earliest is now June on the CII site. R06 is showing October, so I'm thinking I will have some spare time and could fill it with the Mortgage exams. I'm looking to career change into Paraplanning, but I suspect the challenge will be securing that first role. I'm fortunate in that I don't need the same income as I had in my previous career, so considering all options even such as offering a day or 2 a week free just to get some experience, but don't know if that would be practical or not, would welcome any views you may have, thanks!

    Share on Google+
  • benjaminfabibenjaminfabi Moderator

    Hi Paul,

    My personal opinion is that you're better off doubling up into an exam like J10 and/or J12 as part of your work with R02. These will have more practical value in most paraplanning settings and if you decide to move into advising in the future.

    Similarly, doing J05 with R04 is a much better practical use of your time. You'll be doing much more pension income planning than mortgage work.

    That said, if you haven't' done the exams you've studied for there is a danger of information overload with any new subject.

    Therefore, other things you can do:

    • Learn MS Word and Excel - have a search around this forum for 'cost comparisons' and 'mifid charges' and you'll find several downloadable spreadsheets that give a flavour of the sort of maths we're using day to day.
    • Have a look at some of the provider technical sites, Prudential is good, to get tax knowledge articles from a different writing style to the CII text.
    • Watch some online howwows from the back catalogue on the powwow main site. Great ones on Investment Bonds, platforms, regulation.
    • have a look at the standard regulatory documents that all providers/fund managers have to issue, such as key features documents, key investor documents, key investor information documents. You'll use these to get information for reports and analysis in your day job.

    Essentially, try and hack some skills that you'd get from on the job experience that will really help you in an interview.

    Final point, get on Twitter and start following paraplanners, financial planners, advisers, product providers and related consultancy service providers. You'll get really good feel for what the issues are, with lots of links to quality resources.

    Good luck

    Benjamin Fabi 
    Share on Google+
  • Andy_SchleiderAndy_Schleider Member

    I have the mortgage qualification and I used that for when I was an adviser. When I was an in-house paraplanner I had to deal with mortgages. It was arguably the least favourite part of my role, to the extent that I have chosen not to deal with mortgages at all as an outsourced paraplanner.

    I may be biased against them; my view is they are a lot of work for not a lot of reward, and if it falls out of bed with a lender, it's back to square 1. Researching a suitable (or alternative) lender can be very time consuming, and if you're on an hourly rate (as I would be for this type of work due to the variability of time they can take) it could easily cost more than the adviser would receive in proc fees.

    I would never dissuade anyone from taking exams, however @benjaminfabi has some great advice - I doubled up on J05 and AF7, but it would work just as well with R04. Definitely double up where you can, and you could consider some of the other AF exams and double them up with the equivalent J or R where possible.

    I would prioritise these above the mortgage exams, unless you're planning on working predominantly with mortgages in the future.

    Share on Google+
  • PaulKPaulK Member

    Thanks for the replies guys, some really useful suggestions here. Interestingly I did look at the AF equivalent of the R03 text on Redmill, and it didn't seem a lot different to the R03, though I'm sure the exam questions go into more detail. Definitely food for thought though. Cheers, Paul..

    Share on Google+
Sign In or Register to comment.