Paraplanners' Assembly

It’s no secret that top slicing relief offers a powerful method of reducing tax liability by spreading bond gains across each year of the lifetime of the bond. But no matter how experienced a paraplanner you may be, working out the best way to make use of the relief, and getting the top slicing calculations right, can be tricky.That’s why we think this case study investigation (CSI) on top slicing will be right up your street.In this 45-minute special on top slicing, Utmost International’s technical sales manager, Steve Sayer, joins The Paraplanners’ Richard Allum, to pick his way through a case study featuring fictional client, David. Designed to give you the chance to consider the financial planning opportunities from all sorts of angles, this CSI will help you:understand how top slicing relief works and when it can be applied;calculate top slicing relief as accurately and tax efficiently as you can;work out strategies to assign bond segments to spouses or beneficiaries to reduce tax liabilities;understand how pension contributions can be used to save tax and maximise relief; andnavigate how bond gains, personal allowances, and other sources of income work togetherWhether you’re new to top slicing relief or are a seasoned pro, it never hurts to top up your knowledge and know how – especially when it can make such a big difference to a client’s financial plan.Useful linksDownload the slides referred to in this case study investigation. Just listen out for the bell to follow along.Slides: Case Study Investigation - more top slicing relief (opens PDF)CPD: take the quiz and receive a certificate by emailUtmost x Paraplanners' Assembly: all our previous deep divesUtmost Technical Academy webinar series

A bit of extra time with Les Cameron following his online Assembly on the post-LTA allowances regime. We ran out of time for Les to deal with a large number of questions in the chat at the main Assembly session, so Richard and Les met up later to address the questions instead.To watch the online Assembly session visit https://www.crowdcast.io/c/beeglny38q63You can listen to the podcast episode featuring Les's guide to the new allowances landscape here

In a world where even HMRC doesn’t seem too sure what the score is, how can paraplanners get to grips with the new allowances landscape so clients know what they need to know right now?Well you could tune into this recording of our Assembly with Les Cameron on 24 April 2024 for starters.Because M&G Wealth’s head of technical took us on a guided tour of the new allowances regime following the abolition of the lifetime allowance (LTA).During this lunch-hour event, hosted by Richard Allum of The Paraplanners, Les explored what has changed, what matters, and what it all means for you and your clients.Useful linksHere are useful links and downloads from this event. M&G Wealth have created a dedicated page for this event where you can take a quiz to receive a record for your CPD. Just follow the link to grab your certificate.Les Cameron's guide to the new allowances landscape at M&G WealthLes refers to slides throughout this Assembly which you can download here:Slidedeck: Quite simply - the new pension allowancesFinally, Les mentioned M&G Wealth's transitional tax free amount tool, which is available here:M&G Wealth’s transitional tax free amount tool

How will AI affect paraplanners' day-to-day role?Jonny Stubbs of LIFT Financial and Benjamin Fabi from Principled Paraplanning joined host, Richard Allum, for an online Assembly exploring how paraplanners are adapting to - and adopting - AI tools.As well as learning about real-life examples of the role AI is already playing in paraplanning, this Assembly offered participants a chance to share their hopes, fears and experiences of the technology. By gathering together, we wanted to discover what paraplanners' are thinking and feeling about AI, and begin to understand how it could affect our day-to-day work.Useful linksEarly on in the podcast, Benjamin, Jonny and Richard run through some slides which summarise some of the commonly used jargon. That doesn't work brilliantly on audio but here's a PDF of the defintions they ran through:AI jargon buster (PDF)Later on, Jonny and Benjamin also share examples that illustrate the difference in results depending on the quality of prompts. Here are the examples they shared:Benjamin's boiled egg example (PDF)Jonny's report content example (PDF)The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 2023: The Truth about AIFor UK viewers: BBC iPlayerFor the rest of the world: YouTubeOpen online courses on AIOnline learning platform, FutureLearn, offers a range of courses that you can choose from to get familiar with AIFutureLearnTools mentioned in the recording and ChatChatGPT by OpenAIClaude by AnthropicCopilot by MicrosoftSaturnPPOL suitability report builderWatch the replay at CrowdcastYou can watch the full replay and read the comments in the - very active - Chat over here:https://www.crowdcast.io/c/2xfo2f2o459rVisit the event pageparaplannersassembly.co.uk: Paraplanning in the Age of AI

With the dust settling on the Chancellor’s Budget, Assembly favourite, Les Cameron from M&G Wealth, joined us to cast his expert gaze over the measures announced and what they mean for advice firms and their clients.Over the course of one lunch-hour, Les explored what Jeremy Hunt’s Budget statement meant for things like inheritance tax, non-dom status, national insurance, lifetime allowance, annual allowance and pretty much any other allowance you can think of.How many of the Budget measures trailed in the media in advance of the Chancellor’s speech actually materialised or turned out to be Treasury sleight of hand?As regular Assembly participants know, Les absolutely loves fielding questions on tax and investing (especially from paraplanners) so tune into to see what issues cropped up.Useful linksGrab a record of attendance for your CPD visit the dedicated event page for this Assembly at M&G Wealth’s Tech Matters site.

A special tax year end Assembly combining expert insights and Chat-powered Q&A.Coming just a week after the Budget statement on 6 March, a little over a fortnight before tax year end, and while the Finance Bill from last October’s statement is still making its way through Parliament, it was the ideal time to tune in to what you really need to know as the tax year hits its paraplanning peak.To help, we gathered together a stellar panel of experts to share their knowledge and know-how: Les Cameron from M&G Wealth, James Jones-Tinsley of Barnett Waddingham and Transact’s Brian Radbone. (Scottish Widows’s Tom Coughlan, was due to join us but technical gremlins proved too much of an obstacle.)It's an hour-long discussion laden with lashings of insights on allowances, reliefs and exemptions spanning pensions, ISAs, capital gains tax and inheritance tax (and everything in between).Useful linksWatch the replay on Crowdcast: https://www.crowdcast.io/c/rcm49qyvcyz6

How are other paraplanners feeling about the state of advice in the UK these days? What do they really think about working with advisers? The adoption of technology? How about regulation and The Consumer Duty?The Lang Cat’s Steve Nelson joined us to reveal insights gathered from paraplanners who responded to the research and communications consultancy’s annual State of the Advice Nation survey of advice professionals.Despite being in its sixth year, this is the first time that The Lang Cat has cut the survey’s data to reveal paraplanners’ perspectives.And to explore what the study tells us, Steve and Assembly host, Richard Allum, was joined by two leading outsourced and in-house paraplanners – Alan Gow of Argonaut Paraplanning and Jackie Manning from Evelyn Partners. Together they asked what this year’s results reveal. The conversation:revealed a surprising finding (to The Lang Cat team, at least) about clarity of communication between advisers and paraplanners reflected on how the attitudes and sentiment towards some of the biggest issues in the sector are more aligned with the rest of the profession than you might expect; andexplored attitudes towards technology – and AI in particular.In a confessional post at The Lang Cat’s site back in November, Steve admitted that he’d wished he’d explored paraplanners’ perspectives a while back. Well now he has.Useful linksYou can download Steve’s slides here 👉 https://bit.ly/3Td4dSU (opens a PDF)To take part in The Lang Cat’s research panel visit 👉 https://bit.ly/4bVcodW, scroll down and add your details ✍ in the ‘Take part’ box that looms into viewOnce you've listened to the podcast, if you'd like a record for your CPD, help yourself here 👉 https://bit.ly/49yqv7i

Host Caroline Stuart from Sparrow Paraplanning is joined by Heather Hopkins of Next Wealth to explore how financial advice practices have addressed – and continue to address – the demands of The Consumer Duty.What did we cover?As well as recapping what firms are expected to do about the Duty, Caroline and Heather also considered what they could do thanks to the opportunities it presents. Over the course of the lunch-hour session two significant themes emerged:how firms are demonstrating the value of their advice; andhow to prove that clients really understand what they can expect from their financial planTo bring the topic to life, Heather shared insights from consumer research recently carried out by Next Wealth (see the downloads below) which reveals what clients value – essential intel for With its focus on practicalities of implementation illuminated by evidence from original research, it proved to be a really informative and engaging hour.Useful linksHeather refers to a set of slides during the Assembly. Here they are:NextWealth - The Consumer Duty (opens PDF)Want to take part in future research by NextWealth? Join the panel here:https://www.nextwealth.co.uk/research-panel/Follow this link to receive a personalised certificate to add to your record of CPD:https://bit.ly/47YwVLeHeather mentioned the Financial Advice Business Benchmarks Report (FABB). Here's the latest edition:https://www.nextwealth.co.uk/research/financial-advice-business-benchmarks-report-2023/NextWealth's websitenextwealth.co.ukCaroline’s site/ssparrowparaplanning.co.uk and sparrowsols.co.uk

For what seemed like AGES, low interest rates and low inflation rates gave the impression that the factors affecting a client’s future were pretty predictable.But more recently, roller-coaster interest and inflation rates, combined with pandemics and wars, could leave you thinking that the future is altogether more unpredictable.But is it?Assumptions that are fit for purposeDuring this online Assembly, Dan Atkinson and Richard Allum explore ways to think about planning assumptions in future.They consider the kind of indicators that can form a set of assumptions with the durability to withstand those periodic headwinds sparked by social, economic and environmental events – the kind that have dominated our lives lately.Of course investments are important but healthspans, death, inflation, spending, retirement, care and more have the potential to feature.And then there are clients with specific outcomes in mind to add to the mix – for instance, meeting school fees, saving to offset childrens’ university tuition fees or deposits for their first homes.LinksDan and Richard referred to loads of sources of information throughout this Assembly. We've posted them at the event page but thought we'd add them here too:LinksONS: mortality in England and Wales ➔ https://bit.ly/41tRNbEONS: life expectancies ➔ https://bit.ly/4aFEHwrONS: life expectancy calculator ➔ https://bit.ly/3tfKCYdInequalities in life expectancy ➔ https://bit.ly/48fzv06🥕 Carrot price ➔ https://bit.ly/4avnDcn🥬 Brussels sprouts price ➔ https://bit.ly/48fzGZkGuaranteed income: a licence to spend ➔ https://bit.ly/48lX7A8DownloadsIFP briefing paper on assumptions ➔ https://bit.ly/41r9R6l (opens PDF)FCA product projections and transfer value analysis ➔ https://bit.ly/3GPs5oB (opens PDF)Rates of return for FCA prescribed projections ➔ https://bit.ly/3v5T6BD (opens PDF)ScreengrabsThe wealth effect in later life ➔ https://bit.ly/3NyMNwL (opens PNG image)UK inflation from 1210 to 2000 ➔ https://bit.ly/3tlD5qJ (opens PNG image)UK inflation from 1950 to 2023 ➔ https://bit.ly/3GNkGpO (opens PNG image)Private education fees ➔ https://bit.ly/3towJa1  (opens PNG image)