Although I fell into Financial Planning by chance, as soon as I understood the profession and the various roles I knew that my goal was to be a Financial Planner.

A report published by Octopus Group at the beginning of August, reported that “almost a third (29%) of financial advisers polled said they expect to retire within the next five years, rising to 6 in 10 (58%) within the next ten.” This is “equivalent to more than 15,000 financial advisers leaving the profession out of a current total of over 26,600.”

Financial Planning Today recently reported that a nationwide study for IFA network Openwork found just 15% of adults saw a Financial Planner regularly, with men more than twice as likely to receive support with their finances compared with women.

Financial Planning is a relatively unknown career path, and Paraplanning within that is even less well known.