Paraplanners at a Crossroads: If Not Adviser, Then What?

Recent research, from the Lang Cat in today’s Money Marketing, shows a quiet but telling shift in the profession.

Only 13% of paraplanners now see themselves becoming financial advisers — down from 24% just a year ago. The majority want to grow, contribute, and build meaningful careers, but not by stepping into a product-sales role.

That isn’t a motivation problem.
It’s a structural one.

According to the latest State of the Advice Nation findings from the lang cat, paraplanners consistently report:

• A lack of clarity about their long-term career path
• Poor visibility and recognition of the role — even within firms
• Being framed as a stepping-stone, rather than a profession in its own right
• Growing uncertainty about how — or whether — their role evolves over time

As Steve Nelson put it, paraplanning remains a core part of the advice process — yet still lacks a definitive place and identity within the sector.

That raises a deeper question.

What If You’re Not Meant to Be an Adviser?

For many paraplanners, the answer isn’t “progression into advice”.
It’s progression into purpose.

Paraplanners are already:

• Analytical
• Method-driven
• Client-centred
• Systems-literate
• Deeply ethical

What many don’t want is:

• Sales targets
• Product bias
• Regulatory pressure tied to distribution
• A career defined by AUM rather than outcomes

So if the traditional adviser role isn’t the destination… what is?

A Different Path: Total Wealth Planning

Total Wealth Planning starts from a different premise:

Plan life first. Then align money to support it.

Rather than selling products, Total Wealth Planners work with clients on:

• Goals, purpose, and life direction
• Human capital (skills, income, capability, resilience)
• Financial architecture — not financial products
• Decisions, trade-offs, and long-term clarity

It’s method-led, not product-led.
And for paraplanners, that matters.

Why Paraplanners Often Thrive as Total Wealth Planners

Paraplanners are already trained to:

• Think in frameworks
• Stress-test assumptions
• Build plans that work in real life
• Spot gaps between intent and execution

Total Wealth Planning doesn’t ask you to stop being a paraplanner.
It asks you to step into authorship.

Instead of supporting someone else’s advice process, you become the guide — working with clients, not selling to them.

No product recommendations.
No commission conflicts.
No requirement to cross the regulatory perimeter.

Just clarity, structure, and agency.

This Isn’t a Leap — It’s an Exploration

You don’t need to decide anything today.

If you’re a paraplanner thinking:

• “I want progression, but not sales”
• “I want recognition, not a sideways step”
• “I want to work directly with people — ethically and independently”

There’s a simple next step.

Try the Total Wealth Plan — Free

Before you consider any career shift, experience the work itself.

👉 Try the Total Wealth Plan for free
See what it feels like to guide life-first planning.
Notice whether this is something you could see yourself doing — or not.

No pressure.
No commitment.
Just clarity.

Because if only 13% of paraplanners want to become advisers, perhaps the real opportunity isn’t to push harder toward advice…

…but to redefine the destination altogether.