Paraplanner of the Year: Full of heart

This year’s national Paraplanner of the Year, Queensland’s Jackie Cook, was a standout for the judges thanks to her passion for financial planning and her interest in how it can help people feel more secure and confident about their future.

“She is completely focused on building trust with clients and getting the best outcome for them, and will always go the extra mile,” said Adam Coughlan, general manager — retail at Australian Unity Investments, the creator and co-sponsor of the award.

“As always, it was a challenge to select a winner from the outstanding contributions for this year’s Paraplanner of the Year Award. There is no doubt that the professionalism, knowledge and ability of paraplanners is exceptional,” he noted.

Cook, of International Professional Services, showed a clear understanding of the importance of creating financial certainty for her clients and the impact this has on their overall wellbeing, Coughlan added.

“While she continues to develop her technical knowledge to stay up to date on new strategies and compliance needs, she also creates peace of mind in the way she explains the strategies to clients in clear language, and tailors plans to suit individual needs and concerns.”

Cook, who is continuing her studies with an Advanced Diploma of Financial Services, intends to become a Certified Financial Planner.

When she began her commerce degree at university, it wasn’t long before she realised financial planning was more than an interest and a hobby. Consequently, she streamlined her studies and, upon completion of her degree, Cook said she saw “paraplanning as a great opportunity to enter this

relatively new and exciting industry”.

That she cares deeply about her relationships with clients and, importantly, their wellbeing, is evident whenever she speaks about her work.

“By minimising the financial worries of our clients and giving them clear goals to work towards, we are effectively giving them more time to focus on enhancing the other aspects of their wellbeing,” she said.

There are many ways Cook feels she can help build the relationship between the client and the organisation, and minimise the client’s financial worries, from involvement in client interviews to “modelling the client situation” on the more technical side.

Across the board, this year’s state finalists impressed the judges, with Coughlan noting that, in its ninth year, the calibre of entrants has continued to improve.

He said there were three “common themes” emerging from the leading entrants this year, including an increased level of contact between paraplanners and clients. “Whether it’s in the initial meetings and/or in ongoing meetings to help clients understand the performance of their investments — this came through strongly given the conditions of the last 12 months”.

“The paraplanner’s role as ‘devil’s advocate’ in a practice was also a recurring theme, with many talking about how they add value by asking questions about the reasons for an adviser’s strategy and recommendations,” Coughlan added.

“Finally, this theme has come through every year but is again evident in the top paraplanners’ submissions, many leaving successful careers in quite different industries to follow their passion in this area.”

A positive attitude seems to be the order of the day, particularly for Cook, but there is no denying her appreciation of the importance of a state of wellbeing.

In her entry essay, after listing several things that have been found to enhance our wellbeing (such as sound sleep, rewarding work and sufficient money), Cook went on to say that optimism, trust, self-respect and autonomy also make us happier.

“Gratitude and kindness lift our spirits. Having clear goals to work towards, a ‘sense of place’ and belonging, a coherent and positive view of the world, and a belief that we are part of something bigger than ourselves also foster wellbeing.”

As national winner, Cook is the lucky recipient of a trip to Denver, Colorado, in October next year, including return airfare, accommodation for four nights, and registration to FPA Denver 2010.

Australian Unity Investments, the Financial Planning Association and Money Management all support the annual Paraplanner of the Year awards.