Building the infrastructure for paraplanning talent
PlannerPath exists to bridge the gap between financial planning education and real-world practice — connecting universities, wealth management firms and verified candidates through a single competency framework.
Why We Exist
PlannerPath is the talent infrastructure for the UK financial planning profession. We power the complete talent supply chain: enabling individuals to prove real capability, universities to deliver measurable employment outcomes, firms to hire with confidence, and professionals to continuously upskill – all enhanced by cutting‑edge simulation, assessment and learning technologies that bridge education, development and real‑world practice.
The UK financial planning sector is large and growing, with £3.5tn in invested assets (SJP/Global Data/ONS/BoE) and a further £2.1tn in cash savings, representing a total addressable market of £5.6tn. Yet the industry faces three interconnected, systemic crises: a rapidly ageing workforce, a critical shortage of new talent, and a widening AI skills gap.
Nearly 50% of financial advisers plan to retire by 2029 (International Adviser), creating an urgent need for new talent. At the same time, career pathways remain invisible to young people: only 4% of UK workers have considered a career in financial advice (FT Adviser), and just 6% of advisers are under 30 (FT Adviser/FCA). There are few spring weeks, structured internships or accessible entry routes to attract the next generation. As a result, students lack ways to demonstrate practical ability, firms rely on CV‑based guesswork, and universities struggle to prove strong graduate employment outcomes.
The challenge is intensified by a growing AI skills gap. Scottish Widows research (2025) shows that while 82% of paraplanners expect AI to transform their role within five years, only 13% currently use AI tools and just 12% of firms have a formal AI policy. The Financial Services Skills Commission (May 2025) reports a 35‑percentage‑point gap between AI skills demand and supply, with financial services being the UK sector most exposed to AI disruption.
Our mission is to solve these pressing, structural challenges through a single, scalable end‑to‑end infrastructure. We fix the broken talent pipeline weakened by an ageing workforce, connect the next generation of talent to the profession, and close the AI skills gap – so the UK financial planning industry can remain strong, sustainable and future‑ready.
What Guides Us
The principles that guide everything we do at PlannerPath.
Excellence
We're committed to delivering the highest quality simulation-based training in the industry
Accessibility
Breaking down barriers to entry in financial planning careers through innovative technology
Innovation
Continuously evolving our AI-powered platform to mirror real-world industry practices
Community
Building a network of learners, mentors, and firms to support career development
The case for a competency infrastructure layer
The UK financial planning profession is facing three converging pressures simultaneously: an ageing adviser workforce approaching retirement, a generation of capable candidates with no credible way to demonstrate applied readiness, and a profession being reshaped by AI faster than training has adapted. None of these problems is new. What is new is that they are happening at the same time.
The traditional route into paraplanning — pass an exam, find a firm willing to take a chance on you — is inadequate for the scale of the challenge. Exam results prove knowledge retention. They do not prove that someone can reason through a complex client case, identify the right regulatory framework, or produce a compliant suitability report under pressure. These are the skills that actually determine whether a junior paraplanner becomes a productive one.
Consumer Duty has made this gap more consequential. Firms are now expected to ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to carry out their roles effectively — and to evidence that assurance. A candidate's exam transcript does not provide that evidence. A simulation-based competency score, assessed against a consistent framework, begins to.
PlannerPath's argument is straightforward: there should be a layer of competency infrastructure between financial planning education and professional employment — something that translates academic achievement into applied readiness in a form that both candidates and firms can rely on. That layer does not currently exist in a standardised form. We are building it.
The PlannerPath Competency Index is not the end of that project. It is the beginning. As the candidate pool grows and firms begin hiring through verified competency data, the benchmark dataset becomes more valuable — and the infrastructure more difficult to replicate. The profession gets a shared standard. Candidates get a fair, objective route in. Firms get better hiring signals. Universities get employability evidence that goes beyond league tables.
For Investors
Partner with us to build the future of UK financial planning talent.
For Venture Investors
Back the definitive talent infrastructure for a £5.6tn addressable market, solving the industry's ageing workforce, talent shortage, and AI skills gap in one scalable platform.
Request investor materialsFor Social Impact Investors & Donors
Support fair access, social mobility, and a more sustainable financial services profession through the PlannerPath Impact Fund.
Get in touch about impact partnerships