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for U.S.-based financial planners
for U.S.-based financial planners
for U.S.-based financial planners
financial planning tangible to their clients.
for U.S.-based financial planners
development for holistic financial planners
Laurey Shintani, FPQP®


















FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is the Financial Paraplanner Qualified Professional (FPQP®) designation?
The Financial Paraplanner Qualified Professional (FPQP®) designation was created by the College for Financial Planning to educate financial planning team members and admin staff about the financial planning process and to specifically develop skills needed to manage the all-important information gathering stages (steps 1-4) of the 7 step financial planning process. The curriculum entails 144 hours of study that must be completed in four months. Certification requires a score of 70 or better on a 75 question exam administer by Kaplan®.

How do you deliver the data you have gathered form my clients?
I will work with you to provide the data I have gathered in a format that works for you. However, the basic data is summarized in in a Word document and generally consists of two components – (1) A detailed summary of the client’s background information and objectives, including detailed family information and trusted contact/successor info, income sources, estimated living expense, investment history and experience, estate planning info, tax status and relevant tax planning info, insurance risk management info (including P&C, Life, DI, LTC, etc.), real estate ownership info, debt management info, etc. and (2) a written summary of mistakes, oversights, and opportunities I find from my review of the information gathered.
I use eMoney to store and organize the documents I gather. I can deliver the documents to you via secure delivery, or I can grant you advisor access to the eMoney account for your client. If you wish to provide your clients with ongoing access to eMoney, I can make it available to them for $30 per month with a login link that you can incorporate into your website.
How long does it take for you to complete an engagement?
I have a 30-day deadline for completion and delivery of my work. It is important for financial planners to understand that their clients need to be available and responsive. While I can accommodate longer engagement times due to extenuating circumstances, I require a 50% upfront deposit with the balance due at the end of the 30 day period, even if the job takes longer to complete. Failure for clients to provide documents or to share information will be documented in my reporting, but does not change the financial terms of our agreement with you.
How and When Do We Pay You?
Our terms of service require 50% upfront payment and 50% due within 5 days of the earlier of the delivery of my report or the end of the 30 day engagement period. You will receive invoices via email. The invoice allows you to pay via credit card through Paypal. If you prefer, I also accept persona checks, but, please let me know in advance if you plan to mail a check.
Will you present the financial planning analysis to my clients?
No. That is your job. My job on your team is to do all the dirty, tedious set up work (i.e., the information gathering process). Your job is to use the information I provide to be the hero – the person who comes up with the sophisticated advice and provides valuable solutions and ideas from the information I have gathered.
Can I hire you by the hour instead of purchasing your Basic or Premium packages?
Yes. My hourly rate is $50 per hour with a minimum of 10 Hours. For labor intensive tasks such as entering individual securities data into financial planning software, entering transactions data into budgeting software, and similar tasks, I require hourly billing in addition to my other planning model pricing.
What is the value of hiring a paraplanner?
The information gathering process is the most labor intensive and tedious part of the financial planning process and is often not the highest and best use of the financial planner’s time. Outsourcing this task to me frees you up for more important tasks. Additionally, I present myself very well to clients. Your clients will be impressed that you have enlisted my services. Presenting the findings I produce from reviewing the information I gather will make you look good too.
Do you develop the investment plan?
No. My job is the information gathering. Your job is to provide the planning advice. However, if you would like my informal input, I am happy to assist.
What types of reports can you provide?
My primary deliverables are my written summary of the background information I have gathered and the mistakes, oversights, and opportunities I uncover along the way. This report is provided in a MS Word Document. I also provide PDFs of all of the documents we gather.
For additional reporting, such as balance sheets, net worth statements, asset allocation summaries and the like, I have experience on a range of popular financial planning apps and am open to using your software if you can provide access to me. Alternatively, if you want this kind of reporting I use eMoney for my financial planning foundation. For an additional $50, I can establish an eMoney account for your clients and grant you advisor access.
Can you use my planning software?
I am familiar with a wide range of planning software and am always open to learning new platforms. However, the challenge often lies in obtaining access to your software. If you can provide me with legal access to your software, I may be game to use it. I do not accept password-sharing arrangements and will never accept offers from you or your clients to use their/your usernames and passwords to log in.
Alternatively, I use eMoney for my financial planning information gathering platform. I can establish eMoney accounts with log in access for your clients and can establish advisor access for you. There is a $50 additional fee to use my platform. If your clients wish to continue to use eMoney on an ongoing basis, I charge $30 per month for client access to eMoney and, with their permission, can grant you advisor access.
Can you help with financial planning software selection?
Maybe. I am pretty well versed in the financial planning software space. However, there are literally dozens of fintech apps in the independent financial planning software space. I am familiar with some of the largest, best-known apps and a handful of lesser-known specialty apps. I do not charge for software advice.
Can my clients use your software?
Yes. I use eMoney. It is a wonderful platform for information gathering and ongoing updating and maintenance of the client’s financial planning documents. It is also great for account aggregation and report generation. There is a $50 up-front fee to you if you would like me to gather and organize your client’s information in eMoney. If you wish to do this, I can establish advisor access for you as well.
If your clients would like to have continuous ongoing access to eMoney beyond the 30-day engagement period, I charge a $30/month subscription fee that can be automatically charged to their bank account or credit card.
NOTE: If you choose to use my eMoney subscription to gather and organize your client’s data, I will give you and them a URL to login to my login portal. If you plan to use this for a number of clients, you can incorporate the URL into your website.
What services set you apart from other financial planning outsourcing providers?
I would like to think that my service model is both unique and elite. The option to offer your clients subscription-based access to eMoney ($30/month) for account aggregation, document storage, reporting, and budgeting is arguably the most visible example of a service that is different from most competing paraplanner engagements. However, I also offer the following services that are both valuable and entirely unique in this space –
- Affordable, expeditious estate planning document prep – For a one-time fee of just $300 per person I can assist your clients in getting a will, durable power of attorney, and power of attorney for health care. For $800, I can get these documents for each spouse along with a standard revocable trust. The documents are drafted and provided by attorneys in their home states to conform with their own state’s laws. If you are tired of pestering your clients to get these critical documents in place, this is an extremely valuable service, and it can be done in less than an hour.
- White labeled password management – Give your clients a valuable free service that will bond them to you and will help make your website a valuable client hub. A subscription costs just $150 per year and the white-labeled client portal can be embedded into your website.
What elements of a comprehensive financial plan do you help address?
Steps 1-4 of the 7 steps of the financial planning process involve client relationship building and information gathering. This is often the most labor intensive and tedious part of developing a comprehensive financial plan. Below is a partial list of the types of information I gather.
⦁ Detailed multi-generational family information (clients, parents, children, grandchildren)
⦁ Professional contact info (attorney, CPA, insurance agent, primary care physician)
⦁ Personal contacts for successorship
⦁ Income and expense data
⦁ Tax planning information and returns
⦁ Estate planning documents
⦁ Real estate ownership documents
⦁ Employee benefits info
⦁ Beneficiary information
⦁ Insurance and risk management info (P&C, Life, LTC, DI, Medical, etc.)
⦁ Social Security and Medicare Information
⦁ Account information for all banks, credit unions, investment firms, etc.
⦁ Debt information (revolving credit, installment credit, mortgages, etc.)
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