Assistant Planner (Investments)

Overview Our client, an established financial advisory practice in Bedfordview, Johannesburg, is seeking an Assistant Planner to support Financial Advisors and Paraplanners within a busy wealth management environment. This multi-skilled role combines advice documentation support, post-advice client servicing and compliance oversight, ensuring that every instruction and advice pack is delivered accurately, timeously and within regulatory requirements. The successful candidate will act as a key operational link between clients, product providers, investment platforms and internal teams. Key Responsibilities • Prepare Records of Advice (ROA) and Financial Needs Analyses (FNA) in line with FAIS requirements, as instructed by the advisors. • Assist in drafting client-specific advice documentation covering investments, retirement planning, risk planning and related considerations, translating advisor recommendations into clear, client-friendly documents. • Ensure advice documentation aligns with client risk profiles, goals, investment mandates and product suitability requirements. • Conduct product and platform research across LISPs, collective investment schemes, retirement products and risk products to support advice preparation. • Analyse client financial data including assets, liabilities, cash flow and retirement projections, and flag gaps or risks to advisors. • Act as a primary contact point for post-advice servicing queries such as contribution changes, withdrawals, switches, beneficiary updates, banking detail changes, statements and tax certificates. • Receive, validate and process client instructions, preparing and submitting documentation to investment platforms, LISPs, insurers and administrators. • Track submitted instructions and proactively follow up to completion, resolving delays, allocation discrepancies and administrative errors with third parties. • Support client onboarding and ongoing maintenance of records in line with POPIA and FAIS requirements. • Conduct pre-submission and quality checks to confirm that FICA documentation is complete and valid, risk profiles and mandates are in place and disclosures are correctly included. • Maintain accurate, auditable client files with clear audit trails of instructions and correspondence, and support internal and external compliance audits. • Escalate compliance risks, suitability concerns, complaints or irregularities through the correct internal channels, and adhere to internal workflows, approval matrices and segregation of duties. • Stay up to date with platform processes, product rules, cut-off times, minimums and fund availability. • Update CRM and tracking tools to reflect accurate case and instruction status, and ensure advisor audit scorecards are maintained at 100 percent per cycle. • Coordinate with advisors, paraplanners, new business and operations teams to ensure seamless advice implementation and servicing. Requirements • Matric (Grade 12), with a minimum NQF Level 5 in Wealth Management. • A relevant tertiary or financial services qualification is advantageous, with Financial Planning, Finance, Investments or Economics preferred. • Two to five years' experience in a financial advisory, investment administration, paraplanning support, new business processing or client servicing role. • A FAIS-recognised qualification and RE5, or actively working towards one, is required. • Solid understanding of South African investment, retirement and risk products, investment platforms and LISPs, and advice and servicing processes. • Working knowledge of FAIS, FICA, POPIA, Treating Customers Fairly principles and FSCA requirements. • Proficiency in CRM systems, investment platform portals, financial planning tools and Microsoft Office, with Excel essential. • High attention to detail and numerical accuracy, with the ability to manage multiple cases, instructions and deadlines simultaneously. • Strong written and verbal communication skills, with a professional, methodical and client-centric approach, high ethical standards and discretion when handling sensitive client information. • Experience with major South African LISP platforms, insurers and advice software, as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Planning or progress toward CFP candidacy, will be advantageous. Benefits and Compensation Our client is offering a salary of R 40 000 per month, depending on qualifications, RE status and relevant experience. • Exposure to a full-service advisory practice covering investments, retirement and risk planning. • Structured support towards further FAIS qualifications and professional designations. • A clear career path into roles such as Senior Servicing Consultant, Client Relationship Manager, Practice Manager or Associate Advisor, with further qualifications and RE status. • Office-based role in a well-located business node in Bedfordview, Johannesburg.