About Alex, Founder

I'm Alex Hopkin, a virtual paraplanner, outdoor enthusiast, wife, mom to two small boys and founder of Simply Paraplanner. I am an AFC® professional and a candidate for the CFP® certification. I am currently a virtual paraplanner (Associate Planner) at Gen Y Planning. I passed the CFP® exam in 2013 while my husband and I were stationed in Okinawa, Japan. Since then, I have worked as a financial counselor for military families, on a financial hotline and as a virtual paraplanner for various advisors. 

 

About Jen

I joined Simply Paraplanner in September of 2017.  In addition to my work with Simply Paraplanner, I am also a virtual financial planning analyst for Geometric Wealth Advisors. I have a degree in Personal Financial Planning from Texas Tech University and hold the CFP® designation.

Prior to becoming a full-time planning analyst, I worked as a virtual paraplanner for multiple firms. My role as a virtual paraplanner was unique in that I was able to learn from different advisors simultaneously and attend meetings with a wide variety of clientele all from the comfort of my home! While working with various firms, I began to focus on building out processes and making sure we are using our technology in an efficient and scalable manner. I’ve spoken on multiple panels about how to set up processes and efficiencies so that firms can hire and grow their businesses. You can also listen to my story on XYPNRadio and FPAActivate.

I currently live in Houston, Texas. In my spare time, I enjoy Being with my family and friends, hiking, camping, road trips, or just hanging around a bonfire or out by the pool.

How Simply Paraplanner Started

After Alex passed the CFP® exam in 2013, she searched for virtual positions in the financial planning industry. With no luck, she started volunteering her time to provide financial counseling on the various military installations in Okinawa, Japan.

In the summer of 2014, they were reassigned to the US and she was excited to finally be able to to start job hunting at our next location. The only problem was that they were reassigned to a very remote part of the US. The closest financial planning firm (and Starbucks!) was 60 miles away. She started applying to jobs across the country, hoping that someone would let her work virtually. Again, no luck.

In 2015, She heard about a new conference held by the XY Planning Network in Charlotte, NC. The XY Planning Network helps new and existing advisors run virtual practices. While she was not planning to open my own practice, she figured this conference would be the best place to gain some direction and figure out how to land a virtual support job in the field. 

Sure enough, she landed two new jobs as a virtual paraplanner. Advisors soon started coming to her to help them find virtual paraplanners of their own. Paraplanners also started reaching out to learn about working virtually and to find jobs. She realized there needed to be a better solution.

And with that, Simply Paraplanner was founded.