Hi there, for many years I have worked in and been exposed to financial advisers. If you have watched the news lately you will know that financial advisers now need to extend their education, as well as sit and exam to prove they are up to modern standards.
Many articles you read will discuss how financial advisers object to this, how hard it is, “the industry is up in arms” etc. Currently thousands of advisers are attending various free and paid training courses to get their knowledge up to speed for the exam.
Personally I am not currently working as a licensed financial adviser but I do train and supervise some financial advisers so I still like to keep my skills up to date. I decided to sit the financial advisers exam in December 2019 to see how hard it really is and see what all the fuss was about. Now as often happens the day of the actual exam crept up on me quite quickly leaving me the night before the exam and the train ride in to brush up on my knowledge. At most I spent 4 hrs studying and the exam which has a time limit of 3hrs 20 mins took me less than 1.5hrs.
Here is the result:
The exam was one of the easiest exams I have done in my life and covers the basic legal concepts you need to adhere to as a financial adviser. Things you learn when you first become a financial adviser but also concepts and laws you need to follow in day to day operations as a financial adviser. Things every adviser should know!
The fact that most financial advisers (not all) are whinging and carrying on about the fact this needs to be done just shows how much the current changes are needed in this industry! For more information about the new education standards please have a read here FASEA. If you have a financial adviser why not check if they have done their exam and what their attitude to the Fasea changes is, their reply will tell you a lot about who they are!
Personally I believe the changes coming through the financial industry and desperately needed and I can’t wait to see how the industry changes in a few years time.
Author Alan Maddick 29 Jan 2020