FASEA August Exam Results & Areas Advisers Under-Performed

Eighty two percent of candidates passed FASEA’s August Financial Advisers Exam, compared with an average of 84 percent across all exams.

A statement from FASEA says the August exam, held from 13 to 18 August, saw 1,521 advisers sit the exam compared with an average of 1,600 across all exams and that approximately 10,000 advisers have passed the adviser exams held to date.

It adds:

• 65 percent of advisers re-sitting the exam passed on their second attempt compared to an average of 54 percent in previous exams
• Overall, 89 percent of advisers who have sat the exam (irrespective of how often it was sat) have passed, representing 46 percent of advisers on ASIC’s Financial Adviser Register.
• The exam is marked to a credit standard and the pass rate varies with each exam.
• The exam was subject to ACER’s comprehensive marking approach and was set at a consistent standard to prior exams.

FASEA Chief Executive Officer Stephen Glenfield  says that more than 11,180 advisers have sat the exam with nine in 10 “…demonstrating they have the skills to apply their knowledge of advice construction, ethics and legal requirements to the practical scenarios tested in the exam”.

The statement adds that the overall pass rate of 89 percent for advisers who have sat the exam to date demonstrates a strong performance by advisers, including those advisers who have passed after resitting.

It says that an increase of 11 percent in the pass rate for advisers undertaking their first re-sit compared to previous exams indicates these advisers are preparing for their subsequent sitting allowing them to raise their knowledge to a level consistent with the challenge set by the exam.

Areas Where Advisers Have Under-Performed

Further analysis of the August exam data has highlighted areas for improvement, particularly amongst unsuccessful candidates, FASEA says, highlighting exam question areas where advisers have under-performed for the August exam (categorised by curriculum areas).

Financial Advice Regulatory and Legal Requirements:

• Demonstrating an understanding of the difference between personal advice, general advice and factual information and how they apply to different client scenarios
• Assessing whether advice recommendations meet the client’s best interests
• Assessing the impact conflicts of interest may have on advice recommendations

Financial Advice Construction:

• Identification of client biases and how they may influence clients’ financial decisions and/or investment choices
• Understanding the context of client requests for advice and how this may impact advice construction

Applied ethical and professional reasoning and communication:

• Applying Standard’s 2, 4 and 12 of the Code of Ethics to advice scenarios
• Demonstrating an understanding of an adviser’s ethical obligations when advising on complex family structures

FASEA also states that more than 700 advisers have registered for the October exam, to be held in metropolitan and regional locations and online from 13 to 18 October. The Melbourne exams will continue to be online only due to Covid-19 restrictions.

In turn, more than 1,200 advisers have registered for the November exam, to be held from 5 to 10 November 2020.

Click here  to see the preparation resources, including practice questions, that FASEA provides to help advisers preparing for the exam.

It notes that practice questions are regularly updated on its website or through the advisers’ exam account and says feedback received from past re-sit participants indicated the resources were useful for their exam preparation.