FASEA January exam saw underperformance in all areas
Analysis from the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) has highlighted problem areas from the January exam which has seen the lowest pass rate of the 10 exams so far.
FASEA announced a pass rate of 67% for the January exam, which included a 46% pass rate for re-sitters.
The exam tested three areas: financial advice regulatory and legal obligations, applied ethical and professional reasoning and communication, and financial advice construction.
In financial advice regulatory and legal obligations, candidates underperformed with:
- Demonstrating an understanding of different types of advice (e.g. personal advice, general advice and factual information) and how they applied to different client scenarios;
- Demonstrating knowledge of the components of key advice documentation that is provided to the client i.e. financial services guide (FSG)/statement of advice (SoA); and
- Applying relevant sections of the Corporations Act when identifying responsible provider obligations, including breaches of those obligations.
In applied ethical and professional reasoning and communication, candidates underperformed with:
- Demonstrating a practical application of due diligence in financial advice;
- Identifying sources of judgement and biases, and their influence on financial advice;
- Applying best interest duty and associated ethical obligations when providing financial advice; and
- Effectively applying the FASEA code to client various scenarios.
In financial advice construction, candidates underperformed with:
- Demonstrating an understanding of the context in which financial advice was given and requested, and how this impacts decision making.
Existing advisers had until 31 December, 2021, to pass the exam and there were five more sittings available.
Over 2,300 advisers had booked for the March exam which would be held on 25 to 30 March, which had closed registrations.
Over 800 advisers had booked for the May exam which would be held on 20 to 25 May; registrations for that exam were open until 30 April.
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