Posted by The Team at Brand Financial Training on April 11, 2023 in Newsletter
11 April 2023
This article is correct as at 11 April 2023.
We hope you all enjoyed the long weekend. It’s been a busy Easter period for us preparing our R06 analysis for the next exam sitting!
We also have had feedback from our candidates who were part of the CII’s new R06 coursework assessment trial and are delighted to hear that they passed! We are still waiting to hear more from the CII about when this new assessment will be available for candidates to book, so please watch this space. We will let you know as soon as we know that the new assessment is live and can be booked.
Best Wishes,
The Team at Brand Financial Training
Featured Article
Getting a Good Grasp of the Two Types of Lasting Power of Attorney
A Lasting Power of Attorney, commonly shortened to LPA, gives someone else the legal authority to look after your affairs should you become unable to do so. This article looks at two different types of LPA – useful for candidates studying towards the CII AF1, AF5, J02, R01, R05, or R06 exams.
Following the Mental Capacity Act 2005, which came into effect on the 1st October 2007, the Lasting Power of Attorney was introduced.
An LPA needs to be registered with the Court even if the person still has mental capacity. There must also be a certificate from prescribed people who can confirm that the person understands the LPA, and there has been no undue pressure put on them. In other words, it acts as a safety net for those people who can be vulnerable.
There are two different types of LPA:
Financial Decisions LPA
The first one is like the old Enduring Power of Attorney, a property and financial affairs LPA, this LPA can be used while someone still has mental capacity.
Here, the attorney looks after the person’s finances and can make decisions regarding buying and selling a property or arranging repairs to a property, paying off a mortgage, paying bills or investing money.
Why Taking Mock Exams Online Brings Big Benefits for CII R01, R02, R03, R04 and R05
If you’re gearing up to take a CII multiple-choice exam, there are various ways to prepare yourself. The go-to resources for most candidates taking the R01 to R05 exams are mock questions. The benefits of mock papers have long been known; they will help you to: identify areas that need further revision, practise answering the exam-style questions, understand how to apply your knowledge, and check your progress. More recently, candidates are choosing to use the online version of this resource which provides all the above benefits and more. In this article, we look at why you might want to consider choosing online mock testing as part of your exam preparation.
Test yourself, flexibly
All you need to take a practice test is a device with web access – simply log on with a password and username, any place, any time –– and get cracking. There’s no physical paperwork involved either, so it’s also environmentally friendly.
You can take a full mock exam or, if you require a quick progress check, you can take shorter tests of 10 or 30 questions. The whole process is highly time-efficient and means you can do a number of practice runs before sitting down to face the real thing.
..."The calculation workbooks for R02 and R03 are very good indeed. They were a major factor in helping me achieve good scores in these exams (89% and 80% respectively)..."
Julian Sellen, Leatherhead
Available for AF1, AF4, R02, R03, R04, R06, J05, J10, J12, CF6
Many exam-takers lose vital marks when it comes to performing calculations as they haven’t nailed down the exact process and order in which to perform the calculations, and haven’t spent enough time practising them.
The number of marks gained or lost on calculation questions can make the difference between a pass and a fail. Just a little more time taken on calculations during the revision period can give you the confidence you need to perform any calculation that could come up, so that you know you will gain top marks on all those calculation questions.
Our calculation workbooks guide you through the calculations, step-by-step, and providing detailed answers, with cross references to the relevant CII study text. All questions and answers kept up-to-date to reflect changes to the exam syllabus and tax year, and you can download them instantly in PDF format.
Why not try before you buy? Download one of our free tasters:
..."I passed R02 - No doubt thanks to your fantastic workbook which helped no end! With the extra work that I did going through your workbook, this helped a great deal with feeling confident which in this exam particularly was useful given that the technique and timing is as important as the knowledge and skill in ensuring that you get through the questions in a timely manner. One could so easily become distracted or frustrated trying to work out/remember one particular formula to the deficit of the other questions but your workbook enabled me to feel glad that there were so many calculations in the exam whereby before I actually feared them."...
David Gunn, Adviser, Nottingham
R06 Case Study Analysis
The analysis for the new R06 exam sitting comes out tomorrow. So, there is still time to pre-order it from our website if you haven’t yet and access the pre-order discount! Remember our analysis includes our ever-popular email support day – a day where you can access one of our technical experts to ask all of your R06-related questions!
Updates to CII Study Texts
Here’s a reminder that the CII update their study texts throughout the examinable year to either incorporate new legislations, correct errors or clarify information. Many candidates aren’t aware of this, which can result in candidates studying out-of-date information.
To find out if you have the most up-to-date information, visit the CII website, navigate to your chosen exam and click on ‘learning solutions update’ in the ‘Unit updates’ section in the sidebar.
Note that we keep our resources up-to-date with any updates from the CII.
Did You Miss These Posts on Our Blog?
Articles and Help for All Your Exams
You’ll find that there’s something for everyone when you check out our blog:
specific topics and how-to articles;
reviews of recent CII exam papers;
our Friday Five – a weekly quiz to give you a fun break from reading the study text;
study techniques that help you to retain your revision and keep your brain working for you, when you need it
Here are the blog posts you might have missed since our last newsletter:
There’s such a variety of information on offer to help you as you tackle your CII exams, that you won’t want to miss a single post. We’ve made it easy for you; just click the button below and enter your email details. Be ‘in the know’ with CII-exam-related tips and info – straight to your inbox!
Quote of the Month
..." When you know what you want, and want it bad enough, you will find a way to get it. "...
Jim Rohn
Friday 5 Focus on...
"5 Questions in 5 Minutes Every Friday"
Each week, we ask questions relating to one of these topics: Investments, Taxation, Pensions, Protection, or Regulation. The challenge is for you to answer them in 5 minutes.
Where do I find the Friday Five?
We post each week’s Friday Five to our blog first thing every Friday. You can either visit our blog every Friday at https://brandft.co.uk/blog/ or you can simply go there now, and click on the subscribe button in the top right-hand corner of the blog and sign up to receive notifications of our Friday Five posts.
Note that we don’t email the Friday Five out to everybody every Friday, so we recommend you sign up to our blog at https://brandft.co.uk/blog/ so that you receive an email notification when it is posted. It will only take you a minute to sign up.
A bit of Friday Fun, but with the added benefit of testing your exam knowledge!
