Newsletter for August 2017

July and August are super crazy busy months for the team here at Brand Financial Training. We’re updating all (in the hundreds!) of our CII financial services exam resources for the new examinable tax year 2017/18 that begins on 1 September.

Do bear in mind that until 31 August tax year 2016/17 will be examined.

If you purchased a resource for examinable tax year 16/17, you will be entitled to the 17/18 version at no charge! Who else offers that???

We will email you at various points during mid to late August to let you know when resources have been updated and made available and how to claim your free update if you are entitled.

So if you are unsure about when you are going to sit your exam or you simply want to ‘get on’ with your studies, you can purchase resources straightaway knowing you will be able to get the 17/18 versions later in August. Many of the exams don’t have a huge number of syllabus changes or changes in law so you can truly ‘get on with it’ right away.

I’m off now to do some updating… (I’d prefer to be off to the Bahamas, but never mind!)

Best Wishes,

Catriona and the Team
Brand Financial Training

The residence nil rate band (RNRB) came into effect in April and will be tested in less than a month, so here we look at how it works. This will be of interest to readers who are revising for their CII AF1, AF5, CF1, R01, R03 or R06 exam.

THIS ARTICLE IS RELEVANT TO EXAMINABLE TAX YEAR 2017/18.

An extra nil rate band is now available when a home is passed on death to children (which include step-children, adopted or foster children) and their lineal descendants.

It’s to be phased in as follows:

• 2017/18: £100,000
• 2018/19: £125,000
• 2019/20: £150,000
• 2020/2021: £175,000

From 2021/22, it will increase in line with CPI.

How the RNRB Works

The value of the RNRB is the lower of the net value of the interest in the home (so after deducting any mortgage) and the maximum amount of the RNRB. If a property is worth £90,000 and is left today to a child of the deceased, £90,000 is the amount of the RNRB available. The RNRB that hasn’t been used (£10,000 in this tax year) is available for transfer to a spouse or civil partner’s estate.

The RNRB is also available to those people who have downsized or stopped owning a home after 8 July 2015 and assets of an equivalent amount (up to the value of the RNRB) are passed on death to direct descendants.

For those people with an estate with a net value of more than £2m (so after liabilities/expenses but before reliefs and exemptions such as the nil rate band, spouse exemption and business relief), the RNRB is tapered. For every £2 over the £2m threshold, £1 of RNRB is lost – so in this tax year will be lost altogether where an estate is valued at £2,200,000 and more.

In practical terms, this means that in 2017/18, we can pass on up to £425,000 IHT free. A married couple/civil partnership can leave £850,000 of their estate IHT free. From 2020, this will be a total of £1m.

With all good intentions, students will make a heroic effort to revise for their exams, but no matter how hard they work to get information into their heads, they find that over the subsequent few days and weeks most of it’s gone! This article gives readers 10 tips for counteracting our natural tendency to forget.

Despite our best efforts, we forget what we’re trying to learn, because human beings are hardwired to forget. If you’re normal – and you probably are – and unless you already have a great learning strategy, then the chances are, no matter how hard you work, you’ll be forgetting stuff as you go!

But what if you do have a robust learning strategy? Can you counteract your natural tendency to forget?

Yes, you can! If a strategy works, then it works!

If yours doesn’t, however, you may want to read on! Here is a list of things to do, to fit in with how your brain already learns best.

1. Work in short bursts of time.

We are predisposed to concentrate for only short periods of time. So make sure you take frequent breaks and do something completely different, so that when you come back five minutes later, your brain is ready for more.

2. Divide what you have to learn into small chunks of information.

We are predisposed to concentrate for only short periods of time. So make sure you take frequent breaks and do something completely different, so that when you come back five minutes later, your brain is ready for more.

3. Use plain paper.

The problem with lined paper is that you will be tempted to write in whole sentences. And the problem with that is that it’s very difficult for your brain to remember any of it. Remember, less is more. When you write your notes you need to aim to only write 10% or so of the original material. Now, finding the right 10%… that’s the art!

4. Use colours to draw your notes.

The more visual (images, diagrams, symbols etc) your notes, the easier your brain will find remembering them. More pictures, fewer words. That’s the key.

5. Use colours to group similar information together.

Use colour strategically, not randomly. When you organise your notes use colour purposefully to help you remember chunks of information.

Available for AF1-4, CF1, CF6, CF8, ER1, FA1-2, IF1-5, J02, J03, J05, J07, J10-12, LP2, R01-5, and R07-8

...“I passed my exams 1st time after buying the 3 mock exam packs. They are very relevant and gave me that extra confidence in taking the exam. Thank you Brand 🙂 The service is excellent as well I might add.’...

Lianne Jackson, Investment Sales Adviser, Chelmsford

Passing your CII exam isn’t only about having the necessary knowledge and understanding, it’s about being able to apply that knowledge in an exam setting exactly as needed and in a timely manner. It is essential that you practise multiple exam papers to ensure that you know exactly how to apply your knowledge. Too many people fail due to a lack of exam practice, even if their knowledge is good.

Our mock exam question papers ensure you get the practice you need to achieve exam success. Couple them with other resources in our study kits and you’ll be well prepared for your exam.

• All answers include cross references to the relevant CII study text
• All questions and answers are kept up-to-date to reflect changes to the exam syllabus and tax year
• Written for essential exam practice, but are not duplicates of the CII’s mock papers
• Download them instantly in PDF format and print as required
• 30-day money-back guarantee

Why not try before you buy? Download one of our free tasters:

AF1

CF1

ER1

FA1

IF1

J02

R01

Are you aware 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 make this easier for you, we have collated the most recent CII study text updates.

6 May – 4 June 2017 : R04

8 April – 5 May 2017 : IF5

4 March – 7 April 2017 : AF3, AF4, CF1, CF6, ER1, FA2, IF1, IF2, IF3, IF5, J10, J11, J12, LP2, R01, R02, R06, R07

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;
• information on recent updates to the CII study texts.

Here are the blog posts you might have missed since our last newsletter:

Friday Five – 4 August

The April CII J07 Exam was all about applying the knowledge

Friday Five – 28 July

Taking a Look at the Question Paper for April’s CII J05 Exam

Our Post-Exam Review of the April 2017 CII AF5 Exam

Friday Five – 21 July

A challenge for April’s CII J03 candidates was studying the massive manual in full

How to Know When the Higher Tax Applies to Second Properties

Friday Five – 14 July

The CII’s AF4 is a challenge but success is achievable with preparation

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!

..." Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort in your life and in relationship with others makes all the difference. "...

"5 Questions in 5 Minutes Every Friday"

This is a bit of Friday Fun where we provide you with 5 questions (and answers) relevant to a mix of CII exams. The challenge is for you to answer the questions 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!