Posted by The Team at Brand Financial Training on July 12, 2022 in Newsletter
12 July 2022
We are over halfway through 2022 (how fast time flies!), and school holidays are fast approaching. Whilst many people are counting down the days until their summer holiday, here at Brand, we are getting ready for our busiest time of the year – tax year updates! Throughout July and August we update all of our resources to get them ready for the start of the new examinable tax year which begins on 1st September.
We update any changes in tax and legislation, and we also study any changes in style or exam difficulty to make sure our resources provide the best possible reflection of what you might face in your exam.
Best Wishes,
The Team at Brand Financial Training
Featured Article
Current CII Exams Pass Rates – as at July 2022
The CII has now released their pass rates for 2021. Here, we discuss the pass rates and what we can learn from them.
The pass rates are correct as at 11 July 2022.
R0 Exams
Looking at the R0 units first, 2021 figures show reduced pass rates for all units except the regulation and ethics exam (R01) and the investment exam (R02).
R03 (taxation) and R04 (pensions) have the lowest pass rates so it would appear candidates are still finding these two exams the most difficult to pass – a trend we have seen for many years. The protection exam (R05), once again, has the highest pass rate which is not unexpected as this is the only level 3 R0 exam (the others are all level 4).
The figures in red show where the pass rates have gone down from last year.
The pace of modern digital life can make it easy to think we all happily multitask most of the time. But do we really? Here, we consider the concept of doing more than one thing at a time – and why it may not be as productive as we believe or hope.
Arguably, one of the key reasons why multitasking is a myth is that it doesn’t even exist. That’s because, while you think you may be being productive and effective, and that your brain can handle more than one thing at a time, the reality is that it probably can’t.
In truth, when you think you’re multitasking, what you are really doing is switching between tasks. You’re not actually following a meeting while replying to an email or writing a report while reading a text – in fact, what you’re doing is jumping between tasks at lightning speed. And this can be a considerable drain on your time and energy.
We are delighted to have launched our brand-new Video Tutorials for R01 and R02, along with brand new E-mocks!
Video Tutorials
You can now enrol on an online, interactive video tutorial course, which breaks down the hardest topics into digestible chunks, with end-of-section quizzes to check your learning. These videos are designed to make the drier subjects a little more interactive and entertaining – so if you’re an audio or visual learner these are for you!
For a limited time, until close of business this Friday 15 July 2022, use the code VIDEO15 at the checkout to get 15% off the R01 or R02 video tutorials full package.
E-Mocks
You can also now access online E-Mocks, the ultimate test of how ready you are for your exam! These are designed to simulate the exam environment, with hundreds of new questions now available across the R01 and R02 exams. Within these E-Mocks, you’ll also be able to pinpoint the areas of the exam you are struggling with to direct further study, and see answer rationale for any questions you answer incorrectly. For a limited time, until close of business this Friday 15 July 2022, use the code EMOCKS15 at the checkout to get 15% off the R01 or R02 E-Mocks.
If you’ve already completed R01 and R02 and you’re looking for this kind of support towards your R03, R04 or R05 exams, we will be launching this towards the end of the year.
Calculation Workbooks
..."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
Updated Resources for the New Examinable Tax Year 2022/23
If you are planning on taking an exam in September or October and are concerned about buying resources now that would be out of date for the exam, you’ve no need to worry we’ve got you covered!
You can purchase any of our current 21/22 resources now and get access to the updated resources free of charge* when they become available in late August. Many of the exams don’t have a huge number of syllabus changes or changes in law, so this allows you to start with your studies sooner rather than later.
*Note this does not apply to: IF exams whose examinable year ends on 31 Dec; the E-Mocks, Video Tutorials – these have their own subscription period and the material will be updated online; R06 or AF5 Analyses – these resources apply to specific exams; E-Learning videos or J07 Mock Papers – these resources will be discontinued from 1st September.
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
..." People begin to become successful the minute they decide to be. "...
Harvey Mackay
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!
