Newsletter for November 2018

It’s exactly 6 weeks until Christmas. If we were a big toy store or clothes shop, then we’d probably be suggesting you make a purchase as the ideal Christmas gift. We’re not sure how purchasing exam resources as a Christmas present would go down though. We very much doubt it has been done. Maybe you could be the first??

If you’re sitting CII R05 Financial Protection anytime soon, you will hopefully be interested to know that we’ve been busy working on new audio masterclasses. They are just being finalised and will be available very shortly for immediate download.

We are also working on resources for coursework-based exams, which will be completed next year. No more news on that as yet, but do keep an eye out in future newsletters for updates.

Enjoy your Christmas shopping!

Best Wishes,

The Team at Brand Financial Training

Learn about the four types of lifetime transfers as you revise for your CII AF1, AF5, R03 or R06 exam.

Lifetime transfers fall into the following four categories:

• Exempt
• Potentially Exempt
• Chargeable but not taxable
• Chargeable and taxable

Exempt Transfers

An exempt transfer is one that is not liable to IHT and not counted in the cumulation for the future. The main exemptions are:

• Spouse/civil partner exemption – married couples and civil partners that are UK-domiciled can pass all of their estate to each other free of IHT with no limit
• Annual exemption of £3,000 per tax year – the unused balance from one tax year can be carried forward to the next
• Small gifts exemption – gifts of up to £250 per tax year in any one tax year are exempt
• Normal expenditure out of income – regular gifts that leave the transferor with sufficient income to maintain their normal standard of living
• Gifts on marriage with specified limits
• Gifts to charities or political parties – tax free during lifetime and on death – in addition, there is a reduced IHT rate of 36% where at least 10% of an estate is left to charity
• Gifts for the national benefit
• Estates of members of the armed forces whose death can be attributed to injury or illness suffered whilst on active service. This has also been extended to members of the emergency service and humanitarian aid workers responding to emergency circumstances.

You wouldn’t try to stuff an entire pizza into your mouth all at once, would you? (Well, apart from that one time after a night out in your first term at uni…) A far wiser and more conventional approach is to cut it into slices so you can enjoy and digest every last morsel properly.

Attempting to consume large quantities of information effectively when you’re studying for important exams is no different. You know well in advance what the exam date is going to be, and you have a good idea about how much you have to learn before that date. So rather than attempt to cram all those facts into your head in one fell swoop two days before, it makes more sense to adopt a ‘bite by bite’ approach to your learning. Here’s one way to approach the revision of large quantities of information.

Step 1: What size is the pizza?

Compile a comprehensive overview of absolutely everything you need to cover before the exam, including lists of all the course topics and/or units.

Step 2: How big is each slice?

Depending on how much information every unit/topic of course material contains, estimate approximately how many hours (or part-hours) of revision you’ll require to cover each individual section thoroughly.

Available for AF1, AF2, AF4, AF7, CF1, CF6, CF8, ER1, FA1-2, IF1-5, J02, J03, J05, J07, J10-12, LP2, R01-5, and R07

...“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

We’re finalising the new audio masterclasses for R05. Listen at home, in the car, at the gym or wherever else you may be; these are the perfect way to learn on the go!

The series of 11 MP3 audio masterclasses will cover:

• Overview
• Financial Protection Needs
• State Benefits
• Life Assurance
• Taxation
• Income Protection
• Critical Illness Cover
• Long Term Care
• Other Insurances
• Personal Protection
• Business Protection

We will send out an email when they are released.

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.

7 September – 6 October 2018: CF1, ER1, J03, J05, J07, R03, R04, R06, AF1, AF4 and AF7

8 August – 6 September 2018: J10

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 – 9 November - Click here.

Pensions Tax Relief: What are you being asked on that exam?- Click here.

Friday Five – 2 November - Click here.

How To Decide if an Individual is Employed or Self-Employed - Click here.

Friday Five – 26 October - Click here.

Taking a Look at Pensions and Divorce - Click here.

Friday Five – 19 October - Click here.

How to Differentiate Between EIS, VCT and SEIS - Click here.

Friday Five – 12 October - Click here.

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!

..." Belief in oneself is one of the most important bricks in building any successful venture. "...

"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!