Posted by The Team at Brand Financial Training on October 8, 2019 in Newsletter
8 October 2019
This week is a big exam sitting week for those of you sitting Advanced Diploma and some Diploma level exams such as R06 and some J exams. I hope it has gone or is going well for you! Don’t forget you can download the majority of our resources immediately, so if you need something for last-minute revision, you can access it straightaway.
We’re pleased to announce that we now offer assessment tests for companies looking to test adviser’s knowledge. They are also useful for testing potential new recruits. You can find out more below.
Best Wishes,
The Team at Brand Financial Training
Featured Article
What is a Relevant Life Plan?
This article explains what a Relevant Life Plan is, when it would be used and by whom. You’ll find this information useful if you’re studying for any of the CII AF1, AF2, AF5, R05 or R06 exams.
From Past CII Business and Financial Planning Exams
This is a topic that can be tested in various CII exams; in the past, it has cropped up in the business planning papers, as well as in the advanced financial planning paper. An example was when one exam asked a question about a company setting up life cover on behalf of an employee for the benefit of their family.
If this is not done through a group life scheme because the company is too small, for example, then life cover set up in this way is known as relevant life cover.
What is a Relevant Life Plan?
A Relevant Life Plan (RLP) is basically term assurance offering a tax-efficient way of providing death in service benefits to employees; there has to be an employer/employee relationship so is not available to sole traders, partners or limited liability partnerships.
An RLP is an individual policy with the employer as the policyholder and the employee as the life insured. The sum insured, like traditional death-in-service policies, is set up as a multiple of salary. Most providers offer up to 25 times remuneration for younger lives, with multiples reducing as age increases. The policy is then written under a discretionary trust, meaning money is paid quickly, without probate, to the correct people whilst also avoiding IHT. On the death of the employee, the sum insured is paid to the trustees, and this, in turn, is paid to the named beneficiaries.
When you’re holding down a job as well as working towards exams, never mind factoring in a personal life too, it can be easy to lose sight of the importance of balance. What’s more, especially if you have a family, it can feel as though you are taking care of everyone and everything else apart from yourself.
If that sounds like you, you’re not the only one. A study earlier this year found that British workers put in the longest hours among EU nations, although other countries – such as Denmark and Germany – are more productive.
At the same time, another study, from Virgin Active, found that we’re not getting enough sleep or ‘me time’. Meanwhile, women, in particular, have said they really need an extra four hours in the day just to get everything done.
When balancing learning with paid employment, the challenges can feel particularly acute, and the demands on your time even more intense. So what can you do to avoid burnout while studying for an extra qualification to give you a step up the career ladder and allow you to bring fresh skills to your workplace?
You’ll clearly need to be on top of your game when it comes to time management and commitment, so here are our best tips for keeping things on an even keel:
Keep talking
Talk to your boss about what you’re doing, and discuss any challenges. Be open about your commitments, and make the most of any support offered such as study leave. Your employer will hopefully be delighted you’re making such a strong investment in your own development. Equally, you will want those closest to you on board, so have a conversation with your family about what you have committed to.
There is a great deal of debate about the importance and necessity of adviser assessment testing, particularly since 2018 when the FCA collaborated with the CII and launched their Regulated Retail Investment Adviser Re-evaluation test.
Cost, capacity and time restrictions can mean it is difficult for firms to offer adviser testing; however, there are undoubted benefits. Amongst others, test results can form an important part of an individual’s CPD; they can provide evidence of current technical knowledge and work needed; they can evaluate the knowledge of potential recruits.
With the introduction of the CII’s Regulated Retail Investment Adviser Re-evaluation test, Brand Financial Training has seen a large increase in demand from small- to medium-sized companies for a cost-effective, flexible approach to adviser testing. Our modular assessment testing offers the flexibility to spread the tests over the year if required and can be tailored for individuals specialising in certain areas.
Brand Financial Training’s assessment testing consists of five tests which can be used standalone, or together. They are:
Regulation and Ethics
Personal Taxation
Pensions and Retirement
Investments
Protection
Designed to re-test knowledge, each test includes 20 multiple-choice questions and answers. Each test paper comes with a Question-Only paper (for the test taker), as well as an Answer paper consisting of questions, answers and explanations of the correct answers.
E-Learning
Available for R01 and R02
…“The R01 videos, study notes, workbook and practice papers were so helpful and made revision a lot more approachable. It really helped me to pass when I failed before! I look forward to using your other materials for the other exams!…
Sarah, DC Pensions Associate Consultant, London
Covering the exam learning outcomes, our modular e-learning packages provide you with 24/7 online access, for 3 months, to videos, a workbook including handouts and self-test questions for each module, and PDFs of the slides used in the videos.
Our customers often tell us that face-to-face training just doesn’t work for them in terms of time, cost and the fact that you can’t attend the same live face-to-face event again and again! E-Learning is a great alternative.
No travel required, saving you valuable time
No accommodation required, saving you money.
You can watch the videos as many times as you need – it is not “once only” where vital information can be missed
You receive further support via the workbook with handouts and self-test questions
As the R01 and R02 exams are broken down into modules, you don’t experience overwhelm (and exhaustion!) as you often do during day-long face-to-face training
Why not try before you buy? Download one of our free tasters:
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
..." Achievement results from work realizing ambition.
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Adam Ant
Friday 5
"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!
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.
