The CII J07 March 2021 Exam in Review

Here, we are looking at the J07 exam – Supervision in a regulated environment – that was sat in the last exam sitting, March 2021.

You can find the exam guide here.

Question 1

The exam started nicely with a six-mark question on the key activities a supervisor undertakes to ensure customer expectations are met.  The role of a supervisor is often tested so should have been a welcome first question to candidates.

Question 2

This question asked for a brief explanation why direct supervision is more appropriate for pre-competent advisers than indirect supervision. This was for three marks and for another three marks, candidates were asked for the situations in which direct supervision is appropriate for competent advisers.

Question 3

For 10 marks, candidates had to identify and explain briefly the 4 scales used by the Myers Briggs Type Indicator to categorise an individual’s behavioural preferences.  Myers Briggs is often tested and should have been well answered by candidates.

Question 4

This question tested the complaints procedure for a total of seven marks.  This area is tested within various CII exams so again should have been answered well.

Question 5

For eight marks, candidates had to state the information that an employee must receive in their statement of employment particulars.  This should have been relatively straightforward, and candidates should have picked up a good number of marks here.

Question 6

This question may have been more of a challenge as it tested how competence is defined by the FCA (for three marks) and in (b) candidates had to state the key areas that must be included in a firm’s Training and Competence Scheme. This second part was for six marks.

Question 7

In this question, and for eight marks, candidates had to state the key areas that a firm usually reviews as part of the recruitment process, when recruiting a financial adviser.

Question 8

This question tested learning style preferences. Candidates had to provide examples of training and learning activities that appeal to people with the Honey and Mumford learning style preferences of activist, reflector, theorist and pragmatist.  This gave a total of 12 marks and should have been an area studied well as it has appeared in previous papers.

Question 9

This question, for 11 marks in total, asked for the benefits of training validation, the principal methods of validating sales skills training and finally, the principal methods of validating knowledge training were asked for.

Question 10

Candidates then had to explain the key features of effective feedback for eight marks.

Question 11

This question tested the mandatory actions a financial adviser must undertake when presenting investment recommendations – this was for eight marks, and for another three marks, candidates had to state the desirable actions a financial adviser should undertake.  To gain the marks on offer, candidates should ensure they answer the question in the correct part.

Question 12

This question tested aspects of the GDPR, including the rights that can be exercised in accordance with GDPR (for two marks); the principal requirements a firm must evidence, in relation to consent by a customer to be contacted and receive marketing material (for five marks) and finally candidates were asked to list the measures the ICO can take if firms do not comply with GDPR. This was for two marks.  This was a detailed question which may have proved challenging to some.

Question 13

This was a 10-mark question which asked for the 3 stages of business planning: strategic planning, tactical planning, and operational planning, along with explanations of each.

Question 14

This asked candidates to state and explain the key management information a supervisor needs to enable them to effectively manage a team. This was for eight marks.

Question 15

And finally, the exam finished with a list; candidates had to come up with 7 types of workplace discrimination. This should have been a relatively nice question to finish on.

Overall, this exam paper felt like a fair reflection of the syllabus, and any candidate that had used past exam guides to complement their studying of the manual should have had little difficulty with the majority of the questions asked.

Comparison with the October 2020 Exam Paper

Let’s look at what was tested in the previous exam, held in October 2020, which can be found here.

• Key activities of a supervisor
• Kotter’s change model and Kurt Lewin’s model
• Barriers to effective communication
• Induction plan for a financial adviser
• CPD requirements and Statement of Professional Standing
• Training needs analysis
• Structured development plans
• Coaching and counselling and the Michael Reddy model
• Presenting recommendations to a client
• Role of a supervisor when observing client appointments
• Components of career management as identified by the CIPD
• KPIs
• Quality standards: ISO 22222 and BS 8453
• Misconduct

Grab the resources you need!

If you’re studying for your CII J07 exam, and you want to be fully prepared, grab our free taster to try out one of Brand Financial Training’s resources for yourself.  Click the link to download the J07 mock paper taster now!