3 in 5 candidates pass FASEA July test

FASEA on Tuesday released exam results from the 13^th Financial Advisers Exam held in July 2021, revealing that only 60 per cent of all candidates passed the exam.

“FASEA congratulates successful candidates on completing an important component of their education requirements under the Corporations Act,” said FASEA chief executive officer Stephen Glenfield.

“In recognition of their achievement, passing candidates who give consent, will have their names added to the successful candidates list on the FASEA website,” the CEO said.

Candidates who were unsuccessful in this exam will receive additional individual feedback to highlight the curriculum areas where they have underperformed. They will also receive an invitation to a FASEA led webinar to help them understand their results and provide guidance on how to prepare for their next sitting.

Overall, 16,030 advisers have passed the exams held to date out of a total 18,140 candidates that have sat the exams.

Of those that have passed, 14,070 are recorded as active financial advisers on ASIC FAR, representing 73 per cent of active advisers on ASIC’s Financial Adviser Register (FAR). Some 1,650 are ceased advisers on the FAR and may be re-authorised, while 310 are new entrants and may be authorised as a Provisional Financial Adviser.

FASEA also revealed that to date, 1,932 unsuccessful candidates have re-sat the exam with 65 per cent passing at a re-sit.

Moreover, it noted that further analysis of the July exam data has highlighted areas for improvement, particularly amongst unsuccessful candidates.

Exam question areas advisers underperformed on the July exam included: 

Financial advice regulatory and legal obligations

• Demonstrating knowledge of when practitioners are required by law to provide a retail client with key documentation e.g. FSG/SOA etc
• Demonstrating knowledge of the components of key advice documentation that is provided to the client
• Evaluating case studies and identifying breaches of financial disclosure obligations
• Applying relevant sections of the Corporations Act when identifying responsible provider obligations, including breaches of those obligations
• Applying Tax Agents Services Act 2009 requirements to scenarios and identifying compliance and non-compliance.

Applied ethical and professional reasoning and communication

• Demonstrating an understanding of the relationship of FASEA code to professionalism of entire industry.
• Applying best interests duty and associated obligations to clients in scenario based problems.
• Identifying sources of judgement and biases and their influence on financial advice

Financial advice construction

• Demonstrating an understanding of the context in which financial advice is given and requested and how this impacts decision making.
• Identifying inappropriate advice and how to comply with the Code of Ethics

FASEA's next exam is coming up in September, with 1700 advisers said to have registered.