In this article, Natalie Dawes, Academy Support Adviser at BTS, provides some advice and guidance for anyone who is considering taking one of the AF papers in September, giving you an overview of each of the sittings available and perhaps a little food for thought about whether to go for it.
Who is starting to feel those summer vibes? I know I am, barbecues are in full force at my house at the weekends and I’m looking forward to our planned family holiday in August.
Note that I said the word ‘planned’ when talking about our trip away, I wonder how many of us have planned trips and how many of us will head off somewhere on the fly?
When I think about studies, my mind immediately turns to planning; planning for them and planning around them. For some of us (me included), summer can be a time that we let things slip, where we fall behind on our studies. Whether it be that the weather is gorgeous, and we’d just prefer to be out and about rather than at the books, we have more trips away than originally planned, or those of us with children have to navigate the long Summer holiday and find the balance of family, work and study time. There’s loads of reasons we can fall off the study wagon.
There’s a long summer ahead to be utilised
This isn’t an article intended to make you feel bad though, we absolutely should be enjoying the great outdoors, holidays, time away, family time, etc etc. With it being early June, I thought it would be a good time to say that, you still have nearly three months of the current exam year and that means plenty of time to sit another exam (or two) before the syllabus changes in September. It’s all in the planning!
So now I’ve buttered you up, I should confess there is agenda here too and that comes in the form of a reminder that the September exam season is also on its way – all exams that will be in the new exam year. Going back to my point from earlier though, you have three months right now to get in some really good preparation towards one of these exams.
Advance your summer
For the purposes of this article, I am focusing on the advanced exam sittings in September 2023. This includes AF1, AF4, AF5 & AF7 – all notorious for being somewhat tricky! The CII recently released their countrywide pass rates and they absolutely back up this statement.
So what to do? What we definitely cannot do, is take the Summer to think about whether or not you’re going to sit one of these AFs in September, your preparation needs to start now. We’re often asked by candidates at this time of year, what to do about study resources, whether to purchase them now or wait until the new resources are available.
BTS resources for the 2023/2024 exam year will start to become available around mid to end of July. On our study plans, we recommend working through your study guide at least 8-12 weeks before your exam sitting and this means that really, waiting to purchase your resources in July could be a little tight.
This is the area I fall into, I’ll be sitting AF5 in September (a resit). I’m allowing myself as much time as possible to prepare for this exam so I’m not going to wait for the new resources to come out. I’ll be basing my revision on working through the 2022/2023 study guide but also, make sure that I am aware of changes in legislation / taxation etc for the 2023/2024 year and factor this into my revision.
I’m not someone who can plan for an exam sitting with only a few weeks to go, I need structure and I need more time on my side than maybe some do. What do you need? That’s the question you need to be asking yourself and then plan accordingly. If you’re heading into one of the AFs for the first time, you can check out the study plans on the BTS Careers Zone – they will help you identify the ‘size of the task’. They’ll give you a real-world idea of how much time you’ll need to study the materials and practice your exam technique, which for written exams is so critical.
Supporting your summer
First piece of advice…let the summer be your friend rather than a hindrance. There are many resources available to you, to allow you to study ‘on the go’. We’re seeing more and more candidates adopt this attitude, taking their study guides on holiday with them and studying on the beach or making use of e-Learning materials on their mobiles or tablets for some hands-on learning whilst on the plane or on a long journey.
If you’re not heading of somewhere exotic or somewhere else that takes your fancy, just take your studying outside! The great outdoor does wonders for our wellbeing and can offer a really calm environment for you to get your head into some productive revision. This is something I’ll be making use of, especially as my house tends to be a bit busy over the summer with the kids off school.
A summer of AFs
Due to the timing of the AFs, it’s likely a lot of you are contemplating right now whether or not to have the summer off or go for the September sittings. If you can get the planning right, which BTS can help you with our FREE kick-start webinars I say go for it – here’s what’s coming up in the advanced exam sitting calendar:
AF1 – Personal Tax & Trust Planning – Tuesday 12 September
This unit looks at developing the specialist knowledge and skills needed to develop in depth financial planning skills related to personal tax and trusts. So expect a much closer look at this very specific area, your knowledge and application will be put the test for sure!
The exam is three hours long and has two sections A & B. Section A has one case study, with associated tasks carrying 80 marks. Section B also carries 80 marks but with tasks associated to two shorter case studies.
You won’t get to see these case studies until you are in the exam. How good are your skills with absorbing information after only reading it once or twice? It’s a skill in itself and some will find this part of the exam harder than others. Definitely something to build into your revision strategy – technique is just as important, as the knowledge side of things remember!
AF5 – Financial Planning Process – Tuesday 19 September
This is the mandatory unit of the CII’s Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning. It’s an exam that focusses on the advice process, so has clear similarities to R06 albeit, is tested with one full factfind as opposed to two shorter case studies.
The factfind is released approximately two and a half weeks before the exam sitting, which means you need to factor in time to get to know it as if your life depended on it. It’s a lengthy exam resource (as you would expect a factfind to be) so it’s a good idea to get to know not only the content but the layout of it too, so you don’t find yourself searching for details in the exam, which could cost you time – three hours goes fast! The more you get to know the couple you’re working with, the more you’ll understand their financial objectives, which are not actually given to you until you enter the exam.
There is a requirement for deeper knowledge and understanding on this exam as well as application of it. The exam itself is made up usually of around 6/7 questions, which tend to have two parts to them. They’re often high markers as well, with 160points in total on offer, so you’ll need to dig deep for answers and depth within them.
AF7 – Pension Transfers – Tuesday 26 October
Another specialist area being examined with AF7, developing the knowledge and skills needed for advising on the transfer of safeguarded benefits. This is a challenging exam with a narrow syllabus, focusing on the main area of the advice process for pension transfers.
A slightly shorter exam with it being two hours long, with 100 marks in total on offer. These marks are split across two sections. Section A will be based on generic questions on pension transfers, carrying a total of 32 marks. Usually split over ¾ question but with several parts to them, so expect a, b & c in some cases.
Section B will throw two cases studies at you, nor particularly lengthy but each with their own complexities. Each case study will have three or four questions each, which tend to be quite wordy. This section of the exam carries the other 68 marks but it won’t be until you’re sat with your exam paper that you’ll know how this is split.
AF4 – Investment Planning – Tuesday 3 October
This unit looks at developing in depth financial planning skills specifically related to investments and the management of investment portfolio.
You’ve probably noted a theme with these specialised area exams now, this exam also has two sections, carry 80 marks each, which you’ll three hours to manage.
As with AF1 Section A has one case study and Section B has two shorter case studies, again you won’t have sight of these until you are in the exam.
So, how are you spending your summer?
So now you know what’s what with the AFs, how are you going to spend your summer? I hope I haven’t put you off so much that you feel like you need to run for the hills summer. Instead, I hope you’ll see you have time on your side right now and that actually, you could sit comfortably on a picnic blanket and study on the hills, or wherever in fact this summer takes you.
Whatever study you’re working towards, make sure you choose the right support for you. It’s something we at BTS remind students of all of the time – you all have choice in the resources that you use. So do your research and make sure you choose what is going to compliment your learning style and after this article, perhaps where you’ll be doing that study!
Bespoke Training Solutions have been supporting regulated exams for 20 years this year! Known as ‘the exam experts’ within the industry, BTS provide support for the CII regulated exams by way of study guides, e-learning resources, and workshops for the full R0 suite and many AF units.
Visit our website and check out the brand-new Careers Zone for study plans, answers to exam FAQs and lots more to support your journey.
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