The team at Brand FT recently spoke to a CII R06 examiner, and here they share the top three reasons why candidates do not pass R06.
The 2025 pass rate for R06 was 71%. It has been around this level for the last three years so this means that over a quarter of candidates who sit R06 don’t pass it. We spoke to a CII examiner to find out why, and here are the top three reasons.
1. Didn’t read or interpret the question correctly.
It’s easy to do! When in adrenaline-fuelled exam mode and desperate to start typing out their answers, candidates often skim-read the question and don’t fully make sense of what it is asking.
Given the nature of R06 and receiving the case studies before the exam, candidates know roughly which subjects will be examined and will no doubt have practised answering certain questions in the hope they come up.
When they see a similarly worded question, they go with their prepared answer. This means that their answer, whilst it may be technically correct information about the subject, does not answer the question actually being asked.
2. Answers weren’t related back to the clients.
Another really common pitfall! The answer given is generic and not specific to the clients in the case study.
Simply listing technical facts isn’t enough for R06, the exam focusses on how the technical facts apply to the client’s given scenario. Without this detail, essential marks are missed.
Writing that a client would ‘pay tax at their marginal rate’ is not specific to the client. However, writing ‘client will pay tax at 40% on interest above their £500 personal savings allowance’ is what the examiner is looking for.
Where relevant always include the client’s tax rates and their tax allowances in your answer!
3. Lack of structure and detail in answers.
Often, R06 is the first written exam many candidates sit, so it can be really difficult to know where to pitch your answer and how to structure it.
A good tip is to imagine the clients are in front of you, and the question you get is actually the client asking you ‘so explain to me in detail what happens if I die without a will’.
This can give a different angle when starting to write the response and makes it more likely that the answer will relate to the client.
Some marks can be missed because candidates don’t state the obvious. For example, whilst it’s obvious that increasing pension contributions will ‘increase pension provision’ – stating this will gain a mark.
So, write your answer assuming the person reading it knows absolutely nothing about financial planning.
Focusing on structure is also key, and something that can be practiced in the lead-up to the exam.
Think about the ‘in, during, out’ concept for questions about a financial product, use mnemonics to help with structure and technical recall, and try to write in concise short sentences so the examiner can see your understanding clearly.
Overall these points all fall into the category of ‘exam technique’, and this should be a key focus of candidates before the release of the case studies.
Spending time on this in advance saves time in those final two weeks for very specific revision and gives more confidence in structuring strong answers.
To find out more about how Brand FT can support you with your studies, you can head to their website at: https://brandft.co.uk/
Main image: written, glasses, exam, isabella-fischer-LXDFEdtEGUQ-unsplash
