FASEA releases August exam results

In a statement, the standards authority said 82 per cent of the approximately 1,500 candidates who sat the August exam passed, compared with an average pass rate of 84 per cent across all sessions so far.

FASEA also said 65 per cent of advisers re-sitting the exam during this session had passed, compared to an average of 54 per cent of re-sitters passing previous exams.

The authority said despite the variation in pass rates, the marking approach for the August session "was set at a consistent standard to prior exams" and "was subject to [exam administrator] ACER's comprehensive marking approach".

"An increase of 11 per cent in the pass rate for advisers undertaking their first re-sit compared to previous exams indicates these advisers are preparing for their subsequent sitting, allowing them to raise their knowledge to a level consistent with the challenge set by the exam," FASEA said.

FASEA said 46 per cent of advisers on the ASIC register had now passed the exam.

"FASEA is pleased to present the outcomes of the seventh exam and congratulates successful candidates on completing an important component of their education requirements under the Corporations Act during the current extraordinary circumstances," the authority's chief executive Stephen Glenfield said.

"Over 11,180 advisers have sat the exam, with nine in 10 demonstrating they have the skills to apply their knowledge of advice construction, ethics and legal requirements to the practical scenarios tested in the exam."

The authority also released further details of common problem areas for advisers in the exam, including:

Financial advice regulatory and legal requirements

- Demonstrating an understanding of the difference between personal advice, general advice and factual information and how they apply to different client scenarios;
- Assessing whether advice recommendations meet the client’s best interests; and
- Assessing the impact conflicts of interest may have on advice recommendations.

Financial advice construction

- Identification of client biases and how they may influence clients’ financial decisions and/or investment choices;
- Understanding the context of client requests for advice and how this may impact advice construction;
- Applied ethical and professional reasoning and communication;
- Applying Standards 2, 4 and 12 of the Code of Ethics to advice scenarios; and
- Demonstrating an understanding of an adviser’s ethical obligations when advising on complex family structures.

FASEA said around 700 advisers had registered for the October exam session so far and 1,200 had registered for the November session.