Expert has only 1 word to describe the FASEA exam

Speaking at the ifa’s inaugural Future Forum last week, Dr Jeffrey Scott, head of advice strategy at MetLife Australia, addressed the FASEA hurdle by drawing on his own personal experience with the exam.

Noting that while he did successfully pass the exam, the trials and tribulations for most, including his colleagues, are real.

“Asking advisers who have been in the industry for years to sit a three-hour university-style examination, when they haven’t sat an exam since high school, I think is ridiculous,” said Dr Scott during a panel discussion examining the sustainability of the advice industry.

“Recognition of prior learning from an education point of view says we should take into consideration what the person has done previously and if they have no problems with their ASIC stuff and they’ve kept up with their CPD points, they’re doing all their education, then why do they have to sit the exam as well?”

“That’s why MetLife has been helping advisers prepare for the exam by providing webinars and training sessions,” Dr Scott explained. 

Joining him on the panel, Peter Johnston, the executive director of the Association of Independently Owned Financial Professionals, spoke of an alternative for advisers unwilling or unable to face the FASEA hurdle.

“Those who have been in the industry for a while and don’t want to sit the FASEA exam, who don’t want to have a degree, they can put someone in their business to look after their existing clients,” Mr Johnston said.

But there are details advisers need to keep an eye on. 

“If you’ve been an adviser for your cohort of clients, you can’t suddenly become a general practitioner because you already know their secrets, so you’ve got to cut it off and put someone in there to deal with your existing client base,” Mr Johnston said.

“Then you can just run your practice and deal with new clients coming through the door, do the marketing, give them some general advice and then hand them over to your adviser. So that’s what a lot of the older advisers are currently setting up.”

Last month, FASEA revealed the pass rate among advisers listed on ASIC’s Financial Adviser Register (FAR) stood at 76 per cent at the end of September, meaning 14,630 advisers on the FAR were successful in overcoming the FASEA hurdle.

However, as many as 24 per cent of FAR-listed advisers have yet to do so.

According to FASEA, overall, 88.5 per cent of advisers who have sat the exam have passed, or 16,850 in total.