R06 exam requirements

Posted Dec 18, 2013

In this update we cover the contents and requirements of the R06 exam and go on to detail how our R06 The Expected Solution Package will help you pass first time.

The R06 Expected Solution package includes a detailed analysis by our panel of experts of the 2 case studies that are issued by the CII two weeks prior to the exam. We provide you with a list of the questions that we feel could be asked together with a detailed solution. The Expected Solution will be available during the Monday, 7 days prior to the exam date by way of a PDF link on your record, we will also email you as soon as it becomes available.

In addition to help with your preparation you also receive immediate access up to your exam date to:

  • The R01 to R05 online multimedia courses
  • The last 7 expected solutions
  • 2 self marked mock papers

Select R06 The Expected Solution Package

The Expected Solution will be available during the Monday, 7 days prior to the exam date. We will email you as soon as it becomes available.

Introduction
If you have opened this, you are no doubt either booked to sit the CII’s R06 Financial Planning Practice exam or are giving serious thought to doing so.

The R06 exam differs from the other ‘R’ paper exams in that it is a written exam as opposed to a multiple choice exam, and is a formal test of skills that you should be carrying out on a day to day basis as part of your advisory role. Passing the exam itself will provide you with 30 valuable credits at Diploma level as you seek to complete your journey to level 4 status.

Syllabus
The R06 syllabus covers the following 5 learning outcomes:

  • Obtain appropriate client information and understand clients’ needs, wants, values and risk profile essential to the financial planning process.
  • Synthesise the range of client information, subjective factors and indicators to provide the basis for financial planning assumptions and decisions.
  • Analyse a client’s situation and the advantages and disadvantages of the appropriate options.
  • Formulate suitable financial plans for action and explain and justify recommendations.
  • Implement, review and maintain financial plans to achieve the clients’ objectives and adapt to changes in circumstances.

Assessment method
The method of assessment is a written exam paper based on 2 case studies that are released to candidates 2 weeks before the exam. Each case study states the clients’ financial aims, typically 4 of them per case study, but the questions are not available until the exam sitting itself. The exam is 3 hours long and comprises short answer questions based on the 2 case studies with 150 marks available overall. There are between 5 to 7 questions along with their associated sub questions per case study and with between 70 to 80 of the marks allocated per case study.

Application based exam
The R06 syllabus states that the exam will enable candidates to demonstrate their expertise in the application of the financial planning process through combining and applying learning content from all the other units in the level 4 Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning i.e.

  • Financial services, regulation and ethics (R01)
  • Investment principles and risk (R02)
  • Personal taxation (R03)
  • Pensions and retirement planning (R04)
  • Financial protection (R05)

Whilst it is important to understand the key concepts learnt from the R01 to R05 syllabuses, the key phrase here is to ‘demonstrate their expertise in the application of the financial planning process’. R06 is very much an application based exam.

At level 3, you would have been expected to ‘know’, at level 4 and most specifically in the R06 exam, you are expected to be able to ‘understand’, ‘analyse’, ‘evaluate’ and ‘apply’ what you have learnt.

Package contents
If you were trying to sit this exam without the assistance of our R06 The Expected Solution Package, this would no doubt be daunting. However, if you have purchased the package this is great news for you, as our exam package includes 11 items giving you the opportunity to:

  • Brush up on the technical learning required from the R01 to R05 exams using our 5 online multimedia courses that we have designed to help students pass these exams
  • Helps you understand the exam techniques required for this exam by reviewing or taking the last few public exam sittings using our expected solutions to review your answers
  • Complete 2 online mock exams designed by our training team to help you assess your technical knowledge and get experience in the technique needed to pass the exam. This feature allows you to type your answers on the question screen for each question and then mark your answers beside the model solution on the answer screen
  • Finally it provides The Expected Solution, our detailed analysis of the case studies a week before you sit the exam itself.

Details of The Expected Solution
Our ability to provide this detailed analysis in The Expected Solution is based on the fact that whilst the R06 exam has evolved to some degree over time, nonetheless, the CII’s approach to testing your financial planning expertise has to a significant extent been maintained. Not only that, but the R06 manual itself provides some very clear guidance as to what is required of candidates. This therefore allows our panel of experts, all of whom are qualified to at least Chartered status, and with considerable experience of preparing candidates for the R06 exam, to take the 2 case studies apart. Based on the information and financial aims we identify the questions that you could expect to face in the exam itself.

But that is not all, as not only do we help you brush up on your knowledge, understand the exam techniques required and identify the likely questions that will be asked, we then go on to answer those very same questions in the format the CII would be looking for!

Guarantee you will be well prepared
This issue of the format of your answers is an important one, as a recent CII exam guide for R06 stated that in the opinion of the senior examiner: “The main error was a lack of detail provided in answers, with marks missed due to candidates not relating their answers specifically to the case studies.”

Our model answers to our anticipated questions, will not only allow you to answer the questions we have identified in the required way in order to score well, but will also help you familiarise yourself with the approach to take should the CII throw in an unexpected curve ball!

In order to pass you really need to understand all the syllabus elements and requirements.

If you use all of the tools provided in our R06 The Expected Solution package, we can’t guarantee you that you will pass, but we can guarantee you will be well prepared.

Now that’s what we at Wizard Learning call ‘Magic!’

Customer feedback
These are 3 sample comments, our testimonial page has many more:

“Many thanks for your excellent R06 expected solution. The answers were spot on and helped me to focus my revision and pass first time, despite not having the time to do anywhere near the recommended study time. The solution helped me to remember the key points that I needed for the exam, and I have no doubt that without it I wouldn't have passed. I'm sitting the Advanced Diploma next year and will definitely be back for AF study aids which I am sure will be of the same high quality.” Steve Carlson

“The R06 expected solutions were pretty much spot on, only a couple of bits out of left field in the exam, but the solutions gave me more than enough ammunition to tackle all the questions and ultimately pass this tricky exam. I will certainly be using you again in the future for my Chartered exams.” Lloyd Walton

"I passed R06, the expected solutions were a fantastic help, saving time, focused the mind on exam technique and well worth the money, thank you." John Hardwicke

For more information and current prices click on the “Buy Accounts” link and select R06 The Expected Solution Package.

Discounts and free online learning skills course
Discounts are available when your purchase includes 2 or more training modules, see here for details. All purchases includes a free learning skills online course.

Best regards

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Wizard Learning Ltd
www.wizardlearning.com

Provider of award winning online training and CPD for financial advisers and financial services professionals

We are committed to helping you gain higher level qualifications and maintain this knowledge through effective continuous professional development.

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