The Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) has released its draft guidance for the financial adviser examination, outlining five proposed competency areas.
The examination is an essential component of the educational qualifications that all advisers will need to pass before they can provide personal advice to retail clients to comply with section 921C of the Corporations Act.
Advisers that are registered as authorised representatives prior to 31 December 2018 will be required to pass the examination before 1 January 2021. From January 2019, new entrants or those returning to the industry are required to pass the exam after they have completed their tertiary degree, and before commencement of their professional year.
The exam will test the practical application of adviser knowledge in the following competency areas:
- Corporations Act (emphasis on Chapter 7 – financial services and markets);
- The FASEA Code of Ethics;
- Behavioural finance – client and consumer behaviour, engagement and decision making;
- Financial advice construction – suitability of advice aligned to different consumer groups;
- Applied ethical and professional reasoning and communication.
