CeFA exam questions

new2civvystreet

Hello Everyone, quick update. Did CeFA 3 Friday last week, passed protection but failed retirement by one mark. As CeFA 4 was already booked I decided to still go ahead with it and passed it today.

I can't book a resit yet as i need to find out who is paying for it (me or my employer, I won't find that out until the 16th but I have to pass the exam by the 22nd (employers deadline)!!!!

Hopefully a 6 day window is all I need........ *gulp*

lcharm

Well done!! If you got through CeFA 4 then I'm guessing a bit of bad luck for CeFA 3! At least you only have to revise for one unit. I've not done either yet but heard retirement is a tricky topic from my tutor. Maybe u should just pay the £105 yourself and claim of the company later if they accept?

new2civvystreet

Thanks

I was thinking about that. My company registered me with IFS and paid the money straight to them, I wonder if they'd simply reimburse me if I paid....

I don't think I was quite ready for CeFA 3 retirement, I needed extra time to learn more (which I got in the 6 days until CeFA4!). I wouldn't say it's really hard, I just found that it was the little facts that let me down (you can't take the two types of pension credit at the same age for example), I just hadn't gone through the book enough times to let it all sink in. If you know the facts you should be OK.

Lokolo

Do you get the learning materials only online or do you get a disc or anything? Want to see if I can be a cheapskate... don't want the exam just reading material lol.

new2civvystreet

You get books with all the stuff you have to learn in them plus access to the same material online. Plus there's CDs (I think), mock exams, notes etc available to buy as well (but I've only ever seen all that on my ifs user account online).

banks4u

Has anyone done their cefa 4 exams? I passed my 1-3 and now got Cefa 4. Does anyone have any tips'?

Aegis

banks4u wrote: »

Has anyone done their cefa 4 exams? I passed my 1-3 and now got Cefa 4. Does anyone have any tips'?

Read the case studies and revise the modules you've done already. There's no new material, so just learn how to apply products to needs and you're sorted.

ADAM

CeFA 4 is just a series of case studies, based on client fact finds. There are no additional notes to study. Revisit CeFA modules 1-3 and brush up on knowledge.

You should receive a selection of case studies to look at when you register (6 I believe). Utilize these to show any gaps in your knowledge.

DipFA is a new Diploma which is based not only on technical knowledge, but also the actual application of this knowledge, along with your ability to put this across to a client in a manner which they should understand.

Out of the three Diplomas on offer DipFA, DipPFS and IFP CFP (certified financial planner). Only CFP and DipFA had a module based on this core principle. That was until the CII issued J08 which funnily enough is a Case study based exam.

You have to decide which exam type suits you best, anyone can learn something! You just have to read it through enough times. Utilizing this knowledge in a practical client friendly way is the key post RDR.

Anyone studying towards one of the three on offer is doing great. Having done a economics degree and then a degree in financial services management I found the IFS route better personally. I already hold the full DipFA title having sat and passed all the assessments, and been one of the few involved in its construction.

Most of the press articles are around the examination companies arguing between themselves for economic reasons.

Lets face it LVL 4 as accredited by Ofqal is level 4 regardless of the company you sit it with.

Best of luck to all those studying towards Certificate level and Diploma level qualifications. Next stop degree as I see it.

naseer_2

TEDDYRUKSPIN wrote: »

Did you pass or fail?

The rubbish thing about IFS is that they don't tell you the question's you got wrong!

The exam is hard. No specific tips except take it until you pass.

hi, just failed my cefa 1 exam today even thou I past the exam on the cd more times than i can remember---i used the 2008-09 cd, any tips on what i should do----exam was hard -the sample papers and the cdt tool from the ifs was not even that helpful ----any real good tips
thank you for your time

Aegis

naseer wrote: »

hi, just failed my cefa 1 exam today even thou I past the exam on the cd more times than i can remember---i used the 2008-09 cd, any tips on what i should do----exam was hard -the sample papers and the cdt tool from the ifs was not even that helpful ----any real good tips
thank you for your time

You just need to learn the stuff. If you have the material, sample questions and the CDT, then you should be able to pass just by learning the whole thing.

Sorry, there really isn't much more advice I can give you on this one, it's just a matter of being able to learn it or not.

If you're really desperate you might want to try a course of some sort, but those will be quite expensive and still don't guarantee you a pass. On top of that, if you need a course to pass the first exam you might need it for the rest, and that will get even more expensive.

Does your employer have any help for you?