AF3 Examination

shaunrc

Hi

I have sat the AF3 exam today ( for the uninitiated this is the advanced diploma pension exam under the auspices of the Chartered Insurance Industry). I have considered the paper and feel that elements of it were a surprise. I would be interested to know if other people sat it on Tuesday and what they thought of it. I would just like to make it clear I am not saying this from a position of someone who feels that they had a disaster I still feel that I have a good chance of passing as I had studied hard and was well prepared.

If you were in the exam room then apologies for not saying hello!

helsbels17_2

I sat AF3 on Tuesday after 16 weeks of study and found it a nightmare. I've passed every other CII paper I've taken to date including some of the other advanced ones but I'll be very suprised if I've passed this one. Its extra frustrating because it was the last one I needed for Chartered status.

I sat the three previous AF3 papers on the weekend under timed conditions and passed them all comfortably so I was pretty confident. To my suprise on the day the CII chose to open with a nasty 11 marker which to this day has me stumped. The exam went downhill from there - vague, ambiguous questions and lots of marks allocated to minor sub-themes, some of which (final salary cash incentives?!) didn't even get a mention in the study texts.

I've actually written to the CII to express my disappointment and to ask why they chose to test so little of the syllabus. For an exam that qualifies an IFA to advise on final salary transfers I'm amazed that they didn't test any part of that huge topic.

On a more positive note I sat AF5 today and it went well. Questions were fair and reflective of the past papers.

yelf

The JO2 exam this week also had at least 2 questions not in the study text

shaunrc

Hi Helsbels

Thanks for your reply. I can only reiterate that I too was very concerned by the structure of this particular exam as I had studied hard and also have a good exam record. But of the main topics I expected none came up and there were several questions that either had far more marks for them than points I can find in any study text or were of the format bet you didnt read this sentence tucked away here's a question on it.

I think that I got the idea behind question 1 but as you know sometimes a calculation gets you all the marks and sometimes they expect you to come up with additions which often come from leftfield.

I am sorry you had something similar yelf. For the AF exams as well as the study texts for the underlying J series exams the CII has a case study booklet which costs £142. I spent a lot of time on it thinking it would be a guide only to discover I could have saved my money and my time.

Patchthedog

I sat J05 yesterday in Leeds. It was 'orrible! I found that I didn't really have enough time - didn't get a chance to go back through my answers at the end. I did J04 in April this year and it was the same scenario - really hard and not enough time (but somehow I passed it).

It's bad enough having to cram random facts into one's head without having all that time pressure in the exam.

It would be interesting to hear from anyone else that has sat these two.

Do you have to have the full diploma before attempting AF3?

Anna

shaunrc

No you don't Anna

I sat Jo5 this time last year and jo4 in April. I thought that I would finish off the pension qualifications and do af3. However an exam which is supposed to be a case study and as Helen above pointed out has a big element on pension transfers was very poor. It bore no real resemblance to the example case studies they sell and had questions not answered by the text books. Also the questions are vague and ambiguous they should be made to define the words options and benefits not change the definition as suits them.

Patchthedog

With AF3 are there loads more new facts/formulas (ie facts that aren't in J04 and J05) that you have to learn or is it more application of knowledge that you should already have?

Anna

helsbels17_2

Hi Anna,

No there aren't loads more facts and formulas, it is the application of knowledge from the 'J' series. I would point out that you really have to know the stuff inside out at AF level, don't just settle for the brief overview found in J04/J05. I find myself Googling things a lot just to get a better understanding of the issues. The questions at AF level often come at you from an angle you haven't really thought of before so it helps to know the subject well (not that it helped me this time!!).

If you find yourself running out of time in exams it helps before you even read the questions to add up the marks available to work out where you should be at the end of each hour. It helps you keep on track and if you find yourself with a bit of time to spare, say at the end of the first hour, you can review what you've written so far rather than saving all the proof reading for the end. I suppose this only works if you tackle the questions in order as I usually do.

Anyway, hope this helps, good luck with your J05 result.

Shaun - I agree entirely. The cynic in me wonders whether the CII didn't make quite enough profit at the last sitting.........please put me out of my misery and explain the 11 marks for question 1!

Thanks in advance

Helen

Patchthedog

Thanks Helen and Shaun

Sounds like AF3 is really tricksy! Not only have you to know your stuff but also understand what the examiners are getting at in the questions.

I may attempt it. But first a little well earned rest.....

I am a bit tired of spending my weekends memorising not very memorable facts.

Byeee!

Anna

shaunrc

Hi Anna and Helen

firstly good luck to you both...

As to your question Anna it hits on another problem with the CII in that they are vague on what the syllabus actually is. In general the text books for J04 and J05 are a start and then they sell you some case studies which I thought would be a guide. However I wish they I had never bought them because I worked hard on them and then came to an exam where they were no use at all.

I am afraid it looks a little like Russian roulette where you might get questions you can answer or not... Sorry that this is hardly heartening.

As to the answer Helen there are various twists and turns which are easier to explain than type so I will send a pm on here with my mobile on it.

Annuity_Rates

I am thinking of doing the J05 exam at the next sitting so thanks for all the tips here.