cefa

daku

elo elo

just recently completed my cemap qualification and thought might aswell go for the cefa qualification too.
any advice on cefa??? is it harder to get into the investment advising role than the mortgage side or just as difficult?? is there more job oppurtunities??:rolleyes:

dunstonh

Cemap is a doddle. Cefa is a lot harder but only because it covers such a wide range of areas. Plus some of the subject matter can get technical. My third paper was on estate planning and occupational pension transfers. I nearly cried when they appeared as they are both technical subjects.

Jobs wise, it depends on what you want to do. I know an awful lot of people over the years that took the FPCs (the old name for the exam) who were technically excellent but couldnt make a living from it.

daku

so would you say for example if i wanted to advise on life assurances , pensions, equity investments etc there would be less job oppurtunities than in the mortgage advising field?
Im more rather interested in the investment side especially shares etc than the mortgage side.
I would really love to become a trainee mortgage advisor, start off in a bank then progress from there.

daku

woops sorry i meant i would really love to become a trainee financial advisor

dunstonh

so would you say for example if i wanted to advise on life assurances , pensions, equity investments etc there would be less job oppurtunities than in the mortgage advising field?

I would say about the same. However, it depends on what advice classification you would want to do it under. Going straight to IFA is harder than going tied agent first. You wouldnt be able to set your own company up either as regulation and compliance is stronger (plus a lot more expensive than mortgage only).

Im more rather interested in the investment side especially shares etc than the mortgage side.

IFAs are not authorised to give advice on shares. That area is covered by stockbrokers.

I would really love to become a trainee mortgage advisor, start off in a bank then progress from there.

That is a best route really nowadays. Get the bank to pay for the training and to be liable for your mistakes. Once you really learn the job then you can move on to bigger and better (and take on liability for your own advice). It means working in a bank for a few years and that isnt a lot of fun but if you can make a go of it there, then you will have a better idea if you can do it in the IFA side.

Bank tied agents cannot portfolio plan though so if you do like investments, then you will find that investment advice as a bank adviser is handicapped and limited.