You’ve got around a week to go before your CII AF exam – what should you be doing to maximise the time you have available? Here are our top 5 tips to make the most of this important time.
No one ever goes into a CII AF exam thinking they are over-prepared. It just doesn’t happen. Sure, some people will be better prepared than other people – but nearly everyone will be wishing at this stage that they’d done more work. Regard it as a necessary part (unfortunately) of taking any degree standard exam – which is what a Level 6 CII AF exam is. Acknowledging and understanding this does, hopefully, reduce the nervousness a little.
You will find the two most recent published CII AF exam papers on the CII website (click on the link on the right-hand column of each subject):
Click here for AF1
Click here for AF4
Click here for AF7
Although probably not quite exam standard, you will also have received a case study workbook if you have chosen the enrolment or enrolment plus option from the CII for the AF1 and AF4 exams. These provide a range of case studies to practice on.
We all should know by now that practising past exam papers under exam conditions is one of the best ways to prepare for a exam. If you haven’t already completed these exam papers under exam conditions, then this is the time to do it.
Let me be clear what I mean by exam conditions. The AF1 and AF4 exams both have 160 marks and these exams last for 180 minutes. So if you don’t have a 3 hour block of time to spare, complete 40 marks (a short case study) in 40 minutes. This gives you a feel about what time pressure you will face in the exam and what it feels like to stare at a blank piece of paper and have to come up with the answers the CII would like to see.
There are also other benefits:
AF1 – further exam tips and analysis of past AF1 key topics
AF7 – further exam tips and analysis of a past AF7 paper and tips on technique
OK, I get it. For many people, the last week before an exam is head-down full-on cramming. But it isn’t just about how much revision you do – it’s how effective it is.
Even if you are cramming, work on the basis of 20-30 minutes of study followed by a 10-15 minute break. Make your break something completely unrelated before returning to your studies. For the science behind this, click here.
Understand that you will go into this exam with gaps in your knowledge – everyone will! With a week to go before the exam, this is not the time to do loads of reading. By all means use the AF7 or the R0 study texts as a reference source to check-up on points – especially those that you don’t come across in your day to day activities. The end of chapter summaries, for example, are also useful. But your main focus should be on completing questions at this stage.
If I had to give just one tip, this would be it. Many people that fail an AF exam do so because of poor exam technique. Here’s what to focus on:
Prepare well, stay calm and I hope this helps with your preparation.
Ian Patterson
Ex-examiner and author of the CF8, J07 and AF6 CII study texts
If you are thinking of sitting the CII’s AF7 exam, then go into it with your eyes open. Based on the latest CII published results, this is the third hardest AF exam to pass with a pass rate of 56% (the latest published results). If you expect to pass purely because you do transfers at work, clearly this isn’t enough for many people.
If you want to know about important dates, what’s been tested in the past, exam technique and what study options are available, click here for our FREE AF7 preparation guide. You will also find preparation guides for AF1, 4 and 5 on the same link.
The CII AF7 is a popular exam. Safeguarded benefits is a big area for many financial advisers and if you are involved in the transfer of safeguarded benefits in some way, then this might be the subject for you. It also satisfies the FCA additional exam requirement to advise on safeguarded benefits.
The AF7 exam is 2 hours long. It consists of 3 or 4 short answer questions and then two additional case studies. These both have three to four questions making 9-12 questions in total. Overall, the paper will have 100 marks with the short answer questions accounting for around 30 to 35 of the marks, and the case study questions accounting for 30-35 marks each.
With a pass mark of around 60%, this means that you will normally need 60 marks to pass the exam. The 60% pass mark applies to the exam overall so you could bomb on one case study and still pass if you get enough marks elsewhere.
The best way to spot the trends is to look at the past papers. Some of the key recurring themes are:
The last two exam guides are now provided on the CII website. Click here for the link to the CII website. You should ensure you spend time studying these (preferably, completing them).
The CII suggest around 100 hours of study for this exam. Whether you need this amount – more or less – will depend on your existing knowledge of the area. Even if you have good knowledge of transfers already, there are likely to be areas of the syllabus that you are NOT familiar with. And you will still need to practice that all important exam technique, if nothing else.
With the current low pass rate for AF7, one thing is clear – relying on just your day job is unlikely to prove successful. Don’t under-estimate this exam.
Unless this is a brand new area for you, the answer will probably be ‘no’. For many people, just reading a study text is not likely to be an effective method of revision. You’re unlikely to remember much, especially if you just read without taking notes, making mind maps or creating flash cards.
Most people sitting this exam will have some knowledge. Some will have quite extensive existing knowledge. So just use the study text as a reference source – focus on using past exam papers and top-up your knowledge by reading about the bits you are not familiar with.
Click here for a link to our exam technique.
Click here for more details about how you can learn on the go.
If you want to access our FREE preparation guides for other CII AF exams, they are available on our site for AF1, 4 and 5. Just click here.
Prepare well and be successful.
Ian Patterson
Ex-examiner and author of the current CII study texts: CF8, J07 and AF6
If you are preparing for the CII’s AF7 exam, here’s what you need to know about the exam.
The AF7 exam is 2 hours long. It consists of 3 or 4 short answer questions and then two additional case studies. These both have three to four questions making 9-12 questions in total. The exam typically have 12 questions in total (although this could vary between papers). Overall, the paper will have 100 marks with the short answer questions accounting for around 30 to 35 of the marks, and the case study questions accounting for 30-36 marks each.
You will normally need 60 marks to pass the exam. The 60% pass mark applies to the overall exam so you could bomb on one case study and still pass if you get the marks elsewhere.
The simple answer is ‘not very’. Based on the last published CII results, the pass rate for AF7 is a historically high 56%. Historically, this has been the hardest AF exam subject. Forget about the fact it is only worth 20 credits – the majority of people historically fail this exam.
In simple terms, the short answer questions will test your knowledge across the syllabus, and each case study will require you to apply your knowledge to the client scenario that is provided in the case study. In simple terms, it’s regurgitation v application.
Click here to access the CII AF7 22/23 syllabus.
Example 1
State the key documents that an adviser must keep on file having given advice to a client on a pension transfer from a DB scheme.
This is regurgitation because this is generic knowledge that applies to any client in this position. If you know your AF7 material, you should be able to answer this whilst you are reading this. You’ll either know it, or not.
Example 2
Outline the factors you would need to take into account before advising the client to transfer her deferred benefits in order to meet her financial objectives.
This is a bit harder isn’t it? That’s because you’d need to know about the client’s circumstances before you could answer it. The question or case study will provide this information – your job is to spot this and make sure you use the information you have been given to answer the question If you don’t, you won’t score well.
I’ll answer this question by analysing in detail the April 2019 exam paper. This was a typical paper. I’ll look at it in terms of what it tested – the technical content – and how it tested it – the style of question:
The May 2022 exam is likely to be typical of what you might expect in future AF7 exams. The marks are also pretty balanced across each of the topics so you will need to know your stuff across key elements of the syllabus. Here’s the areas that were examined and the available marks:
Statutory pension transfer process: 12 marks
Assessing the security of an underfunded deferred pension: 8 marks
Transitional protections: 5 marks
CETV: 7 marks
Additional information: 8 + 7 marks
Cashflow/ stress tests: 6 marks
Class 3 NICs: 6 marks
Lifetime annuities: 8 marks
Benefits of transferring DB to personal pension: 10 marks
Death benefits: 4 + 7 marks
Actions to meet clent objectives: 4 + 4 marks
Sustainability of fexible withdrawals: 7 marks
Each question in AF7 will use a verb. Examiners like to describe these as ‘instructions’ because they tell the candidate what they want you to do. If you look at the verb and the number of marks for each question, this should give you a pretty good idea how much depth to go into when answering it.
In the May 2022 AF7 exam, the examiners’ used three types of instructions:
In this exam, including part questions, there were 4 ‘state’ questions; 3 ‘outline’ questions and 6 ‘describe, evaluate or explain’ questions. Future exams could use different instructions but this exam reflects the typical pattern used in AF7. Ensure you are comortable with these different questions and how to answer them.
Related blogs: AF7 study options. Click here
Prepare well and be successful.
Ian Patterson
Ex-examiner and author of the current CII study texts: CF8, J07 and AF6
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