Over the six adviser exams held to date, 85 per cent of advisers that have sat the exam have passed, representing 40 per cent of advisers on ASIC’s Financial Adviser Register, FASEA stated.

FASEA chief executive Stephen Glenfield said that 10,239 advisers have sat the exam to date, with “close to nine in 10 demonstrating they have the skill to apply their knowledge of advice construction, ethics and legal requirements to the practical scenarios tested in the exam”.

“While the average pass mark of 85 per cent across exams held to date demonstrates a strong performance by advisers, analysis of exam data has highlighted areas for improvement, particularly among unsuccessful candidates.”

Mr Glenfield said that some of the areas of improvement relate to the topic area of regulatory and legal requirements for financial advice, including:

• Advice documentation (including financial services guide, statement/record of advice, product disclosure statement and fee disclosure statement) – the exam tests an understanding of when to issue these to clients and what is required to be included (e.g. fees and disclosures)

• Advice types – understanding the difference between personal advice, general advice and information, and how they apply to different client scenarios

• Privacy Act – understanding the difference between personal and sensitive information and whether consent has been appropriately obtained before using information

• Anti-Money Laundering Act – identifying potentially suspicious transactions and required reporting in client advice scenarios

Another area requiring improvement, he said, is with financial advice construction in terms of identifying client biases and how they may influence clients’ financial decisions or investment choices.

In some cases, advisers also need to improve their understanding of the application of the Code of Ethics and the Corporations Act to advice scenarios.

FASEA said that over 1,600 advisers have registered for the August exam, to be held in metropolitan and regional locations and online from 13 to 18 August. The Melbourne exams will only be online due to COVID-19 restrictions.