Out of all the candidates sitting the November exam, 76 per cent passed, compared with the average of 83 per cent across all exams.

Overall, 89.5 per cent of advisers who have sat the exam, irrespective of how often it was sat, have passed, FASEA stated.

FASEA chief executive Stephen Glenfield stated that over 12,573 advisers have now sat the exam, with nine in 10 demonstrating they have the skills to apply their knowledge of advice construction, ethics and legal requirements to the practical scenarios tested in the exam.

“In recognition of their achievement, passing candidates who give consent will have their names added to the successful candidates list on the FASEA website,” Mr Glenfield said.

According to FASEA, 11,241 advisers have passed the adviser exams held to date, which represents 52 per cent of advisers on ASIC’s Financial Adviser Register.

Analysis of the November exam has highlighted a number of areas for improvement, particularly among unsuccessful candidates, FASEA said.

One of the topic areas requiring further improvement was financial advice regulatory and legal requirements, which requires advisers to assess whether advice has been scoped appropriately, demonstrate an understanding of the different types of advice and how they apply to client scenarios, and demonstrate knowledge of the components of key advice documentation that is provided to the client.

Demonstrating an understanding of the different types of advice and their legal obligations when considering appropriate financial products and demonstrating the ability to identify breaches of best interest duty and subsequent notification obligations were also flagged as areas for improvement for this topic.

FASEA also flagged two areas requiring improvement relating to the topic of applied ethical and professional reasoning and communication.

These include demonstrating an understanding of an adviser’s ethical obligations when advice is not in the client’s best interest and demonstrating an understanding of an adviser’s ethical obligations when advising on complex family structures.

FASEA reminded advisers they have until the end of 2021 to pass the exam.

“FASEA is offering six sittings in 2021 both online and in physical locations. To maximise the number of potential sittings an adviser may have in 2021, FASEA encourages advisers to book for early sittings next year,” it said.

“Advisers who sit either the January or March 2021 exams will have up to three sittings to pass next year.”

Over 1,300 advisers have booked for the January exam, to be held in metropolitan and regional locations and online from 28 January to 2 February.