Are you revising for the CII’s R05 exam? Know someone who is? Want to test your R05 knowledge? Then read on…..!
We’ve put together 10 multiple choice questions for you as a taster of what you can expect in the R05 exam. This exam has a pass rate of 78% which makes it the easiest CII R0 exam.
That said, you should still expect to be tested on areas such as state benefits, general insurance products such as PMI, long term care and business assurance so just about everyone will still need to brush-up on the more unfamiliar elements of the syllabus.
Click here for the CII R05 exam syllabus. Be aware. The number of questions you will get in the exam are NOT spread equally across the syllabus.
We’ve helped over 6,000 people prepare for the CII R0 exams over the past 12 months. We don’t sell multiple choice questions but we are here to help as much as we can with your R05 exam.
Now, onto the practice questions. See how well you do on these. You’ll find the answers at the end of the post.
All figures are based on the 2024/25 tax year.
1. John is worried about providing an income for his family if he is unable to work through accident or sickness over the long term. Which protection policy would be MOST suitable?
A. Personal accident and sickness
B. Accident, sickness and unemployment cover
C. Critical illness
D. Income protection insurance
2. Usef, age 68, recently had a stroke and he now needs supervision. Which state benefit will he qualify for as a result?
A. Attendance allowance
B. Personal independence payment
C. Carers’ allowance
D. Disability living allowance
3. A couple want to arrange life cover to meet an inheritance tax liability whilst keeping costs to a minimum. If they write the policy under a suitable trust, the BEST way of arranging the whole of life policy is:
A. as two single life of another policies
B. on a joint life first death
C. on a joint life second death
D. as two single life policies
4. What tax is paid on the proceeds of an offshore life policy on someone who is a UK resident when it is surrendered?
A. Income tax is paid on the full surrender value
B. Income tax is paid on the amount the value exceeds the premium(s) paid
C. CGT on the full surrender value
D. CGT on the amount the value exceeds the premium(s) paid
5. Ami has just received a £1/2 million lifetime transfer from her father. What type of life policy would be MOST suitable to pay the potential inheritance tax liability?
A. Whole of life
B. Level term
C. Decreasing term
D. Gift inter vivos
6. Here is a description of a benefit provided by an income protection insurance policy: ‘this benefit is paid if someone is unable to return to their previous work, but can undertake some lower paid work elsewhere.’ What is the name of this benefit?
A. Proportionate benefit
B. Recurrence benefit
C. Rehabilitation benefit
D. Waiver of premium benefit
7. The typical survival period on a critical illness policy is:
A. 4 days
B. 28 days
C. 6 months
D. 12 months
8. Mo is concerned about the care and medical treatment he will receive if he loses mental capacity. His current health is deteriorating, but he still has capacity. What type of new arrangement, if any, would be suitable?
A. Power of attorney
B. Enduring power of attorney
C. Lasting power of attorney
D. None. His deteriorating health means that it is too late to make any arrangement
9. Mavis is seeking funding from her local authority in Birmingham towards the cost of her long term care. Her total income is £200 per week and she has assets of £20,000. What would the local authority assess her weekly income as being (before the personal expenses allowance is deducted)?
A. £200
B. £212
C. £223
D. £224
10. With partnership protection, which legal arrangement would NOT normally qualify for IHT business relief?
A. Automatic accrual
B. Buy and sell
C. Cross-option agreement
D. shareholder trust
Here are some other tips and information that you might find useful:
Click here for tips on how to approach the R05 exam
Preparation tips and exam technique for R05. Click here
Answers: 1: D; 2: A; 3: C; 4: B; 5: D; 6: A; 7: B; 8: C; 9: C; 10: B.
Remember, good preparation is the key. Hope that you found this useful. Until the next time
Ian Patterson
Author of the current CF8, J07, and AF6 CII study texts and ex-examiner
Are you revising for the CII’s R04 exam? Know someone who is? Want to test your R04 knowledge? Then read on…..!
We’ve put together 10 multiple choice questions for you as a taster of what you can expect in the R04 exam. This exam is the joint hardest main R0 exam with a pass rate of just 57%.
Click for the CII R04 exam syllabus. This shows the distribution of questions throughout the R04 exam and where those pesky multiple-response questions are.
We’ve helped over 6,000 people prepare for the CII R0 exams over the past 12 months. We don’t sell multiple choice questions but we are here to help as much as we can with your R04 exam.
What we do offer is unique R04 MP3 audio material, written by the authors of the CII study text. This provides over 5 hours of dedicated R04 material that enables you to fit your study around your business and social life – not the other way around. Click here for further details.
Now, onto these practice questions. See how well you do on these R04 exam style questions. You’ll find the answers at the end.
All figures are based on the 2024/25 tax year.
Questions 1 to 6 inclusive have only one correct answer.
1. Susan reached her State pension age in 2015. She started working in 1977, was never contracted out and was always employed. What earnings related State pensions, if any, is Susan eligible to receive?
A. None, she didn’t qualify for earnings related pensions
B. S2P only
C. SERPS and S2P only
D. State graduated pension, SERPS and S2P
2. Jamie, who is 46, has earnings of £40,000 after taking into account all allowances. His employer wants to pay a pension contribution of £90,000 into a pension on his behalf in the current tax year. No other contributions have been paid and he has no unused annual allowance to carry forward. How much will the annual allowance charge be and who will be responsible for paying it?
A. £10,000 payable by Jamie
B. £10,000 payable by Jamie’s employer
C. £12,000 payable by Jamie
D. £12,000 payable by Jamie’s employer
3. An individual had benefits valued at £2.1 million on 5 April 2006 and applied for primary protection. What will their primary protection factor be?
A. 28.6%
B. 40%
C. 60%
D. 71.4%
4. Which employee would be an eligible jobholder?
A. Amy, who is age 32 and who has a salary of £19,000
B. Pradeev, who is age 62 and has a salary of £9,000
C. Brian, who is age 18 and who has worked for them for 6 months
D. Laura, who is age 66 and has a salary of £17,000
5. Harry left his company’s defined benefit scheme after completing 18 months of service and he has elected to take a return of his personal contributions. If the gross refund is £32,000, how much will Harry receive?
A. £16,000
B. £22,000
C. £25,600
D. £32,000
6. How, if at all, will any protected payment increase between the calculation of the starting amount and the date an individual reaches their State pension age?
A. It will not increase
B. It will increase in line with the national average earnings index
C. It will increase in line with the triple lock guarantee
D. It will increase in line with the consumer prices index
The remaining questions – 7 to 10 – have more than one correct answer.
7. Jane was a member of an occupational money purchase scheme for eight months before she left the scheme last July. What options MUST the scheme offer her?
A. Refund of her contributions
B. Preserved benefit
C. The scheme does not have to offer any preserved benefits
D. A transfer value
8. What are the potential advantages of taking an income via a flexi-access drawdown?
A. Guaranteed level of income
B. Funds remain invested and have the potential to achieve capital growth
C. The member can adjust the income levels to help manage their income tax liability
D. Income is paid tax-free to the member
E. The full 25% tax free cash lump sum can be taken at commencement
9. Sunil is writing a suitability report having recommended a drawdown arrangement to a client. What risk warnings must he include to meet the FCA COBS requirements?
A. The levels of income provided may not be sustainable
B. Annuity or scheme pension rates may be at a worse level in the future
C. Regular reviews must be undertaken
D. There may be tax implications
E. Drawdown pensions are complex and so advice must be taken
10. Liam has a SIPP with a current fund value of £350,000. It holds a commercial property and it borrowed £50,000 to finance this purchase three years ago. If Liam would like to use the SIPP to buy a further residential flat, commercial property and some shares in his own limited company, the SIPP:
A. could borrow a further £150,000 if necessary towards the purchase of a second commercial property
B. is able to purchase the flats
C. can purchase shares in Liam’s limited company
D. scheme administrator will be subject to an unauthorised member payments charge of 40% of the value of the prohibited asset if it invests in taxable property
E. scheme administrator will become liable to the scheme sanction charge of 15% of the value of the prohibited asset if the SIPP invests in taxable property
Here are some other tips and information you might find useful:
CII R04 exam: the 5 myths. Click here
Five top tips for R0 exam success – part 1. Click here
Five top tips for R0 exam success – part 2. Click here
Answers: 1: C; 2: C; 3: B; 4: A; 5: B; 6: D; 7: B and D; 8: B, C and E; 9: A, B and D; 10: C and E.
Remember, good preparation is the key. If you want to know how to learn on the go, then click here. Hope that you found this useful. Until the next time
Ian Patterson
Author of the current CF8, J07, and AF6 CII study texts and ex-examiner
Are you revising for the CII’s R02 exam? Know someone who is? Want to test your R02 knowledge? Then read on…..!
We’ve put together 10 single-response multiple choice questions for you as a taster of what you can expect in the R02 exam. With this exam, your main challenge isn’t completing it in the time allowed (like R03). It’s more about understanding a very wide range of investments solutions – some of which, you probably won’t have come across before.
We’ve helped over 6,000 people prepare for the CII R0 exams over the past 12 months. We don’t sell multiple choice questions but we are here to help as much as we can with your R02 exam.
What we do offer is unique R02 MP3 audio material. This provides around 4 hours of dedicated material that enables you to fit your study around your business and social life – not the other way around. Click here for further details.
Now, onto the practice questions. These are based on the 2024/25 tax year. See how well you do on these R02 exam style questions. You’ll find the answers at the end.
Here goes……..
1. In a period when interest rates have fallen substantially, the nominal value of a conventional fixed interest security at maturity will:
A. increase significantly.
B. decrease significantly.
C. remain constant.
D. increase in line with inflation.
2. A government can use fiscal measures to address declining GDP by:
A. reducing the Bank of England’s target inflation rate.
B. increasing the rate of Value Added Tax.
C. increasing the level of gilt issues.
D. reducing Corporation Tax rates.
3. A financial adviser has recommended collective investments which are negatively correlated to each other to ensure that they:
A. are capable of generating both income and growth.
B. have a degree of diversification.
C. have a combined beta of 0.
D. have an alpha with a negative value.
4. Portfolio X consists of blue chip ordinary shares and portfolio Y consists of unlisted shares. What type of risk is likely to be significantly higher for portfolio Y when compared to portfolio X?
A. Market risk.
B. Event risk.
C. Inflation risk.
D. Liquidity risk.
5. If a client has a collective investment where the share price is currently at a significant discount to the net asset value, what type of investment is it?
A. Investment trust.
B. OEIC.
C. Exchange Traded Fund.
D. Unit trust.
6. Alicia has fully surrendered an onshore single premium investment bond with a chargeable gain of £20,000 after 5 years. If she has no other savings income and her income after reliefs and allowances is £36,000, she should be aware that:
A. the full gain would be subject to 20% income tax.
B. the full gain would be subject to an additional 25% income tax.
C. she would have a personal savings allowance of £1,000.
D. she would have a personal savings allowance of £500.
7. A client who invests in a new issue of VCT shares would benefit from its tax treatment because:
A. the proceeds on death will be free of inheritance tax.
B. income tax relief is available at 30% up to a maximum of £200,000 per tax year.
C. shares must only be kept for three years to benefit from income tax relief.
D. an investor can potentially carry back income tax relief to the previous tax year.
8. Neil has agreed to have his portfolio managed on a passive basis. This means that he:
A. believes active fund managers will consistently outperform the benchmark index.
B. believes active fund managers will consistently underperform the benchmark index.
C. has increased his risk profile.
D. has reduced his risk profile.
9. What is the running yield on a corporate bond that has a clean price of £114, a par value of £100 and pays 5.2% income?
A. 4.56%.
B. 5.2%.
C. 7.85%.
D. 8.6%.
10. When agreeing the benchmark for an investment portfolio with a client, what is it always important to do?
A. Select the lowest risk benchmark from the available choices.
B. Use one constructed using Modern Portfolio Theory.
C. Use one that matches the mix of assets in the portfolio.
D. Select a benchmark that is positively correlated with the portfolio’s underlying assets.
Here are some other tips and information you might find useful:
CII R02 exam: the 5 myths. Click here
How to pass R02. Click here
Answers: 1: C; 2: D; 3: B; 4: D; 5: A; 6: D; 7: B; 8: B; 9: A; 10: C.
Remember, good preparation is the key. Hope that you found this useful. Until the next time
Ian Patterson
Author of the current CF8, J07, and AF6 CII study texts and ex-examiner
Are you revising for the CII’s R03 exam? Know someone who is? Want to test your tax knowledge? Then read on…..!
We’ve put together 10 single-response multiple choice questions for you as a taster of what you can expect in the R03 exam. This exam is the joint hardest of the CII’s multiple-choice R0 exams with a pass rate of just 54%, every little helps.
We’ve helped over 6,000 people prepare for the CII R0 exams over the past 12 months. We don’t sell multiple choice questions but we are here to help as much as we can with your R03 exam.
What we do offer is unique R03 MP3 audio material. This provides around 4 1/2 hours of dedicated R03 material that enables you to fit your study around your business and social life – not the other way around. Click here for further details.
Now, onto these practice questions. See how well you do on these R03 exam style questions. You’ll find the answers at the end.
All figures are based on the 2024/25 tax year. They are based on the position in England and there is only one correct answer.
Here goes……..
1. Ben holds 3,000 shares in a UK listed company which declares a dividend of 70 pence per share. If he is a higher rate taxpayer and has already used his dividend allowance, how much tax will he pay on these dividends?
A £183.75
B £708.75
C £682.50
D £840.00
2. Jill, aged 52, has an income which is made up of a £25,000 salary, building society interest of £8,000 and dividends of £12,280. Her income tax liability is:
A £4,873
B £4,732
C £5,073
D £6,442
3. Javid has used all his Inheritance Tax (IHT) annual exemption for the current and previous tax year and decides to make the following additional gifts in this tax year:
(i) £10,000 to his granddaughter on her marriage
(ii) £4,000 to his grandson on his 18th birthday out of normal expenditure
(iii) £3,000 split equally between four friends
(iv) £75,000 to a UK charity
How much of Javid’s gifts would be liable to IHT if he were to die within 7 years?
A £2,000
B £8,500
C £9,500
D £13,000
4. To avoid a Capital Gains Tax liability on an asset purchased before leaving the UK without any held-over gains, an individual must be resident outside the UK for:
A 1 complete tax year
B 2 complete tax years
C 5 complete tax years
D 7 complete tax years
5. The Ramsay Principle has been used by the courts to:
A allow HMRC to obtain details of interest paid to UK residents by overseas banks
B penalise income shifting between spouses in small family companies
C allow HMRC to reduce penalties where a taxpayer, not under investigation, has made a voluntary disclosure
D consider a series of transactions with no commercial purpose except tax avoidance and ignore them for tax purposes
6. Marisa died on 30 July 2024 leaving an estate of £900,000 which did not include any residential property. She left £60,000 to a UK charity and the remainder to be split equally between her husband and her daughter. If she has not made any lifetime gifts, how much inheritance tax must her executors pay?
A £32,040
B £34,200
C £35,600
D £38,000
7. Frankie won a premium bond prize of £10,000 and has received dividends of £50,000 from both an Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and a Venture Capital Trust (VCT). What is his tax position?
A Only the EIS dividend is taxable
B The dividends from both the EIS and VCT investments are taxable
C Only the VCT dividend is taxable
D Both the VCT dividend and the premium bond prize are taxable
8. Alicia has fully surrendered an onshore single premium investment bond with a gain of £20,000. If she has no other savings income and her taxable income is £32,000, she should be aware that:
A. the full gain would be subject to 20% income tax.
B. the full gain would be subject to an additional 25% income tax.
C. she would have a personal savings allowance of £1,000.
D. she would have a personal savings allowance of £500.
9. What is the MOST likely reason for a business to voluntarily register to pay VAT?
A They would be able to claim output tax on their purchases
B They would be able to claim input tax on their purchases
C They would be able to offset the VAT paid against their corporation tax bill
D They would then be able to reduce the price paid by customers for their products
10. Scott is about to buy his first residential property in Oxford for £945,000 which includes £30,000 for fittings. Assuming this is his only property, how much stamp duty land tax would be payable?
A £27,000
B £30,250
C £33,250
D £35,750
Here are some other tips and information you might find useful:
CII R03 exam: the 5 myths. Click here
Five top tips for R0 exam success – part 1. Click here
Five top tips for R0 exam success – part 2. Click here
Answers: 1: B; 2: A; 3: C; 4: C; 5: D; 6: B; 7: A; 8: D; 9: B; 10: C.
Remember, good preparation is the key. If you want to know how to learn on the go, then click here. Hope that you found this useful. Until the next time
Ian Patterson
Author of the current CF8, J07, and AF6 CII study texts and ex-examiner
With R0 exam revision, you’ll need to retain a wide range of information. Despite numerous tips and techniques that can help study to be more effective, most people find studying for any exam to be hard work. But if you just had to pick just one tip that will make the biggest difference, what would it be? Here’s what gets our vote.
I’ll start with an exercise that should make this point. Here are 20 different numbers between 1 and 75. I’ll ask you to look at these for 30 seconds, turn away, and see how many numbers in sequence you can remember. Here they are:
5, 18, 3, 9, 44, 11, 16, 36, 31, 72, 24, 9, 32, 41, 4, 59, 1, 63, 25, 71
How did you do? People tend to remember around six numbers in the correct sequence – typically the first three and the last three. You might have remembered slightly more or slightly less than this. Usually it will be the numbers at the beginning and the end of the list that you’ll remember. So why is this so important?
This phenomenon is referred to as primacy and recency. When you take in any information, you tend to remember the bits at the beginning and the end. The bit in the middle becomes a blur or gets forgotten. And this is something that we all do. If you are studying for an R0 exam, how can you use this valuable insight?
At the Patterson Group, we believe that exam success is about working smarter and not harder. And this is why this principle is so important. When revising, you can use this. Let me explain. Many people tend to block out a prolonged period of time to revise, often close to the exam date. Most people will have done at least some ‘cramming’ in the past. But just how effective is it?
The following diagram looks at concentration levels and how these change with time.
The important thing to remember is that it’s not how much study you do, but how much information you retain as a result. If we apply primacy and recency to this, it suggests that a two hour block of revision is unlikely to be effective for most people. Like the exercise you’ve just done, you are likely to remember the beginning and the end, and some bits in the middle. That’s great for the 15 minute periods at the start and end. It also means that much of the 1 ½ hours in between is wasted for most people.
Now, you might know people who are good at cramming. If so, they are either gifted, or they probably still break their revision into smaller chunks. In other words, it’s not a solid undiluted period of revision – but a two-hour period with a number of breaks built in. It’s these breaks that are important. We would recommend a 10 minute break every 20-30 minutes of study. And when we say break, it should be just that. Walk around, talk to people, listen to music – anything; but give your brain a break from your R0 exam study. Give yourself a proper break; give yourself regular breaks.
How does this impact on your concentration levels? If we look at this as a diagram, it should look like this:
You are still benefiting from primacy and recency. By studying for shorter periods, you’ve managed to cram more beginnings and ends into the your study time. As a result, your overall level of concentration is that much higher and you will remember more. More learning and the same amount of study time. What’s not to like?
This is a comment we hear regularly. And nothing could be further from the truth. 20-30 minutes is probably the optimum period of time. You get high levels of concentration and better retention. Part of this is due to concentration levels being maintained. Part of this is also due to the fact that you will probably only focus on two or three core concepts in this period of time. The brain likes small chunks of information nearly as much as having short study periods.
We are the leading producer of audio R0 exam material and we are convinced that small chunks are best. Our R0 exam audio material allows you to learn, in small chunks, fitting it in around the rest of your life. Simple and effective.
Click here to see why over 6,000 people have bought this study material over the last year.
There are, of course, plenty of other tips that can help you to work smarter and not harder. If you like what you’ve read, we have partnered with the leading learning specialist – Genius Material. There’s plenty more to learn about being studying effectively. We’ll look at these in subsequent blogs.
Click here for:
R01: a student’s point of view
Blogs on other subjects are also available. Click here for details
Prepare well and be successful
Ian Patterson
Ex-examiner and author of the current CII study texts for CF8, J07 and AF6
The CII’s exam, R02 Investment Principles, is one of the CII harder exams. It has a pass rate of 68%. And do you know what, it will probably feel tough.
The CII R02 exam has 100 questions, and you have 2 hours to complete the exam. 28 questions are the harder multiple-response style questions that require more than one answer.
Click here for our FREE practice questions
Click here for the CII exam guide
Be prepared. Good preparation leads to success. If you want to know how you can learn on the go and fit it in around everything else, click here for details.
Until the next time.
Ian Patterson
Ex-examiner and author of the current CF8, J07, and AF6 CII study texts
If you are sitting the CII R01 exam, the best way to know ‘what it’s all about’ is to learn from other students who have sat the exam. Here is Matthew’s story….
Hi my name is Matthew. I have been fortunate enough to work in the financial industry for some time, mainly dealing with large corporate companies but not retail clients. So, you could say this is all new to me. I recently passed the CII R01 exam first time and here are some of the key things I learned.
As you can imagine the wording of the question needs you to have a complete understanding of the subject matter. Often with multiple choice questions you get the feeling that two of the answers are possibly correct. I cannot stress enough, READ THE QUESTION AT LEAST TWICE. Every word used in R01 questions is carefully chosen for a specific reason. By slowly reading the questions I found it easier to think of an answer – prior to then reading the multiple-choice answers. By spending more time on the question, it minimised my time pondering the correct answer. Practice this and try for yourself at home, it really does save time.
The final 13 questions in the CII R01 exam are multiple-response questions. So, the answer will be 2 or more of the 5 or 6 available options. You only score a mark on these multiple response questions IF you get each of the correct answers. No more, no less. A good score on these questions can really make the difference between you passing or failing. As mentioned earlier, reading the questions several times prior to reading the answers really helped me, especially under exam pressure.
Scoring at least 50% on these final 13 questions is a good result.
The link to the CII 2023/24 syllabus can be found here.
Why bother looking at it? The answer is that every chapter of the CII study text will have a different number of questions in the exam. In other words, some areas are tested more than others. My tip is to focus your time where the marks are.
I used the CII text, RevisionMate Knowledge Checker practice questions, and the audiobook. I found the audio material particularly useful filling those gaps whilst travelling, and once downloaded you can study for short bursts anytime anywhere.
[Editor]:
Click here for other tips on revision material.
Click here for details of the R01 audio book.
Here is the first of two technical areas I’ll look at. Increasing the financial capability of the UK population is important to both the government and the FCA. Better educated clients make more informed choices and not everyone will seek financial advice from an adviser. To provide more guidance and information, various initiatives have been rolled-out. These include The National Strategy for Financial Capability and The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) which provides Pension Wise and MoneyHelper. Both of these offer impartial free guidance and information to anyone that seeks it. It is certainly worth knowing what they offer.
My second technical area is State Benefits. This might be worth one or two questions in an exam and everyone hates these! Don’t bother trying to remember the monetary amounts of each benefit. It seems to be more about who would be eligible for each benefit and some of the KEY elements of them. Here are some of the points that I though were most likely to be tested in this area:
Details current as a July 2023.
I hope you have found these specific parts of the R01 useful.
Good luck, Matthew.
[Editor]:
Found it useful hearing from a student? Click here for another.
Are you revising for the CII’s R01 exam? Know someone who is? Then read on…..!
We’ve put together 10 single-response multiple choice questions for you as a taster of what you can expect in the R01 exam.
We’ve helped over 6,000 people prepare for the CII R0 exams over the past 12 months (1st August 2022 to the 31st July 2023). We don’t sell multiple choice questions but we are here to help as much as we can with your R01 exam.
What we do offer is unique R01 MP3 audio material. This provides around 4 hours of dedicated R01 material that enables you to fit your study around your business and social life – not the other way around. Click here for further details.
Now, onto these practice questions. See how well you do on these R01 exam style questions. You’ll find the answers at the end.
These questions are based on the 2024/25 tax year. Here goes……..
1. Which body sets interest rates in the UK and what is its inflation target?
a) The Treasury; 2% CPI
b) The Treasury; 2% RPI
c) The Monetary Policy Committee; 2% CPI
d) The Monetary Policy Committee; 2% RPI
2. Mohammed is concerned about how he would cope financially in the event of long term sickness. Which type of insurance policy is MOST likely to satisfy this need?
a) Accident sickness and unemployment insurance
b) Mortgage payment protection
c) Private medical insurance
d) Income protection insurance
3. John and Janet owned a property as tenants in common. On Janet’s death:
a) the entire property would pass straight to John as surviving joint owner
b) her children would automatically become legal owners of the full property
c) her share of the property forms part of her estate and is distributed accordingly
d) her share of the property would be held in trust for her adult children
4. A ‘directive’ is a form of EU legislation. This requires Member States to implement the directive:
a) to achieve a set outcome, but how this is achieved is left to each State
b) in its entirety with no discretion about how it is implemented
c) by introducing high level principle-based regulation that underpin the directive
d) only if they choose to do so
5. Which regulator is charged with ensuring that competition between businesses is a benefit to customers and the economy as a whole?
a) The Office of Fair Trading
b) Competition Commission
c) The Prudential Regulation Authority
d) Competition and Markets Authority
6. If a firm of financial advisers has been granted a Part 4A permission by the FCA, the organisation can now:
a) act as a Designated Professional Body
b) proceed to appoint some Appointed Representatives
c) undertake the regulated activities applied for
d) advise on a whole of market basis only
7. How much notice does the Financial Conduct Authority need to give before conducting an enforcement visit on a regulated firm?
a) None
b) 3 working days
c) 5 working days
d) 7 working days
8. Smith and Wesson are insurance brokers who also undertake mortgage and investment advice. Which conduct of business rule book(s) will they need to comply with?
a) ICOBS only
b) COBS and MCOB only
c) COBS, ICOBS and MCOB only
d) BCOBS, MCOB and ICOBS only
9. Under S.19 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, it is an offence for someone to carry out a regulated activity unless they are:
a) authorised or exempt
b) recognised by a Designated Professional Body
c) recognised by a relevant professional body
d) licensed under the Consumer Credit Act
10. George is in the process of applying to be a financial adviser with a UK bank. Under the certification regime, who will decide that George is competent and suitable for this role?
a) The CII
b) The Financial Conduct Authority
c) His employer
d) The Prudential Regulation Authority
Here are some other tips and information you might find useful:
R01 exam: the 5 myths. Click here
R01 exam: three technical areas you should know. Click here
Five top tips for R0 exam success – part 1. Click here
For more details on R01, see the CII website. Click here
Answers: 1: C; 2: D; 3: C; 4: A; 5: D; 6: C; 7: A; 8: C; 9: A; 10: C.
Remember, good preparation is the key. Until the next time
Ian Patterson
Ex-examiner and author of the current CF8, J07, and AF6 CII study texts
Today is the 5th July 2021. Whatever happens in the remainder of the 2020 European Cup, it’s already been a good competition for the England football team.
We even managed to beat Germany. Dare I believe that we will cope well with penalties this time around if we need to? It feels like a different England side and, in many ways, it is. Forget about the youthfulness of the side or the formation used by the manager. The real difference is the team’s mindset and their preparedness.
There are some lessons here for anyone who is preparing for a CII R0 exam.
England taking penalties: the history
When it comes to England and penalty shoot-outs, it usually ends in tears. Before England defeated Colombia on penalties to reach the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup, England hadn’t won a shoot-out at a major tournament since 1996. They had never won a penalty shoot-out at a World Cup. Despite winning against Colombia, England still have the worst penalty record in senior world football. They have lost three out of four World Cup penalty shoot-outs.
Despite this awful record, there is a widely reported fact that would make any England football fan incandescent with rage. Most of the England teams historically did not practice taking penalties. Apparently they aren’t worth it because it’s impossible to replicate the pressure they face in a real game.
England taking penalties: what’s different this time?
Gareth Southgate has put an end to this nonsense. He has selected players and insisted that they practice taking penalties. To make it as realistic as possible, this practice takes place at the end of the normal practice session when the players are most tired. After all, in the real thing, you won’t usually go to penalties unless you’ve been running around for at least 120 minutes and are tired. In addition to this, all the players now have a routine. So even when under the greatest of pressure, they are able to replicate what they do on the practice ground.
You only have to look at Harry Kane to see how he holds the ball and carefully places the ball on the penalty spot. He then picks non-existent mud out of his studs, adjusts his left sock, takes three steps back, picks a spot, and then scores. All of this is fully rehearsed, practised, and perfectly executed (at least up until now!).
Finally, all of the England penalty takers have apparently been psychologically profiled to see how they stand up under the pressures of a penalty shootout. All in all, he hasn’t left anything to chance – and so far it’s worked.
What can we learn from this when preparing for a CII R0 exam? The simple message from the England football team is that success starts on the practice ground. When sitting a R0 exam, your practice pitch is what you do when you are studying. So you have to get this right and not leave anything to chance.
Whether you are sitting R01, R02, R03, R04 or R05, you will need to successfully answer enough multiple-choice questions to pass. It is a surprise to me that so many people who sit these R0 exams don’t do enough of this. They either leave exam practice until the last minute (when they feel they are fully prepared), or don’t practice at all. The danger is that this is preparing to fail.
The emphasis here is the need to complete practice questions under exam conditions. You might have noticed that nowhere, so far, have I talked about reading the study text from cover to cover. I accept that somebody with relatively limited experience of a R0 exam subject matter may need to read some of the study text first. For everyone else, we believe that the best way to prepare for the R0 exam is to practice as many questions as you can (using the study guide as a reference source to understand where mistakes have been made).
As the England football team have found, success is about investing time in what really matters. Success in your exam will be driven by not only how hard you work, but how effective it is. Practice makes perfect – and its surprising how many teams that practice hard manage to win things. The same applies to the R0 exams….
Click here for a link to our unique audio material (only to be listened to when the football isn’t on!).
Prepare well and be successful.
Ian Patterson
Ex-examiner and author of the study texts for CF8, J07 and AF6.
So, you want to sit a CII R0 exam? But what study options are there and what do they include? We’ll have a look at these questions now.
The CII options
When it comes to studying for an exam, everyone will have their own preferred way to study. We all tend to have our own preferences and the CII options reflect this. If you enter R01 – 6 inc, you have three main options:
It is also possible to select the ‘enrolment‘ or ‘assessment only’ options and choose from a menu of additional revision aids that suit your needs.
These options are available for R01, R02, R03, R04, R05 and R06 (although there are some small differences between the study options for some subjects). For example with R06, you can purchase a case-study specific video that covers the potential technical content of the exam once the case studies have been issued.
When you want to sit an R0 exam, you will have to choose one of the three main options to get your exam entry. They also include the study text for the exam as a eBook (or a paper book at an additional cost), updates to these, an exam guide (which is a specimen exam paper), and use of RevisionMate which is an on-line resource. More about RevisonMate later.
You’ve now paid to enter the exam – and got a host of additional valuable support as well. So why would you want to pay extra for enrolment plus? Well, in addition to the material I’ve just mentioned, you also get the following with R01 to 5:
Perhaps not surprisingly, this top of the range option offers the widest range of study options and at a heavily discounted price.
If you decided not to go for enrolment plus, and just go for the ‘enrolment‘ option instead, you would then have the ability to just add the additional study options that you require. These can all be purchased separately. Most are included in enrolment plus anyway with two main exceptions.
We often find that the CII’s on-line RevisonMate is a bit overlooked by people sitting their R0 exams. You automatically get access to it when you enrol for the exam. If you want to access the e-book option of the study text, that’s where you’ll find it. It offers:
We believe this is a valuable study resource – and one which is perhaps a little undervalued in terms of what it can provide.
If you want to take a look at the CII R01 page and what it all costs, click here
If you want our tips on how to pass the CII R0 exams first time (we also offer tips for the other key R0 exams), click here
If you want to hear from a student their top tips on how to pass an R0 exam, click here
Until the next time
Ian Patterson
Ex-examiner and author of the current CII study texts: CF8, J07 and AF6