Feb 2024 Exam Guide Flashcards
Model Answers
Henrietta works for a financial services firm and is subject to the certification regime. - Identify four relevant examples of roles in scope of the certification regime. [4]
- Advisors.
- Material risk takers/ significant harm function or roles.
- Head of IT.
- Head of Risk.
- Managers of certified individuals/Director.
- CASS oversight function.
- Other relevant examples.
Henrietta works for a financial services firm and is subject to the certification regime. - State the two principal regulatory requirements Henrietta must adhere to in her role. [2]
- Fit & proper requirements/ all three elements.
- Conduct rules requirements/ all five elements.
State and explain briefly the competencies a manager must demonstrate in their role. [8]
Personal effectiveness
* Striving for excellence.
* Taking initiative.
Working with others
* Customer focus.
* People focus.
* Building understanding and trust.
* Influencing skills.
Creating solutions
* Seeking information.
* Understanding issues.
* Problem solving.
Managing the team
* Leadership.
* Communication/ a relevant example of.
* Maintaining compliance standards.
* Managing performance.
* Developing others.
State three assets and three liabilities from Belbin’s leadership model for each of the following team roles: Resource Investigator [6]
Assets
* Likeable/ sociable.
* Relaxed.
* Enthusiastic.
* Prevents team from stagnating.
Liabilities
* Not original ideas person.
* Easily bored and demoralised.
* Cannot work alone.
* Can become involved in irrelevancies.
State three assets and three liabilities from Belbin’s leadership model for each of the following team roles: Shaper [6]
Assets
* Extrovert.
* Full of energy.
* Self-confident.
* Focuses and motivates team.
Liabilities
* Anxious.
* Impulsive.
* May be seen as aggressive.
* High control need.
Anita is a supervisor and is considering the best forms of two-way communication to utilise with her team members. - Identify three advantages of Anita using face-to-face meetings. [3]
- She can communicate with multiple team members at once.
- Communication at several layers – verbal, visual, body language.
- It allows for interaction and feedback.
- 1-2-1 meetings are good for sensitive issues.
Anita is a supervisor and is considering the best forms of two-way communication to utilise with her team members. Identify three disadvantages of Anita using video calls. [3]
- There is no record of what was said and agreed unless calls are recorded.
- It may be time consuming if used to communicate with each team member.
- Video calls may be subject to poor communication/ connection issues/ people interrupting.
- Team members less likely to fully participate on video calls/ more likely to be distracted.
State five elements that could be included in a person specification and provide an example for each of these elements. Exclude physical make up and interests from your answer. [10]
Qualifications and experience
* Level 4/ experience of pension transfer/ another relevant example.
General intelligence
* Numeracy/ verbal reasoning/ another relevant example.
Special aptitudes
* Advisory skills/ IT literacy/ another relevant example.
Disposition
* Dependability/ positive attitude/ another relevant example.
Circumstances
* Mobility/ ability to work remotely/ another relevant example.
Alan is a financial adviser, specialising in pensions transfers and is currently applying for a Statement of Professional Standing (SPS). - Identify the four requirements Alan must meet to obtain an SPS. [4]
- Alan must adhere to a code of ethics.
- He must meet the FCA conduct rules (COCON) or statement of principles and Code of Practice for Approved Persons (APER).
- He must be level 4 qualified.
- He must have kept his knowledge up-to-date by undertaking appropriate CPD.
Alan is a financial adviser, specialising in pensions transfers and is currently applying for a Statement of Professional Standing (SPS). - Outline the additional Continuous Professional Development that Alan must complete on an annual basis as a pension transfer specialist. [3]
- Pension specialists must complete a minimum of 15 hours of pension transfer role appropriate CPD.
- A minimum of 9 hours of this must be structured CPD.
- At least 5 hours of this must be provided by an external independent provider.
Jaden attended a course to develop his counselling skills, to better support his team. - State five examples of skills required to lead a counselling session. [5]
- Active listening.
- Empathy.
- Tolerance.
- Skilled questioning techniques.
- Ability to summarise.
Jaden attended a course to develop his counselling skills, to better support his team. - State and explain briefly the three stages of counselling, in accordance with the Michael Reddy model. [6]
Understanding
Gain an understanding on what the problem is.
Challenging
Get the individual to look at the problem in a different light/ redefine the problem/ identify the underlying issue.
Resourcing
Encourage the individual find the solution and give support.
List the twelve Principles for Businesses. [12]
- Integrity.
- Skill, care and diligence.
- Management and control.
- Financial prudence.
- Market conduct.
- Customers’ interests/TCF.
- Communications with clients.
- Conflicts of interest.
- Customers: relationships of trust.
- Clients’ assets.
- Relations with regulators.
- Consumer Duty/ Customer Outcomes.
Identify the mandatory information that must be included in a suitability report provided to a retail investor. [6]
- It should specify the client’s goals and objectives/ demands and needs.
- It should explain why the recommendation is suitable for the client based on their circumstances/ needs/ objectives.
- Any possible disadvantages to the client needs to be explained.
Identify six additional items that should be included in a suitability report to demonstrate the advice given. [6]
- The client’s circumstances/ objectives should be recapped.
- An explanation of all areas of the recommendation should be included/ advantages & disadvantages.
- Refer to alternative products discussed, or products first recommended and rejected.
- Be personalised, with technical terms explained, in plain English.
- Refer to each need highlighted by the adviser and not taken forward including the reasons.
- Any charges associated with the recommendation should be explained clearly.
