threesixty expands IFA education support

IFA support services provider threesixty has expanded the education support it provides financial advisers as the industry prepares itself to meet demands for higher standards of professionalism.

The firm says it will work with clients looking to take higher courses offered by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and the Institute of Financial Services (IFS).

Until now, threesixty has provided support up to level three for the CII's Certificate in Financial Planning and the IFS' Certificate in Financial Advice.

It will now provide support for level four courses from both awarding bodies through its interactive 'buddy study' sessions, a dedicated online forum for candidates to file questions and let candidates know of any exam support or workshops offered by product providers.

The FSA has confirmed that any of the existing level four qualifications, which include the CII diploma, the IFS diploma and the Institute of Financial Planning's Certified Financial Planner, will be recognised in the post-RDR world, even though some continuing professional development (CPD) may be required to provide any ‘gap' filling.

For this reason, threesixty warns the decision to obtain a relevant qualification should not be deferred.

"We appreciate that revising for the advanced level IFA exams can be long lonely slogs, especially for those candidates who are working on areas that they do not fully understand or have trouble translating across to the worked examples within the exams," David Ingram, a partner at threesixty says.

"Therefore our new buddy sessions are designed to make revision more productive and to increase candidates' motivation," he adds.

In addition, threesixty has negotiated for its clients a discount from the CII on the purchase of course text books, education assessments, key fact revision guides, CD rom/audio CDs and face-to-face training courses.

The CII also waives for threesixty clients the £36 admission fee normally payable on becoming a member.

The IFP has waived the £25 joining fee and reduced the membership rate for threesixty clients to undergo the Certified Financial Planner training and development.

More details can be found on threesixty's website at threesixty