Exam prep guidance for the financial adviser exam

With around 32.4% of advisers passing the ASIC financial adviser exam during the first attempt, it’s clear that sitting this exam is a stressful time for many.

It’s understandable that advisers feel the pressure when sitting the 3.5 hour exam, as passing is essential in order to comply with the professional standards for financial advisers. If you’re planning to sit the ASIC exam this year, we’ve gathered some tips, advice and exam prep strategies to help you get organised and ensure you’re best positioned to get a good result.

Here’s the steps you need to take: 

Set a date

Bookings to sit the exam are only open during the specific booking period for each sitting, and late bookings are not accepted under any circumstances. So, your first step is to set a date. This not only means you’ll get organised in advance, but it also gives you a concrete date to work towards when setting your study schedule. The next exam period is July 22, with bookings accepted between 20 June 2022 – 12 July 2022, so don’t delay – book now.

Decide whether to sit it remotely or in-room

Remote proctoring allows you to take an assessment at a remote location rather than an in-person sitting at an exam centre. These systems require students to confirm their identity, and during the exam, you’re monitored via video to ensure integrity. Note that from September 2022, remote exams are the only option. 

Review ASIC’s online resources

Get ready for what’s ahead by reviewing a few short videos that ASIC has produced, to help familiarise you with the scope of the exam. It includes plenty of helpful insights, including an outline of the types of questions (multiple choice, true or false, or short answer responses). 

Familiarise yourself with the practice questions

You don’t have to go into the exam entirely blind, as ASIC has prepared a booklet full of practice questions. The scenarios outlined in the guidance document provide a guide to the types of questions in the Financial Adviser Exam, but note they don’t necessarily reflect the full range of questions or their difficulty. Review the practice questions here.

What if you’re re-sitting the exam?

Advisers are eligible to re-sit the exam a second time if they’ve already sat once and haven’t passed. You will have to pay another fee and book a new exam sitting.

If you don’t pass, you can re-sit the exam as many times as you need to pass it. Unfortunately you won’t just re-sit the parts that you got wrong; you’ll need to re-do the entire exam.

After sitting or re-sitting the exam, it takes six to eight weeks for the reviewing and marking process to be completed and the results released.

As you prepare to sit your ASIC financial adviser exam, try not to overthink or get anxious. Since it was first introduced, a significant 20,000 advisers had sat the exam and 91% of them had passed. The odds of passing are in your favour, and if you don’t pass the first time around, you always have another opportunity to try again. 

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