Category Archives: General Musings

New Business Analysis Mentoring Cohort

Leave a reply

Registration for the next Business Analysis mentoring programme is now opened. For this cohort,

Business Analyst Training

Business Analysis Training and Mentoring

participants will work online to build an  Ecommerce training site like www.theknowledgeacademy.co.uk in a waterfall/agile model over 3 months.

This programme will cover the entire system development life cycle, from Business Analysis to Solution Architecture through to Software Testing. To see more about how this programme works please visit http://www.careertesters.com/business-analyst-mentoring.html

Mentoring start date: 6th Feb 2016

Note:This programme is suitable for those that have done our Business Analysis Essentials Training Course or have equivalent knowledge/Experience

Seasons Greetings from all at Futuretrend

Leave a reply

seasonsgreetingsFuturetrend would like to wish all our students and followers the very best this festive season.

As we wind down towards the holiday season, we’d like to take this opportunity to express our greetings for the year to come. We’re looking forward to 2016 already!

As always the team are available via email if you need to contact us urgently.

IFS DipFA Fact Find Exam July 2015

Leave a reply

The Fact Find for the next IFS Factfind exam has just been released, and there is a lot to get your teeth into!

What is covered?exam analyst

The fact find covers a wide variety of topics, such as;

Trust Planning

Final Salary Pensions

Investment Planning

Protection Planning

Mortgage Advice

and others, all to be researched and then written up in a 3 hour exam.

 

As always, there may also be areas or information missing or incomplete, which you will be expected to spot and account for, followed by some amendments on the day.

What does the exam look like?

Remember, the exam is there to test your knowledge, understanding, and crucially the application of that knowledge to the client’s situation and needs.

You will have to write or type out a full Suitability Report from scratch in three hours.  Whilst the report may not fully resemble a ‘real life’ report, (it is after all an exam) that is a tall order.

 

A good thing to remember is that you need to explain your recommendations, and why they are suitable for the clients, even if it seems ‘obvious’.

How should you prepare?

Research and Practice!

Reading and studying the required areas covered in the Fact Find is essential. The IFS Study Topic Folders are a good place to start.

Then once you have formulated some solid recommendations practice delivering your report in the 3 hour limit.

Remember though that anything can come up as an amendment on the day if the subject is in the syllabus!

Where can I get help?

Further help can be found via Futuretrend’s DipFA fact find training courses.

 

CeMAP questions from our virtual learning zone (Item 2)

Leave a reply

Every month we go through our CeMAP forums at http://www.cemap123.co.uk (which our students have access to as part of their CeMAP Training programme) to see what interesting queries have been dziners-org-discussionposted.

Here is this months CeMAP query from Dave S:

Question:
Hello,
Can anyone please explain top slicing in plain English, perhaps with an example of how it would be calculated in a real life situation?

Dave

 

Hi Dave

Top slicing – The good news is that for CeMap you won’t be required to work out top slicing – it can be too complicated !!!

Essentially, with an Investment Bond, whereas one would think that any gain from the Bond would be subject to Capital Gains tax, it is in fact subject to income Tax!! The capital gain is calculated and then divided by the number of years that you have held the Bond – this is then added to your income over the preceding years. Too complicated – don’t need to know it – just remember that any gain is subject to income tax and not CGT.

Hope this helps

David Airs
CeMAP Trainer

Re: Top slicing
by Dave S

That’s a relief! Thank you David.

IFS DipFA Coursework (July 2015) – Baked Beans and Trains!

Leave a reply

IFS DipFA Coursework (July 2015) – Baked Beans and Trains!  courses-image

 In financial services, we often take normal everyday words and convert them into jargon.  So it is with Platforms, Wraps and Supermarkets.  It’s nothing to do with travelling by train or buying baked beans!  It has, of course, everything to do with advising retail clients on investment and pension solutions.

This is a very useful and relevant essay for candidates taking the current Coursework assessment with the IFS, as the platforms, wraps and supermarket investment approach is now the norm for many adviser firms and their clients.

What are they?  The FCA has a useful definition for you;

“…online services, used by intermediaries (and sometimes consumers directly) to view and administer their investment portfolios…”

You are asked to explain what these are for the readers of an accountancy practice’s quarterly magazine.

 

It’s really an essay!

As always with the Coursework, this is really an essay set at QCF Level 4, which is roughly the equivalent of an essay required during the first year of a degree course.

However, it is not enough just to know what these things are!  You will have to make the essay read-able, with a solid structure and avoid over-emphasis on client-unfriendly jargon.  As will all Level 4 study, you need to show the examiner that you understand the products and can apply that knowledge in order to demonstrate understanding.

 

Start Your Research!

There is a lot of potential research available.  You could do worse than start by actually checking through the IFS Study Folders which has some information on platforms, as well as different types of investments and the tax treatments of such.  There is a huge amount of online research available – maybe start by checking the Money Advice website and searching for ‘platforms’; or by looking into one of the many online investment platforms that advertise widely, such as Hargreaves Lansdown, or Transact.  (These are just examples and there are many more!).

Need more help and guidance?
Anyone looking for additional help in this area can sign up for our  DipFA Coursework distance learning course

cemap questions from our virtual learning zone

4 Replies

Every month we go through our CeMAP forums at http://www.cemap123.co.uk (which our students have access to as part of their CeMAP Training programme) to see what interesting queries have been dziners-org-discussionposted.

Here is this months CeMAP query from Holly D:

Question:

When I booked my exams through IFS, you have the option of registering for CeMAP England/Wales or CeMAP Scotland.  In my text book there are still references to Scottish legislation, does that mean we may still be examined on it? I thought that was the idea of choosing the English/Welsh version so you aren’t examined on Scottish Regs

Answer:

HI Holly

Totally ignore the Scottish stuff. If you do CeMap under English and Welsh law then you can do mortgages in Scotland, believe it or not, not vice versa!

David Airs – CeMAP trainer

IFS DipFA Fact Find Exam April 2015 – Possibly the most challenging one yet!

Leave a reply

So, here we are, the Fact Find for the April exam has been released.  There are some intriguing exam analystaspects to these hypothetical clients’ situations.

There is a complex arrangement of the client’s financial affairs at death, and some interesting aspects of their current financial affairs.  In many ways, the IFS have delivered a more challenging exam than we have seen for a while, yet perhaps this is actually more realistic in terms of how people’s actual financial arrangements are in real life.

However, as in all fact find exams, regardless of how “life like” or not the exam is, the scenario is actually there to test your knowledge, and crucially, the application of that knowledge, to the clients circumstances, needs and objectives.

This blog summarises some of the key issues candidates will need to consider for this exam, and some pointers that students may find useful to review and refresh themselves of in addition to other study – this blog is not a comprehensive guide to the exam but should get you started.

As always, a solid understanding of taxation is required.  Anyone not fully clued up on the tax treatment of pensions, income and investments should immediately head to the IFS Study Folders (issued by the IFS when they started the DipFA course), and look up the Taxation folder, as well as the Retirement Planning folder.

 

For this particular exam, some key areas are;

  • Technical knowledge of Defined Benefit pensions (Final Salary) – is there a little ‘trap’ here for the unwary?!
  • Inheritance Tax options and planning
  • Investment planning and risk, especially around ethical investments

This is most definitely not a comprehensive list, and of course don’t forget, anything in the syllabus can be considered relevant for the exam.  The amendments on the day can cover any issue covered in the Study Folders, or related to these areas.  Candidates would be well advised to at least review the sections of the Study Folders for areas of advice they are not familiar with prior to the exam itself.  According to recent Examiner’s reports, many candidates are missing out on marks as a result of not sufficiently addressing the amendments on the day.  If there are gaps in your knowledge compared to the syllabus, you run the risk of being caught out…

 

Further help can be found via Futuretrend’s DipFA fact find training courses.

Some helpful info for those studying DipFA FSRE

Leave a reply

The summary attached below links the Topics, i.e. chapters, in the IFS FSRE manual with the learning outcomes, and also identifies the potential marking available for that learning outcome.

The way to understand this is that the Learning Outcomes represent the syllabus issued by the FCA, and that is what is tested, not the study manuals!

Obviously all students need to take an holistic approach to the exam; however in terms of prioritising your study and exam technique, the ‘big hitters’ are;

  • Learning Outcome 5 (Topic 13/14)
  • Learning Outcome 6 (Topic 15/16)
  • Learning Outcome 7 (Topic 17/18).
  • Learning Outcome 9, 10,11 (Topic 21/22).

I hope this information helps you prepare for your DipFA FSRE.  You could also consider our 5 day DipFA FSRE Training course if you need further support.

FSRE Learning Outcomes and Topics List

 

 

IFS DipFA Coursework (Due 30/01/15)

1 Reply

IFS DipFA Coursework (Due 30/01/15)

Some pointers…

The IFS Coursework consists mainly of a 4,000 word essay.  The essay is marked according to QCF level 4 relevant academic standards (equivalent to the first year of a degree course).  As part of this, a bibliography meeting the required academic format is mandatory.  There are also three additional short questions on other topics.

The Coursework due for the end of January 2015courses-image focuses on employee benefits.  You are writing a briefing for a company that is considering introducing more employee benefits.

Your essay could consider what such benefits are, the pros and cons of such benefits, and the tax treatment of such.

In preparation for one of our courses, the IFS Study Folders contain an excellent starting point for research on why and how the UK taxation regime operates, plus technical guidance and knowledge around specific potential benefits.  Further reading and research is also required as part of this assignment.

It is essential for students to understand the referencing and bibliography requirements, and focus on a solid and thought-out structure.

Further support can be found by booking attendance at the Lewis Davis Course on 5th December in Central London; or via the Futuretrend Distance Learning Course.

 

Paul Davis, BA (Hons), Cert Mgmt, Dip. PFS, Futuretrend Tutor.

IFS DipFA Coursework (Due 31/10/14)

Leave a reply

IFS DipFA Coursework (Due 31/10/14)

Some pointers…

The IFS Coursework consists mainly of a 4,000 word essay.
The essay is marked according tofinance-role1
QCF level 4 relevant academic standards (equivalent to the first year of a degree course).  As part of this, a bibliography meeting the required academic format is mandatory.  There are also three additional short questions on other topics.

The Coursework due for the end of October focuses on the use of discretionary fund management, covering the types of investment available, the tax treatment of such investments, how such investments can be beneficial or inadvisable for clients, specific compliance issues, and the potential for such investment by High Net Worth clients.

As investment into discretionary services appears to be becoming more popular, this is an important area, and thus the IFS have provided students with a relevant topic for this submission.

In preparation for one of our courses, the IFS Study Folders contain an excellent starting point for research on why and how the UK taxation regime operates, and the effects on higher earners.  By combining this information with relevant product and investment theory knowledge that shows the reader the pros and cons of such investments, students will make a start to providing a well researched essay.  Further reading and research is also required as part of this assignment.

It is essential for students to understand the referencing and bibliography requirements, and focus on a solid and thought-out structure.

Further support can be found by booking attendance at one of Futuretrend’s DipFA courses, either via the remote support option  or one-to-one tuition.

Paul Davis, BA (Hons), Cert Mgmt, Dip. PFS, Futuretrend Tutor.