RDR 2012: on plan for professionalism

Less than six months before the RDR rules come into force, we look at how members are preparing and offer tips on how to beat the deadline.

Progress paints a positive picture

With the RDR end-date almost in touching distance, our adviser members are clearly demonstrating their professional prowess by keeping pace with the RDR requirements.

The CII Diploma in Financial Planning recently achieved a milestone - there are now over 20,000 holders. Add these to other CII transitional qualification and Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning holders, and there are some 30,000 CII-qualified financial planning professionals who already meet or exceed the RDR qualification requirements.

And, as at the end of June 2012, 69% of adviser members were qualified to Level 4 or above, with another 21% well en route. Gap fill completions are also intensifying, with over 11,500 members having successfully completed, and this figure is increasing at an exponential rate.

While many advisers have the end goal firmly in their sights, a significant number have already achieved full compliance. Well over 10,000 adviser members now hold a CII Statement of Professional Standing, and are telling us that it provides a useful point of competitive advantage for them and their business.

It goes without saying that clients are generally comforted by such tangible evidence that their adviser meets high professional standards. But some members have also noticed that new client referrals from professional connections have increased since they have cleared the RDR compliance hurdle.

Staying ahead in the coming months

Despite such promising progress, there is no time for complacency on our part; we are acutely aware that the next six months are a critical time for those with work still to do.          

For the benefit of those advisers yet to reach Level 4, it is worth reiterating some key points that need to be considered:

1. Take advantage of our free online study support - RevisionMate is provided free with every CII Diploma study text, giving access to a host of free support services. You can build a tailored study plan that keeps you firmly on track, test your knowledge and practise your exam technique with the latest mock exam, plus much, much more.  Find out more about RevisionMate »
   
   
2. Book exams as early as possible - We have almost 80 online exam centres and 60 written exam centres nationwide, but capacity is being used up quickly. To secure your preferred date and location we strongly recommend you book any exams you plan to sit this year as far in advance as possible.
   
   R01-R05 online exams are offered year-round, typically weekly, and can be booked up to three months in advance. It is worth bearing in mind that we release new exam sittings during the third week of every month. Also, we have scheduled an extra R06 written exam sitting in August, leaving five remaining opportunities to sit this year.  Book a Diploma exam »
   
   
3. Get gap filling - If you haven't already logged into our member-exclusive online gap fill tool to establish whether they have any RDR knowledge gaps, then now would be a good time. Any gaps you know will remain once you're Diploma-qualified can be addressed now using our range of complementary solutions.
   
   And remember, gap fill needs to be verified before an SPS application can be submitted. As gap fill verification can take up to 60 days, depending on the volume of submissions being processed at any given time, we recommend that gap fill is completed and submitted to the CII for verification as soon as possible, either before or after completing the Diploma.  Find out more about gap fill and SPS »