Close to 90 per cent of candidates passed the financial adviser exam held in September, according to exam results announced by the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA).
The authority said the pass rate for the 1697 advisers who sat the exam in 15 locations across Australia from 19 to 23 September was 88 per cent.
“FASEA is pleased with the implementation of the second exam and congratulates successful candidates on completing an important component of their education requirements under the Corporations Act,” FASEA chief executive Stephen Glenfield said.
“Unsuccessful candidates are able to resit the exam and these advisers will receive guidance on which knowledge areas they need to improve to enhance their ability to pass at a future sitting.”
The authority announced a record number of advisers had registered for the next round of exams in December, with 3200 advisers currently enrolled.
It said the December round of exams would be held in 19 locations, including eight metropolitan locations and 11 regional centres.
Registrations for the February 2020 round of exams were also open, with 190 advisers currently enrolled, it added.
In August, the federal government extended the time available for financial advisers to complete the mandatory adviser exam by a year and also granted a two-year extension to meet FASEA education requirements.
Recently, a senior financial services executive warned the FASEA education requirements introduced this year would impact on practitioners servicing SMSF clients, even if they were not actually providing advice.