Nearly three-quarters of advisers sitting the most recent exam set by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) have passed as candidate numbers settle after the deadline for existing advisers to successfully complete the exam has passed.
ASIC stated 205 candidates sat the most recent exam, held in August, and of that number 150, or 73 per cent, passed, with 72 per cent of candidates doing the exam for the first time.
The number of candidates has fallen since existing advisers were required to pass the exam by 1 October 2022, with 628 candidates sitting the last two exams in 2022 before that deadline and around 200 sitting the three exams that have taken place in 2023.
At the February sitting, 192 candidates sat the exam, of which 128, or 67 per cent, passed, with 60 per cent taking the exam for the first time. These rates were static for the May sitting, which was sat by 195 candidates, of which 122, or 63 per cent, passed, with 74 per cent taking the exam for the first time.
The August exam was the 22nd conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research since its inception and the seventh conducted by ASIC, which picked up its oversight from 1 January 2022 following the shutting down of the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority.
So far, 20,718 candidates have sat the exam and 19,172, or 92 per cent, have passed, with both numbers well above the figures listed on ASIC’s Financial Adviser Register for active advisers, which currently sits around 16,000.
ASIC stated one more sitting of the exam for 2023 will take place on 9 November with enrolments open from 2 to 20 October, while indicative dates for exam sittings in 2024 are set for 15 February, 16 May, 8 August and 7 November.
