What qualifications should a financial adviser have?

If you’re planning a career as a financial adviser, congratulations! You’ll be entering a highly rewarding profession with routes for progression and specialisation.

You may be wondering, however, how to make your career goals a reality. Well, it all starts with a DipFA.

Why become a financial adviser?

Before thinking about the qualifications needed for the job, it’s important to weigh up the benefits of choosing financial advice as your career.

As a financial adviser you’ll help people decide what’s best for their money. You’ll learn about your clients and their financial situations; you’ll get to understand their goals and ultimately recommend products that suit their needs, such as pension schemes, mortgages and savings plans.

Your clients will rely on your professional knowledge to make important life decisions, so you must ensure you stay up to date with what’s on the market and current legislation.

When you become a financial adviser you can look forward to:

• Becoming a respected professional
• Holding skills which will always be in demand
• Genuinely helping your clients
• Earning a starting salary of up to £30,000 with the potential for progression
• The option to specialise

Financial adviser qualifications: what is a DipFA?

In order to become a financial adviser, you must hold a qualification recognised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). 

The Diploma for Financial Advisers (DipFA) is the perfect choice. It’s designed specifically for aspiring financial advisers, and you don’t need any prior experience in the Financial Services sector. 

You could be qualified after as little as 6 months of part-time study!

The DipFA course consists of 6 online Live Webinar modules plus a self-directed e-learning coursework module.

Each of the Live Webinar modules is delivered by one of our highly experienced tutors, who use their personal experience in Financial Services to bring the course to life.

• Module 1 – Financial Services Regulation Ethics (FSRE): 8 x 3-hour tutorials over 4 days.
• Module 2 – Taxation: 4 x 3-hour tutorials over 2 days.
• Module 3 – Investment: 6 x 3-hour tutorials over 3 days.
• Module 4 – Protection: 4 x 3-hour tutorials over 2 days.
• Module 5 – Retirement Planning: 6 x 3-hour tutorials over 3 days.

Module 1 is assessed via a 2-hour exam including 50 multiple-choice questions and 3 case studies with 5 multiple-choice questions each.

Assessment for Modules 2-5 is via a 90-minute exam for each module. Each exam will have 40 multiple choice questions and 2 case studies with 5 multiple choice questions on each.

Module 6 is the self-directed coursework module. You’ll be assessed on the essay you write in response to a pre-released fact find.

What’s next?

If you’re driven to succeed, we’ll help you reach your goals. At Simply Academy our experienced, knowledgeable and friendly tutors will support you at every step.

If you’re ready to get started, you can book a DipFA course online through our Financial Services course pages. If you’d like to talk through your study options or have any queries about studying DipFA, our friendly Student Support team can help. Please feel free to get in touch on Freephone 0808 208 0002 or by email at [email protected].