This is the amended benchmark qualification for those who advise clients in the financial services industry.  It replaces the Diploma in Financial Planning and existing advisers must attain the qualification by January 2013.  It will be formed of six modules as follows:

• R01 Regulation & Ethics
• R02 Investment Principles & Risk
• R03 Personal Taxation
• R04 Pension & Retirement Planning
• R05 Financial Protection
• R06 Financial Planning Practice

R01 and R02 will be worth 20 credits, R06 will be worth 30 credits and the rest will be worth 10 credits.  All examinations except for R06 will be multiple choice although we must wait to see how the examinations are structured.  Existing advisers who are part qualified may continue with the older J0 papers or can switch to the newer versions. 

 However, it looks increasingly likely that advisers qualified to diploma level and beyond may have to take additional examinations to `gap fill'.  It has been suggested that CPD records would be sufficient to comply but it may be that not too many advisers have the level of evidence to support this route.  At the very least existing qualified advisers may have to take R01 and possibly R05.  However, it may also be the case that R02 may not contain the same details as J06 (essentially both the same subject).

 The C.I.I. will be launching a gap analysis tool shortly so that advisers can see where their examination gaps exist.

R01 now available. R02-R06 coming soon.