Level 4 Diploma for Financial Advisors
(DipFA®)
Advanced Financial Advice - Coursework
(AFAC)
Commentary
This qualification is regulated by Ofqual in England and is incorporated into the Regulated
Qualifications Framework.
The exemplar is designed to demonstrate what a ‘good scoring’ coursework
submission looks like. It has been designed to comply with the demands of level
four RQF but is not designed to demonstrate a script scoring 100%.
The exemplar has been created to a good standard and is generally accurate and
complete. It is relevant to the pre-released client exemplar factfind but it may
include some technical errors and omissions in places.
The exemplar is relevant to the client circumstances and covers the mandatory
elements of the marking scheme sufficiently. The script demonstrates an
understanding of how the various elements of the exemplar factfind interlink and
there is also evidence of wider understanding regarding the concept of holistic
financial planning.
It demonstrates that it is possible to gain a high score on the coursework with
mistakes being present – thus reflecting a real-world submission by a student who
has not used any financial planning software, only freely available tools found online.
It is also within the available word count, leaving enough to cover areas discussed
below.
Areas in the assignment that scored well
The introduction is sufficient to cover the overview of current personal and financial
circumstances, without reusing all the same details from the factfind. The script
then flows through the main client objectives providing commentary to a good
standard on the main areas of protection planning, inheritance tax planning, savings
and investments and finishes with pensions. There is a good level of detail contained
within the work to cover the marking scheme in these areas. For instance, there is
a relatively detailed analysis provided regarding how the clients could meet their
desired income level in retirement.
The work is presented in a very clear and concise fashion, making very good use of
headings. This helps break up the flow of the report whilst also clearly signposting
what is being covered at each section. The work moves from one objective to another
with the benefit of recommendations, costing and commentary to support the ideas.
A ‘real world’ client would be able to follow the report and understand what was
being discussed and how the adviser had arrived at their findings.
Areas in the assignment that could be improved
There are minor technical inaccuracies throughout the assignment. For instance, the
income and outgoings section contain errors regarding Alice’s net income
calculation. Her pension contributions have not been accounted for correctly. In
addition, further consideration and discussion could be added in relation to any
reduction in her Personal Allowance.
Further details could have been given regarding the taxation of the clients’
investments. For instance, it is identified that the investment bond allows a 5% taxdeferred withdrawal to be taken in each policy year and this is cumulative. However,
it does not specify the amount of tax deferred income that is accumulated to date
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in monetary terms. Assumptions of notional dividends could have been added and
incorporated into the wider scenario.
More detailed descriptions and justifications could have been included for the
protection planning by expanding on the cover types and purposes and how they
could meet the needs of the client. Additional inheritance tax planning methods and
commentary could have been included as options of consideration. Pension
discussion and those covering savings and investments could have been expanded.
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