Return to Calibrand News Letters
In this issue:
Register before Christmas to save money
Advisers are urged to register and pay for their remaining Calibrand units before 31st December to save money and fix the cost of their exams.
Calibrand has not increased its prices since launching the diploma nearly 18 months ago. Increasing costs over this period has meant that from 1st January 2012 we will reluctantly be increasing the unit price to £133.33 + VAT per unit (£160 inclusive VAT) for units 1 to 5.
We are pleased to say that the following prices will remain the same;
- The price of unit 6 remains the same at £150 + VAT (£180 inclusive of VAT).
- The price of a re-sit for units 1 to 5 remains at £120 + VAT (£144 inclusive of VAT).
- The discounted price of the full diploma remains at £750 inclusive of VAT.
If you want to take advantage of the existing prices then please don’t delay, contact us today!
Key features of the Calibrand diploma:
- Mix & match with CII RO units
- FREE learning material, practice and mock exams, together with FREE re-sits (for units 1-5) if you pass the mock exam.
- No multi-response multi-choice questions (Units 1-5 are all single response questions).
- Unit 6 is 12-15 short answers completed online. FREE specimen papers and model answers are provided for Unit 6.
- Calibrand delivers examinations 'in-house' in addition to provision in test centres.
Excellent pass rates
Congratulations to all our students on achieving excellent pass rates. Many students are half way through the diploma and well on the way to achieving the full RDR diploma by the Olympic Summer of 2012.
Calibrand’s unit pass rates are as follows:
| Unit | Title | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| *based on low initial numbers | ||
| 1 | Financial Services, Regulation and Ethics | 89% |
| 2 | Personal Taxation | 47% |
| 3 | Investment Principles and Risk | 87% |
| 4 | Pensions and Retirement Planning | Over 80%* |
| 5 | Financial Protection | Over 80%* |
| 6 | Application of Professional Financial Advice | Not yet statistically significant |
The overall first time pass rate is over 70%.
Mix & Match CII credits
Calibrand is please to confirm that it accepts ALL RO units as credits for Calibrand’s equivalent units. Calibrand currently does not charge to register these unit credits (so get in quick before we change our mind!)
CII has accredited Calibrand’s diploma as well as individual units.
This offers advisers the following flexibility:
- You can complete the Calibrand diploma and then gain credits towards CII’s Chartered status.
- You can mix and match RO exams and then complete the remaining Calibrand units.
- You can take Calibrand units and gain CII credit to complete the CII diploma.
- You can take Calibrand units to gap-fill AND gain CII credits.
| SQA / Calibrand unit | PCII recognition of prior learning award |
|---|---|
| Unit 1 – Financial Services, Regulation and Ethics | RO1 – Financial Services, Regulation and Ethics barred 20 Diploma in Financial Planning credits |
| Unit 2 – Personal Taxation | RO3 – Personal Taxation 10 Diploma in Financial Planning credits |
| Unit 3 – Investment Principles and Risk | RO2 – Investment Principles and Risk 20 Diploma in Financial Planning credits |
| Unit 4 – Pensions and Retirement Planning | RO4 - Pensions and Retirement Planning 10 Diploma in Financial Planning credits |
| Unit 5 – Financial Protection | RO5 – Financial Protection 10 Certificate in Financial Planning credits |
| Unit 6 – Application of Professional Financial Advice | 10 non unit specific credits at Diploma in Financial Planning level on completion of Calibrand’s diploma |