Course

DiPFA Course Information

DiPFA – Diploma for Financial Advisers Training Course Information

DiPFA – The Diploma for Financial Advisers is an FCA-approved QCF Level 4 qualification; it is one of the benchmark qualifications to become a Financial Adviser. DiPFA also meets the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) requirements that came into effect on 31st December 2012 and applies to all advisers in the retail investment market, regardless of the type of firm they work for. RDR was designed to raise Professional standards and to increase consumer confidence in the retail investment market. Whether independent or restricted, advisers are required to demonstrate a higher level of knowledge and skills. The qualification structure will ensure that advisers achieve a greater level of professionalism, with higher level qualifications, enhanced standards of Continued Professional Development (CPD) and adhering to ethical standards.

On completion of the LIBF Diploma, qualified professionals can go on to work in financial services as a financial adviser, giving advice on investments through to retirement planning. This qualification only takes 6 to 9 months to complete, offering a direct route into the finance industry. DipFA® is a professional qualification (level 4), but without the hefty course fee attached.

The DiPFA® qualification comprises of 6 modules and contains 11 units. Each unit must be passed to achieve the full qualification. If a student fails any of the units they are only required to re-sit the failed unit. The modules can be taken in any order and will take approximately 9 months to complete. The exam structure of each module is as follows:

Module 1: Financial Services, Regulation and Ethics – FSRE (Units 1 and 2) – Skill: Understanding Regulation (Exam: Two hour multiple-choice exam (1 hour each):

Unit 1 – FRE1 – Industry, Regulation and Key Parties
Unit 2 – FRE2 – Skills, Principles and Ethical Behaviours
- 25 multiple-choice questions (on each unit)
- 3 case studies with 5 linked multiple-choice questions on each unit
- Total marks = 80 marks (70% pass mark on both units)

Overview: FSRE® is the regulatory foundation module required for any professional qualification. The module helps candidates understand how financial markets and products work. It covers:

Financial Services – by looking at the financial services industry and regulated financial products
Regulation – by looking at how UK financial services are regulated and the role and objectives of the regulators
Ethics – by looking at how regulation can encourage ethical behaviour in firms and those who work in the firms, as well as the qualities and personality traits required for those who work in certain roles.

Modules 2 to 5: Skills: Technical knowledge and understanding.

Module 2 – Taxation (Units 3 and 4) Skill: Understanding taxation (Exam: 90 minute multiple-choice exam (45 minutes each unit).

Overview: Module two – Advanced Financial Advice – Taxation (AFAT)

This module will cover direct and indirect taxes, how they are calculated, who is liable for taxation and when taxes are due. The taxation module will explore the current HMRC structure of taxation including residency, estate planning and how advisers can assist clients in tax planning.

Module 3 – Investments (Units 5 and 6) Skill: Understanding how investments work and their uses (Exam: 90 minute multiple-choice exam (45 minutes each unit).

Overview: Module three – Advanced Financial Advice – Investments (AFAI)

This module will cover how economic policy can impact financial markets and the use and suitability of the vast range of financial assets and financial products. This module will also cover the different investment theories and risks associated in this financial planning stage.

Module 4 – Protection (Units 7 and 8) Skill: Understanding how financial protection products work and their uses (Exam: 90 minute multiple-choice exam (45 minutes each unit).

Overview: Module four – Advanced Financial Advice – Protection (AFAP)

This module will explore why and how financial protection can be implemented to ensure that a client’s needs are met. It will explain how protection can protect a client’s dependents as well as themselves in the event of early death, sickness or unemployment. It will cover how state benefits are limited but can also impact financial advice. This module will cover the technical aspects of all the protection policies and how an adviser can structure the policies and identify when changes need to be made to ensure ongoing suitability.

Module 5 – Retirement Planning (Units 9 and 10) Skill: Understanding how state and non-state pensions work in order to help clients plan for retirement (Exam: 90 minute multiple-choice exam (45 minutes each unit).

Overview: Module five – Advanced Financial Advice – Retirement Planning (AFAR)

This module will look at state pensions by looking at how they work and the qualification criteria, as well as how they can form part of the overall financial wellbeing of the client. It will also cover work and private pensions and the tax regime applicable in order to properly advise clients during the accumulation phase including how much and where to invest to achieve an income in retirement. It will cover the vast area of technical knowledge required to understand all types of pensions as well as the decumulation phase and the various options on retirement and how they can be built into a clients financial planning.

All modules 2 to 5 are assessed in a 90 minute exam and will cover 2 units in each module (45 minutes each unit). Each exam are multiple-choice. On each unit there are:

20 multiple-choice questions
2 case studies with 5 linked multiple-choice questions on each
Total marks on each unit = 30 marks (60 marks in total per module)
70% pass mark on each unit

Each unit must be passed on its own. Any failed units can be attempted again and only the failed unit would need to be re-taken.

Module 6 – Coursework (Unit 11) Skill: The application of the knowledge gained in modules 1 to 5. Exam = 1 unit – A coursework consisting of a pre-released fact find with an essay response in the style of a suitability report. Students are given 4 weeks to complete their report and submit it online.

Overview: Module six – Advanced Financial Advice – Coursework

The final module looks at applying the knowledge gained in the previous modules and testing the ability to formulate the knowledge via a suitability report. This is based on a case study provided as a fact find given 4 weeks before. Students must formulate their recommendations via a report and submit it online within the time frame. A new fact find is released every 6 weeks.

Total marks = 240 marks (50% pass mark)

During your studies you will become a Member of LIBF (MLIBF). LIBF membership offers benefits such as career support and access to professional networking events.

Clarity FT is an accredited LIBF Diploma for Financial Advisers (DiPFA) learning support provider.

Our students love learning with Clarity FT

Real experiences. Real results.

Google Rating 5.0 ★★★★★ FreeIndex Rating

Ethan James 5 months ago G

Maria was excellent at explaining the course. Really enjoyed and learnt a lot. I would recommend this course for anyone looking to do their CeMAP. Thank you Maria!

Sam Siegman 3 months ago G

I enrolled in a remote class to help me study for my first chosen module (Taxation) with LIBF towards the DipFA qualification. In all my interactions with Clarity Financial Training (email, phone and during the 2-day class itself) I found the staff to be very responsive and friendly. I particularly appreciated the included 3 months of access to the mock quizzes online that I feel were invaluable in helping me achieve success on the actual exam.

Darren Arul 3 months ago FI

Maria was super helpful - great resources and informative, interactive sessions, which helped me pass the coursework. I tried once before without Maria's help and failed so I can attest to the value of her help :-)

Katherine L 2 months ago FI

I couldn't have passed this qualification so quickly without Maria's excellent knowledge and expertise. A thorough understanding of the curriculum and availability for any and every question, with patience of a saint!

Jamie Mariani 1 year ago FI

I attended the weekend final 'case study' course for the Dip FA qualification. Maria did a great job summarising the key considerations. I passed with a distinction. I strongly recommend her services.

Kunwar Sood 1 year ago FI

I enrolled with Clarity Financial to support my CeMAP studies. I attended in person classes for CeMAP 1 and opted for the web based training for CeMAP 2 and 3. Personally, I would recommend the web based option to anyone, as it allows you to join the sessions from the comfort of your own home, saves both time and travel costs, and still offers a fully interactive environment where you can ask questions at any point. The overall experience was excellent. Maria and her team are thoroughly professional. As a lead trainer, Maria brings a wealth of industry knowledge and has years of experience training students. No question is treated as too basic, as she takes the time to break things down clearly and provides practical guidance supported by real world insight. At no point did I feel left to manage on my own. The training is well structured, engaging and fully supported throughout. Thanks to Maria's teaching style and approach, I passed all of my CeMAP exams first time, with merits across the board. I now plan to return to Clarity Financial for further courses. I would strongly recommend Clarity Financial to anyone serious about passing their exams. You will not be disappointed!

Julia. J 1 year ago FI

I purchased the CeMAP mocks and was very pleased. I did not expect to get that level of detail on the answers. I found this very useful. I will definitely be buying the mocks for the next module. Definitely worth the price.

Joachim Andrew 1 year ago FI

I used Clarity FT for my CeMAP studies, and honestly, it felt like a glorified audiobook/dictation session/script-reading service. Maria simply reads directly off the screen, offering little to no additional explanation, context, or engagement to help learners actually understand the material. The one-week remote course was particularly difficult to sit through - the delivery was painfully slow and monotonous, which made it really hard to stay focused or even stay awake. There was no attempt to break down or simplify the long-form content, and no interactive elements or clarification to support real comprehension. In the end, I found it far more helpful to just read the official LIBF material myself. It's clearer, and at least you can go at your own pace.

Joseph S 2 years ago FI

I used Clarity FT to study my FSRE. Thank you for all your help and answering all my questions promptly. I would highly recommend. Thank you Maria.

Ryan Lowes 2 years ago FI

Update: The issues experienced below have now been fixed for the highlighted module. While Clarity has an open line to call during the day, this only links to their reception with promises of a call back. I had called 4 times requesting this and only recieved a call back once. On their website they advertise mock tests with 'up to 2500 questions' with random sets of questions given for each attempt. Firstly it took a week of me calling to have the option to purchase my desired module for AFA Tax (Only way to do this is through their website). Once I finally had access I was able to start doing the mock tests, another point to note is that they promise explanations for incorrect answers, this is not true as I was only given the questions that were wrong with no explanation. The testing system is very basic and doesn't allow you to go back to previous attempts to checks questions etc. However the biggest annoyance of my experience is that I could only do one full mock test before I simply got a note of 'Congratulations, you've passed all the quizzes'. Considering that the £25 I paid was for unlimited 7 day access for 2500 randomised questions, this is not the case and is false advertising. I'm not sure if this is a fault with their system and would be happy to change this review if that were the case, but the amount of issues I've had in just trying to get access to some mock test questions for a module they are advertising has been a nightmare. I have been granted a refund on the £25 paid for access to the mock test since posting this review previously so I appreciate Clarity being prompt in dealing with this, but I will leave this here until the issues with a module they are advertising, AFA Tax have been sorted completely so that others don't run into the same issues that I have.

Bilal Ahmed 2 years ago FI

Its been a great experience of learning and training through Clarity Financial. The tutor (Maria Hunter) made this possible for me to get the insight of the subject. You do not need to revise the videos once listened properly. Its very comprehensive and precise. I am sure it would be extremely difficult for me to Pass Level 4 Diploma for Financial Advisers without this support.