r/cii

I have my R01 tomorrow, I have not been scoring very well (37%-50%) on the BrandFT papers and I have been sitting around the pass mark of the CII mocks

I’ve been revising an hour a night (two hours on weekends) for the past six weeks whilst working full time. I always struggled with revision in school - I could never get along with cue cards and I do struggle to retain information when there is so much to absorb at once from reading/note taking

Does anybody have any advice ahead of tomorrow with regards to final night preparation? I am focussing today on section 2, section 5 and section 8

I’ve decided against doing any more mocks, I think I just need to accept I am where I am - focus on the content, and aim to scrape a pass tomorrow morning and hope that I can take any learns from these 6 weeks into R02 - worst case I will sit R01 again at the end of June

Wish me luck!

so i’ve done 3 exams so far, i currently work in financial ops but i don’t know what i want to do at the end. what sort of opportunities would be available once you complete the diploma?

thanks! :)

I have used Reddit quite a lot while studying my R0’s for advice which has helped me so I thought I would contribute to maybe help someone that is planning on taking R01 soon. I would HIGHLY recommend paying for KnowRo! I couldn’t believe how similar the questions were and made me feel a lot more confident. I have already passed R05 & R03 but I did it without KnowR0! I can hands down say it made a big difference and a huge huge time saver.
Hope this helps!

Hi everyone,

I have my R05 exam tomorrow and was wondering if anyone had any tips for the exam. I am scoring fairly high on the CII questions on the Revision mate site and also on the CII mock.

Did anyone find the CII questions on revision mate (the 50 questions, 20 questions and chapter questions) were similar to the exam?

Thanks all!

I sat CF6 earlier this year and when I went looking for revision resources online there was almost nothing. The CII specimen paper, and that was about it.

So I built my own cheat sheet covering all the learning outcomes MCOB, the house buying process, mortgage products, repayment methods, protection, SDLT, the lot.

It's completely free just drop a comment or DM me and I'll send the link over.

Happy to answer any CF6 questions in the comments too — I know how sparse the resources are for this one.

This is something I’ve strongly been considering over the last few months. I studied a literature degree, and have been more drawn to humanities much of my life. I did try and break into marketing but there’s just so much competition.

I’m at a point where, at 35, I really want to make something of myself and perhaps do a side hustle that’s creative. I currently tutor on the side which I thoroughly enjoy so I could keep that up… if I have the time.

When discussing with my dad, he told me that because I’m more in to English than maths I wouldn’t necessarily enjoy it. His friend, who works for SJP, has done incredibly well but my dad said when there’s something he wants to get done he won’t stop until it’s done. I wouldn’t be going the SJP route though, am interested in firms in the City and don’t care so much for sales.

I was feeling really enthusiastic about it until now. Does anyone have any similar experiences, or can offer any advice?!

Thanks!

I have passed all the other R0s and I’m just left with R06.

I am going to get the brand case study and really nail that when it comes out, but I’m wondering how people prepared before the case study came out.

Do you just do past papers ? I’m a bit lost to be honest

Any help would be appreciated

Are advisers clinging to hope when they say AI can’t replace the empathy and trust of a human adviser?

I recently read that around a third of UK citizens have used AI for emotional support. If people are already using AI for something as personal as that, is it really impossible to imagine them using it for financial advice too?

I work in/around financial advice and one thing that strikes me is how much the profession attacks itself.

Percentage fee or flat fee? Adviser or planner? Industry or profession? Product seller or proper planner? Large firm or small IFA? Restricted or independent?

If we keep telling the public that many advisers are not “proper” advisers, are too product-led or do not offer real planning, are we damaging trust in human advice ourselves?

I have also recently spoken to several recruiters. Only one really listened, understood what I was looking for and suggested relevant roles. Unfortunately, that was a recruiter bot.

That experience made me wonder whether the “human touch” argument is weaker than we think.

If people can get financial guidance that is clear, accessible and available at a fraction of the price, will many be happy to move away from human advisers?

I am genuinely fascinated by AI and think it could bring many exciting changes, improve standards and make advice/guidance more accessible. But I am struggling to see financial advice continuing in its current form for much longer.

Interested in views, especially from advisers, planners and anyone trying to upskill as AI develops and how people with many years left in the profession feel.

I received notification back from the CII in March that I had failed assignment 2, achieving 39 marks in the process.

I am now on with a second attempt. The main struggle I am having right now is the structure, there is numerous varieties on here but I keep going back and forth between them and cant seem to settle on a single one.

My current structure reads like this:

Introduction - a couple sentences summarising their situation and linking it back to the question being asked.

Overview of current financial position - going through each section of the fact find analysing potential shortfalls or key points.

Evaluation of potential options - the section I am currently working on, not sure how many I actually need and how much detail to go into.

Conclusion & Summary?

Is this a good structure, did you guys that passed use a similar one?

I went to an interview and didn’t get the role. However, I’d like to send the interviewers a LinkedIn invite thanking them for the opportunity and mentioning that I’d like to stay connected and follow news about the company.

Is this a good idea?

Thanks!

I’m considering doing CF6, does anyone have the textbook pdf the would be willing to share with me please?

I haven’t done too well in my previous interviews but reallyyy want and need this role I have worked so hard the last few months but always let myself down in the interview.

Pleas if anyone here is a financial planner or paraplanner pls give me some tips.. Is anyone open to a call so I can ask some questions and practice??

I just get bad imposter syndrome. F26 - have been working as an financial planning admin for 2 years.

Hi Everyone,

I have made all the cheat sheets now , they are all FREE find them here Path2Adviser — CII Mock Exams R01 R02 R03 R04 R05.

Still making R05 give me some time.

I want them to be available to everyone so they are FREE!

I hope this helps . Go smash the exams guys!!

Couldn't find a decent free revision resource so I built one. Covers every LO, all the 2025/26 tax figures, and the exam traps people consistently get wrong.

No email required: https://path2adviser.co.uk

Good luck to anyone sitting soon 🤞

Hello,

This is my last ro. I’ve failed r04 twice. I’m at around 28/50.

Any tips tricks or strategies that worked for you to remember the information?

Thanks

Hi All,

I’m currently studying AF1 for the September 2026 sitting. I wanted to know if it is worth attempting J02, 7 days later as I have heard the information overlaps…….or am I giving myself too much to do at once?

I am nervous as this is my first attempt sitting AF1. I am loving the content up to now though.

How has everyone else attempted AF1 and is this realistic working full time?

Any guidance would be appreciated.

Thank you

Hi guys,
I’ve been studying the R02 exam via the CII’s textbook and their knowledge checker questions. I’ve been doing well so far, but sometimes think I’m learning the answers to the questions via repetition rather than actual learning and understanding the content and context behind it. Can anyone recommend a second resource website/ app etc for the R02 exam? I’ve heard of Brand Financial Training, Bespoke Training solutions, and KnowR0. What ones would you all recommend? Thankyou in advance!

Hi everyone, hope you're all well.

Just passed my CII Diploma (4 exams in 3 months) and wanted to share what worked and what didn't in case it helps anyone.

The biggest thing: practice questions. Doing them repeatedly and focusing on weak areas made more difference than anything else.

Materials I used:

CII official materials — comprehensive but very expensive, especially if you're self-funding. Used them for one exam and didn't feel the price was justified.

NextGen Planner videos — good quality but time-consuming. Dropped them after a while as I needed to move faster.

Plannex — solid question app, around £54 per exam. Good depth but adds up quickly across multiple units.

Path2Adviser — newer platform I found for R0x mock exams, £12.99/month for all units. Less established than Plannex but much cheaper if you're doing multiple exams back to back.

My overall advice:

- Pick your question app based on budget and how many exams you're sitting

- Do the official CII specimen papers a few days before the exam

- Don't waste time on content you already know — drill your weak areas

Feel free to ask if you have any questions about specific units. Good luck!

Hi all,

Has anyone got tips for R03?

Also what’s a better resource know R0 and BTS studdy buddy in terms of accuracy of exam questions which appear in the exam?

Thanks