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Structured preparation for the CISI Level 4 Financial Planning and Advice unit, for exams from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027.
Course syllabus information reviewed for 2026. Always check the awarding body’s latest official syllabus and candidate updates before booking or sitting your exam.
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* This is a chapter sample. All audio is available in the full version.
Financial Planning and Advice is a Level 4 technical-unit option in the CISI Investment Advice Diploma. Candidates following this route combine it with the two IAD core units: UK Regulation and Professional Integrity, and Investment, Risk and Taxation. The same unit also combines with Investment, Risk and Taxation in the CISI Certificate in Paraplanning.
The syllabus moves from the financial-planning process and client analysis through protection, pensions, retirement-income strategies and the development, implementation and review of suitable recommendations. The course covers all five elements for exams from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027, with detailed teaching, recall cards, worked calculations, searchable references and a syllabus-grounded tutor. Four primary papers contain 320 original practice questions; a fifth paper combines an equal sample from each. Every paper has 80 questions in 120 minutes. The official pass mark is 70%, equivalent to 56 correct answers out of 80. Dated rule notes distinguish current requirements from future changes.
Understand where this technical unit fits within the Investment Advice Diploma and Certificate in Paraplanning routes.
Allocate revision time using the nominal five-element distribution across 80 questions; official papers may vary by up to two per element.
Connect client analysis with protection, retirement solutions and the development of suitable recommendations.
Planning fundamentals, professional relationships, client information, streamlined advice, financial analysis, priorities and existing arrangements.
Protection needs, life assurance, income protection, critical illness, long-term care and the selection of appropriate solutions.
Pension provision, scheme taxation and regulation, DB and DC arrangements, State benefits and retirement-income choices.
Advice before and after retirement, investment and drawdown strategies, sequencing risk, income sustainability and later-life needs.
Developing, justifying, implementing, communicating and reviewing suitable client recommendations.
The Level 4 assessment contains 80 multiple-choice questions and lasts 120 minutes. Computer-based tests may include up to 10% additional unscored trial questions with proportionately more time.
The course is designed for exams from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027. Candidates sitting before 1 October should use the preceding official syllabus and its applicable updates.
It is one of three technical-unit options. The IAD route combines it with UK Regulation and Professional Integrity and Investment, Risk and Taxation.
Yes. The Certificate in Paraplanning combines Financial Planning and Advice with Investment, Risk and Taxation.
Retirement Planning carries 24 of the 80 questions, followed by Financial Protection with 19 and Financial Planning with 17.
Five chapters, recall cards, searchable references, worked calculations, an AI tutor and five full 80-question papers. The first four contain 320 original questions; the fifth mixes 20 from each. Five English chapter revision summaries are available in male and female voices.
Check CISI Candidate Updates for your exam date. The source and current-rule corrections were checked on 20 September 2026; examples identify the relevant dates and assumptions.
Yes! Test your knowledge and review detailed explanations with the free CISI Financial Planning and Advice Mock Exam Preview below. It contains 15 exam-style questions from one named syllabus topic; the full course provides complete mock exams and syllabus coverage.
Try 15 CISI Financial Planning and Advice practice questions from Retirement Planning
Practice CISI Financial Planning and Advice exam questions with answers and explanations. The full course includes 5 mock exams and complete syllabus coverage.
Why can a financial plan be useful without buying a financial product?
Financial planning connects present resources with future needs: budgeting, emergency liquidity, protection against illness and death, suitable investment, retirement and tax efficiency. It is a continuing process, while an individual piece of financial advice is a recommendation at a particular time. A useful plan may rearrange existing affairs without recommending any product. The planner remains responsible for the client relationship and delivery even when a paraplanner researches products, analyses information or drafts the document. The client supplies information, helps define priorities and makes informed decisions; agreed third-party responsibilities should be clear.
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