Minimise your study. Maximise your credits. Master your CII exams

Welcome to Expert Pensions

You might have a really clear idea about what you want to do, but make sure you know what it really involves. Expert Pensions can help you decide which direction you want to go and help you focus on the best way of getting there, preparing for and overcoming any potential obstacles along the way.

We have developed a realistic study plan, which includes time for catch up and contingencies. We have only included activities that will increase your chance of passing and we improve your chances of passing the exam by getting you on top of the material that you currently find difficult.

How to minimise/maximise/master your studies

AF1 Personal tax and trust planning – R03 and JO2 compliment the AF1 well and whilst a majority will already have R03, relatively few will have done JO2. This is often cited by the examiner as a problem in this exam – most candidates don’t have the necessary level of trust knowledge required to do well in the AF1 exam. But don’t panic as we spend a full week looking at trusts in detail!

We would suggest using either/or both of these exams as ‘dress rehearsals’ for the big day. Many people make the mistake of not sitting the JO2 exam and having good trust knowledge is essential for the AF1 exam – so if you haven’t ticked JO2 off on your ‘to do list’ then you can do these alongside your AF1 studies to reinforce your learning.

[We include R03 notes with your study plan and you can use our AF1 SSP Week 6 – 10 (alongside the quizzes) as this will cover the whole of J02 at a ‘revision’ level – if you are looking for more in-depth, you might like to invest in the CII’s own J02 text.

[Click here for our AF1 study package]

AF4 Investment Planning – Our study package will certainly provide all the resources you need for J10, R02 and AF4. We don’t have a stand alone J10 study plan (if we did we would certainly provide it) however, we have had many of our AF4 students sitting the J10 exam alongside AF4 by using our AF4 study plan. Our AF4 course is enough to get your through this exam and it is something we positively encourage. When you purchase our AF4 package you will also receive our R02 study materials as a supplement to your studies.

AF4 is based on the Level 4 exams J10 Discretionary Investment Management, and R02 Investment Principles and Risk, which together teach the technical knowledge and theory underpinning AF4. Expert Pensions highly recommends sitting both J10 and R02 alongside AF4, they are great dress rehearsals for the big day. Understanding the formulae and being able to manipulate the numbers is a ‘must know’ for success in the AF4 exam: Formulae and algebra is a very important part of any investment exam.

How can you double your credits? We also include CISI PCIAM expansion notes with our AF4 SSP and they have been specifically designed to cover what has been tested historically in the PCIAM exam that might not necessarily be included in the AF4 notes. They are essentially an expansion pack; they are not designed to cover the full syllabus. The exam questions repeat a great deal from exam to exam, and PCIAM also brings two new examination techniques you will need to understand which are not generally tested at AF4, these being critical analysis and essay writing. The PCIAM expansion pack and the AF4 study materials together cover approx. 60% of the PCIAM exam. So they are to be used in conjunction with your CISI study materials not as a standalone study resource (these exams are in July and December so follow on nicely from your AF4 studies in either October or April).

[Click her for our AF4 study package]

AF7 Pension Transfers – If Pensions is your strength when studying – then keep doing pensions…R04/J05/Af7 and AF8 are all pension exams. If you sign-up for our AF7 you get the R04 notes and between AF7 and R04 – that covers J05.

CII R04 (pensions and retirement planning) exam pass is a must before you sit your Level 6 exam. The fundamental learning is based on an assumed progression from CII R04.

CII J05 (pension income options) is a good to have done before, or even better, alongside your AF7 exam studies.

Once you have sat and passed your AF7 exam why not follow this with the AF8 exam which is based on coursework over a 12 month period.

[Click here for our AF7 study package]

EVERYTHING you need is included in our structured study plans from concise study notes, exam style questions/model answers, video tutorials, weekly quizzes, study tips, past paper question analysis, forum access, 12 months access (covering two exam sessions) and our REVISION course (PHEW!)- ALL INCLUDED FOR ONE SMART PRICE. We pride ourselves on our customer service as we take the time to understand your needs, provide assistance and listen to our customers. You can contact us at any time. We respond to enquiries in an efficient, timely manner so that you can keep moving forward with your studies.