Gapfill Study Package includes: Study text and eight weeks access to the online environment

To order please email pciamgapfill@bpp.com    

A new 2012/2013 edition will be published in August 2012.                       

The FSA has fully recognised PCIAM as one of the acceptable transitional examinations for the RDR. Advisers who already hold the PCIAM will not be required to sit further examinations to gain RDR compliance. They will, however, be required to fill any gaps in their knowledge. 

New advisers who complete the currently available level 3 examinations and become authorised prior to 31 December 2012 can use the PCIAM instead of the industry’s new Level 4 qualifications.

The current PCIAM syllabus when mapped against the requirements of RDR covers 94% of the required knowledge, leaving holders of the current PCIAM exam with a 6% gap to be filled. This gap equates to approximately 8 - 10 hours of new learning.

Mapping the PCIAM syllabus to RDR requirements your core knowledge gaps are as follows:

BPP has developed an online learning environment that will adequately fill your knowledge gaps and provide certification that you have completed your CPD gapfill.

Depending on your area of advice activity you may be required to complete additional (non-core) CPD gapfill as follows

Your Gapfill Study Package

Your comprehensive PCIAM Gapfill study package is designed to cover all the core gaps identified during the mapping of the PCIAM syllabus to the RDR requirements.

Upon booking you will be sent a Study Text covering the core gaps you need to fill and access to our online learning environment, namely

• Regulatory and ethical aspects
• Investment assets
• Risk and return
• Investment advice

Within each chapter of your study text you will find

• A list of topics covered in each chapter
• Clear, concise, topic-by-topic coverage
• Examples to reinforce learning, confirm understanding and stimulate thought

Your printed Study Text is fully available in your online learning environment which is where your active study should take place. It is your online study support programme that will

• Identify your areas of weakness, i.e. gaps in your knowledge
• Test your understanding
• Provide you with certification that your knowledge gaps have been met
  
  

Your Online Student Support Programme

Upon registration for the course you will specify a start date that is convenient to you. Your user name and password will be sent to you on this date with full details of how to access your online student support.          

Your personal home page is the focal point for all your studies and is split into three distinct parts:

1. Special reading and combined assignments – this is where you will find special readings we may want you to read as part of your studies

2. Test assignments – where you will find your Gap Analysis test

3. Required reading assignments (from completed tests) – will show you any required reading you have been assigned as a result of not achieving the required level of knowledge in any completed assignment.

Gap Analysis Test

The first stage in your study programme is to undergo a Gap Analysis test which will quickly identify your areas of knowledge weakness and will give you the tools required to bring this knowledge up to date. There is no requirement to sit your Gap Analysis test in one sitting as the system will store your answers to questions you have already answered.

Once you have completed your test you can view your test results which will provide you with a summary of your performance in each section of the assignment. If you fail to obtain the relevant pass mark in any section don’t worry as this will create your Required Reading Requirement, which will then be displayed on your home page.

Once you have completed your required reading requirement(s) you will be asked to sit a five question Re-Test assignment. Once you have completed the Re-Test you should view your results and if you fail to achieve the required pass mark (80%) you should repeat the process until you are successful.

When you have successfully achieved a pass in the Gap Analysis test you are now ready to begin your Personal Development Programme (PDP).

Personal Development Programme (PDP)

Your PDP programme has been designed to provide you with the tools you need to improve your knowledge and test your understanding.

Each module contains at least one reading assignment, to improve your knowledge, and a randomised test assignment to test your understanding of the areas covered. You also have the ability to bookmark areas of the text you wish to return to at a later date.

Throughout your studies you will have the ability to test your understanding in a number of ways:

Self Tests – quick five-question tests.

Module Test Assignment – a randomly selected test designed to assess your understanding of the syllabus material within that particular module. The pass rate for each module test is 70%. If you fail to achieve 70% the system will automatically assign you a new module test. 

Upon successful completion of your module your PDP will be updated to reflect that you have completed the module and are now ready to move to a new module. Once each module has been successfully completed the amount of reading time you have spent on each module and all test results will automatically update your CPD record which will clearly reflect the work you have done.

Progress through each module is under your direct control so you can move throughout the programme at your own pace. However we do provide an indication of the minimum time you should spend reading through the required reading assignments.

The modules can be tackled in any order you choose.

Your PCIAM Gapfill Certificate

Upon successful completion of all your PDP modules you will undertake a further Gap Analysis Test which will show that the original gaps in your knowledge have been addressed. Once you have gained a pass mark of 50% in this test a Certificate of Achievement to demonstrate your PCIAM RDR Gapfill requirements have been completed will be issued.