Earlier this week, there was a discussion on the regulatory exams on Radio Sonder Grense where a broker André, from Cape Town, said that, as far as he knows, the pass rate is between 10% and 15%. He added that, if he does not pass before the end of September, product providers will not pay him commission, and that the exams do not add any value as it concerns legislation, and not products. Fortunately, these misconceptions were rectified by the last caller, but it does concern one that there are still people out there who are totally misinformed about the current reality.
The RE stats have in the past led to a lot of discussion, often of the heated kind, and no doubt will do so again. While there will be the regular doubting Thomas or two, we want to look at it from an industry perspective.
What are the latest figures from the FSB?
The first “discrepancy” we picked up was in terms of the total number of KIs, and the number who actually wrote. If you deduct 12 785 from 16 332, you get 3 547, but the statistics say that 2 942 did not write.
The reason why the sums do not tally is simply that one person may be a key individual for two or more FSPs, and obviously only has to write once – not per FSP.
A pass rate of 75% for KIs is a far cry from what sceptics have been quoting. Similarly, a 78% pass rate for representatives, compared to 68% announced in May this year, is a lot more encouraging. Granted, there could be a lot of reasons for this improvement, depending on your perspective of whether the glass is half full or half empty.
From the latter view, it is evident that passing the exam is do-able. If you made several attempts, and failed, consider doing something different. Ask people who were successful what they did.
Those who qualified for the extension to the end of September need to be aware that there is not that much time left. If you enjoy living dangerously, register on the very last day. If not, plan your work and work your plan.
Those who did not write at all will be contacted by the FSB, and given 14 days to react. Failure to respond will lead to further action. If you were of the opinion that there would be further extensions purely based on the vast numbers who had not yet written, I am afraid the above figures proves you wrong. We are of the opinion that those who intend writing, and can provide the FSB with proof of registration, may just receive a more receptive ear than those who ignore them.
I know of a fair number of people who did not write, simply because they decided to bid the industry farewell. None of them are a discredit to the profession, and it is sad to see them leave for the wrong reasons.
The biggest loser in this exodus is the client.
