QFA's

DeeDeeC · 13-07-2012 2:36am #1

Hi,
I'm thinking of taking the qfa exams and just wanted some general guidance?I don't know anything about them,how long they take,how much they cost,are they hard,is there a website to look up,are there lectures to attend etc?????Any help would be appreciated!!

roro2 · 13-07-2012 10:52am

Some info here:

http://www.bankers.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81:the-qfa-diploma&catid=3:roi&Itemid=305

It depends on why you wanted to do them really. They would be most useful to have if you were looking for a job that required the qualification, in my opinion. For such jobs, the employer may require applicants to be already qualified, while some will require you to undertake the exams once they take you on. So it would obviously be an advantage if you already had the qualification in these circumstances, with the downside being the cost at about €300 per module (a bit expensive in my opinion given the number of modules and an annual fee).

There are lectures to attend, but you may be able to get by on the material alone. How hard they are is all relative, it depends on your financial knowledge/experience, but there are definitely harder exams out there. They have gradually increased the number of modules you need to do to get the full QFA qualification (possibly 8 now at €300), although you could potentially take on a few at a time.

Agro Head · 30-07-2012 1:00pm

I just finished them myself. They vary in difficulty. I found pensions and regulation the most difficult and Investment and Life assurance the easiest but i guess it depends on the person. They no longer do lectures so you've to do all the work yourself which is a pain in the ass. I had lectures for my first two subjects and then they stopped them. They have recorded lectures on their website that are a total waste of time imo. I couldn't sit through them they were so boring.

As for how long they take I sat mine over a period of about 8 months. Firstly I sat pensions and life assurance together because the courses overlap somewhat. i did regulation on its own because I heard it was tough and then loans and investments before the final one on its own. You can decide yourself if you want to do them altogether or one at a time.

Best of luck with them if you go ahead with it.

Davexirl · 15-08-2012 6:56pm

Agro Head wrote: »

I just finished them myself. They vary in difficulty. I found pensions and regulation the most difficult and Investment and Life assurance the easiest but i guess it depends on the person. They no longer do lectures so you've to do all the work yourself which is a pain in the ass. I had lectures for my first two subjects and then they stopped them. They have recorded lectures on their website that are a total waste of time imo. I couldn't sit through them they were so boring.

As for how long they take I sat mine over a period of about 8 months. Firstly I sat pensions and life assurance together because the courses overlap somewhat. i did regulation on its own because I heard it was tough and then loans and investments before the final one on its own. You can decide yourself if you want to do them altogether or one at a time.

Best of luck with them if you go ahead with it.

I used to work in Pensions before I went to Oz, I never got to do the QFA. I am really thinking of just doing it myself. Dreading looking at the book but if I want to get back into pensions, I think I need to do it.

Did you find doing Pensions and Life assurance together was ok??? I see you say the courses overlap. I wouldnt want to be getting mixed up ha ha so you would recommend doing the two together?

Agro Head · 16-08-2012 10:12am

Davexirl wrote: »

I used to work in Pensions before I went to Oz, I never got to do the QFA. I am really thinking of just doing it myself. Dreading looking at the book but if I want to get back into pensions, I think I need to do it.

Did you find doing Pensions and Life assurance together was ok??? I see you say the courses overlap. I wouldnt want to be getting mixed up ha ha so you would recommend doing the two together?

Well if you plan on sitting more than one at a time then I'd do pensions and life assurance together. Doing them together certainly won't make them any easier though.

RogieBear · 19-08-2012 5:01pm

Hey,

Would anyone have any QFA life assurance past exam papers?

Thanks,
RogieBear

Shooter_galway · 30-08-2012 7:55pm

Doing loan and regulations exams what are the pass rates does anyone know is it 40 or 70%??

J.T.F · 03-09-2012 9:11pm

Pass rate is 50% goods news is if we fail and have to reeat pass rate from January is 40%

Also if anyone has pass papers for loans or regulation the want to share that would be great!

sureshot · 06-09-2012 1:29pm

I'm sitting Life assurance on Saturday. As a module its ok but I don't feel I've put enough time into it. From January pass rate is 40% but number of questions is increasing from 80 to 100 and exam will be longer, currently 90 mins but will be 2 hours come January so not sure there will be a whole lot of difference overall. APA designations are now sufficient as MCR qualifications so thats good news in that students can take more time to complete the QFA and are not under the 4 year time pressure that was previously the case.

Davexirl · 18-10-2012 8:39pm

I'm about to sign up to the Pensions exam in January, does anyone know what the QFA-Pensions E Learning support is like? I want to get back into pensions, might be a bit rusty so does anyone think the January exams might be a bit too soon? I would rather January as it's closer, the May exams feels too far away. But i'd be freaked if I paid all the money and then failed in January.

Rs24 · 05-01-2013 7:38pm

Hi, I am about to sit the Life assurance qfa next saturday. Could anyone tell me where to find past papers for this exam. also if anyone has a copy of them i would really appreciate it. If you could pm me i will give you my email.

I would really appreciate this as I am currently trying to study for this, there is alot of info and any help is welcomed.

Thanks guys.

delta_bravo · 11-01-2013 8:15pm

Does anyone know if there are any distinct differences with doing the QFA with LIA or the IOB? I'm going to be doing them myself and the LIA ones seem cheaper. Anyone know what the difference is?

R_V_P 24 · 16-01-2013 3:46pm

Hi Guys,

I just registered with the LIA to sit two exams in Loans and Life assurance in May, Can anyone give me some guidance in regard to study?. I am taking a year off from college and am returning next September to study. How much effort is needed to pass each subject?. I was told that these are the exams to start with and continue on to Pensions and investments in september. I am still waiting on the manuals to come in the post, Is there any past exam papers that anyone would have? R_V_P.

IK09 · 23-04-2013 12:51pm

Hey RVP,

Im doing the same two in May in Galway. If you go to the Learning Plan PDF on the bottom right of the LIA education section online, it will show you the break down of which chapters the most questions come from. If you need any other help PM me

luvada · 10-11-2014 12:48pm

Hi IK09 and indeed RVP24,
did you sit the exams? How did you find them? Could I arrange to get copies of the exam papers from you?
I am considering registering for 2 (or more) of them for next year (May & Sept?). I will have plenty of time to work on them, starting December 1st. Would it be feasible to do more than 2 next year?
Regards

R_V_P 24 · 12-11-2014 3:13pm

HI Luvada,

The exams themselves were straight forward enough but there is one or two tricky exams which for me was Pensions and also investments, If you have the time and the money I would advise you to take Loans and life assurance as one set in May and work towards Pensions and investments in September and Regulations and FP then in the January, depends on how much you want to push yourself because it is doable in a year to complete the whole thing. I took regulations and Fp on their own. I dont have copies of exam papers cause once you sit the MCQ exam you dont get to take it with you, I have FP if you want it but you wont need it for some time. id also recommend if you are signing up to go through the LIA as I found them especially helpful when it came to questions and responses i had. if you have any other questions just ask. best of luck with it. ( also If you wanted to you can still sign up for this january, Maybe you could do one exam to see how it goes)

luvada · 12-11-2014 3:27pm

Hi RVP24,
many thanks for reply/advise. They suggest each module requires 130 hours of study; do you agree? Why Loans & Life Assurance first? If I was to do one this January (may be too late to sign-up now?), which one would you suggest? Remember I would only be starting to work on it in early December.
Have you used the qualification for career purposes?

Cailin1234 · 12-11-2014 8:48pm

Hi
I'm thinking of taking the QFA exams but know little about them - just what I've read on the LIA & IOB websites. I don't work in the financial services industry, I'm looking a complete career change. Is prior knowledge needed or can a layperson study it? I'm smart enough & usually do well at exams but am just worried that it'd be very technical straight away. Plus can you register right now to do the exams in May? The LIA website seems to let you register for May exams now but I don't want to pay over the money when I don't know if I'm right! Is it true that if you do the Regulation module in addition to loans or pensions etc that you can be qualified to advise in that area only before having done the others? Thanks in advance guys

R_V_P 24 · 20-11-2014 1:20am

Hi there again,

130 hours study is a bit over the top in my experience as long as you read the manual understand the important stuff and know how much is going for each chapter in the exam then your sorted, Also I never listened to the online webinars as I was told that the are time consuming and not much good anyways, Maybe they are for some people though, I read the manual twice usually and made a record of notes for each chapter and then come exam time I would condense all of my notes on to two-five pages and go over them outside the exam centre, I would say though however, Financial planning may need close to 130 hours study as its a written exam and needs more detail, If you where to do one I would advise you to do Loans as it is very relevant in todays society and I found it very interesting, I have used it yes and I am working for a Financial advisers here in the Leinster region.

HI there Cailin,

Its not very technical at all but I would say this though if you have no interest in Finance or current affairs you will struggle with it, The exams are relatively straightforward and it is all up to you whether you put in the work for the exam itself, I already gave Luvanda above some tips you might find useful, Yes it is true that if you do regulation and Loans you are qualified to advise in this capacity as an APA but that doesn't really mean much unless you are working in the industry, I wouldnt be paying for them straigt away either as it takes away cash that you can use for something else but if you want to get a headstart they will send you all the manuals and things for you to study, Any other questions just shout.

deanbert · 30-11-2014 4:25pm

Hey guys, just wondering if anyone knows if there is a significant difference between the IOB and LIA apart from the annual registration fee?

Shooter_galway · 10-12-2014 11:57am

If anyone is looking for notes or past papers I have some if you want to pm me, have them for most exams

duignan20 · 06-01-2015 8:44pm

Shooter_galway wrote: »

If anyone is looking for notes or past papers I have some if you want to pm me, have them for most exams

Hi shooter. Is there any chance you would have past papers for regulation ? I have exam on 24th..have to get started on studying. Much appreciated

veray · 11-01-2015 1:09pm

does anyone have some past papers from QFA loans? Would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

dundalklad · 11-01-2015 9:02pm

duignan20 wrote: »

Hi shooter. Is there any chance you would have past papers for regulation ? I have exam on 24th..have to get started on studying. Much appreciated

Hey duignan how's the study going? I've regs on the 24th too and started study today lol should be OK tho a lot of its relevant in my day to day job.

duignan20 · 12-01-2015 4:31am

dundalklad wrote: »

Hey duignan how's the study going? I've regs on the 24th too and started study today lol should be OK tho a lot of its relevant in my day to day job.

I only started studying properly today. Didn't get much done. Hoping to get a lot coveres next weekend .I'be always been a crammer. Concentrating on the more weightedchapters

dundalklad · 12-01-2015 10:08am

Yeah I've the same plan they are just quite dense!

Tc1234 · 15-01-2015 6:15am

I am applying to do the QFA's also before I study finance this September.

What timeframe of study is reasonable to pass all the modules in one sitting ? Assuming one would like to pass them all ASAP

How much more/less material is there to cover in a QFA module to lets say a higher level leaving cert subject like business ?

What kind of study material do lia provide ? books, online lectures ?

chops018 · 09-02-2015 12:31pm

Hi All,

So as I started working in finance law I am undertaking these exams.

Starting with loans and regulations.

I have passed all the FE1's (law society entrance exams) and although these are nothing to do with the QFA's, everyone is telling me that ifpassed the FE's that I'll fly through the QFA's.

Is this true? Are they relatively easier than the FE's? I suppose it's down to the fact that there is not 5 essay questions for these.

Anyway, is it just read through the manuals they send you and practice some sample tests/questions? Any chapters that can be left out or do them all?

For the FE's I used to read a chapter in the manual, make a 5 min summary page at the end, go through a few past questions/sample answers and move on. Then closer to the date I'd just be revising the main principles. But I did law in college and I knew what to look for, plus, I saw so many sample questions I know how a question would be worded or what the examiner would want.

I'm worried that because I never really looked at finance before I'll find them difficult or not be able to know what to look for, as in not know what to concentrate on.

I suppose the fact it's multiple choice questions and if I go through the manuals a few times and do some questions I should be ok? The FE's you had no clue about the answer and had to write it all down and relate it to the question, thus rememebering everything. Very difficult.

dundalklad · 12-02-2015 3:37pm

Everyone ready for results? Should be up at midnight. Kakking it here lol

roast222 · 27-02-2015 11:29am

Registration cut off for the next QFA exams is next Friday 6th March and I was wondering if anyone has past papers for either of pensions, investments or loans could they forward me on a copy. Thanks.

dundalklad · 27-02-2015 11:41am

Are you registered for the exam? There are 2 sample papers on my lia.

roast222 · 27-02-2015 1:15pm

dundalklad wrote: »

Are you registered for the exam? There are 2 sample papers on my lia.

No, I'm not registered for the exam's. I wanted to look over the past papers for content before deciding which modules are most relevant. Are there sample papers on their website?

Kung Lao · 28-05-2015 7:39pm

I've registered to do all six modules in September as I assumed that's generally how people approach the QFAs but looking at this thread it appears that a lot of people only take two or three modules in each sitting. Am I crazy trying to sit them all at once? My perception of QFAs was that they were nowhere near the standard of other professional exams such as ACAs or FE1s, they're multiple choice mostly and the material does not look that difficult. Am I mistaken in this belief? Don't get me wrong, I'll be putting in a lot of work and study to pass them but just hoping the workload is not to the standard of those exams mentioned above.

chops018 · 28-05-2015 8:19pm

Kung Lao wrote: »

I've registered to do all six modules in September as I assumed that's generally how people approach the QFAs but looking at this thread it appears that a lot of people only take two or three modules in each sitting. Am I crazy trying to sit them all at once? My perception of QFAs was that they were nowhere near the standard of other professional exams such as ACAs or FE1s, they're multiple choice mostly and the material does not look that difficult. Am I mistaken in this belief? Don't get me wrong, I'll be putting in a lot of work and study to pass them but just hoping the workload is not to the standard of those exams mentioned above.

It depends really. Are you going to be working whilst studying for them, or will you be studying full time?

If the latter then I don't see why you couldn't do the 6 and pass all or most of them.

I have passed all the FE1's. However I am yet to commence a traineeship and I am working in banking at the moment so I did 2 QFA's in the May sittings just gone - Loans and Regs. While they are certainly not a stroll in the park, and having never studied finance before, they were not as difficult as the FE1's.

I just did study on the train and some weekends, then had a study leave week before the exams.

I am yet to receive the results so I am hoping this comment doesn't come back to bite me in the ass but I don't think I failed. There is definitively a chance I could have though, as the negative marking can screw you.

As I said if you are working full time then 2-3 max, but if not then all 6 should be doable.

Kung Lao · 29-05-2015 12:05am

I'm working full time but I'll be putting in the study on evenings and weekends.

chops018 · 29-05-2015 7:43am

Kung Lao wrote: »

I'm working full time but I'll be putting in the study on evenings and weekends.

To be honest I wouldn't recommend doing all 6 in one go if you're working full time. But as I said it's not impossible and if you've some days study leave that will help loads and I think it's two exams per weeks so you can just concentrate on whatever two are first about a week before and for all the following week concentrate on the next two.

If you're from a finance background you will probably find some of them easy. I wasn't so as I said, even though I passed all the FE1's I didn't think these were a stroll in the park either. Especially with the negative marking as you've to be 100% when answering a question.

If you can put in 3 hours a night three nights a week and do two full days at the weekend you should be ok though.

Good luck with whatever you decide. They are definitively not the hardest exams I've done. If I wasn't working I'd have done 3 and 3 though I'd say, to take off a bit of the pressure.

Kung Lao · 04-06-2015 6:45pm

I'm a qualified accountant and have worked in finance for a number of years so I'm hoping that will go a long way towards passing these exams. Thanks for your advice.

wallym · 17-06-2015 4:59pm

Hi, I'm new to finance having worked in engineering for 30 years but wanted to get up to speed on my pension so did the QFA pensions and savings and investments. Question now is should I do the regulation - i imagine its rather boring but will it open up any doors to a career in pension planning as I've found that its an area that interests me. Any opinions welcome.

Cheers...
Wal...

Shooter_galway · 19-07-2015 2:30pm

There was a guy selling notes for loans and regulations qfa exams on done deal not that long ago if anyone wants details unfortunately my laptop was sent to laptop heaven so can't forward them on

Oons01 · 19-07-2015 6:12pm

Hi, Have signed up for loans and regulation for September. Anyone recommend mocks.ie?

Thanks!

wallym · 20-07-2015 8:59am

Having completed two of the QFA modules I highly recommend knowing the example papers and the on-line test they provide as some of these will come up! This was the first training I've done in a while and I must say the resources that support the training are excellent.

Oons01 · 20-07-2015 9:46am

Thanks Wallym.

If anyone has past papers for Regulation or Loans that they could pm me - I'd really appreciate it!

haribo12 · 13-08-2015 4:30pm

Hi

Could someone tell me all about the QFA exams what are they like in terms of difficulty.

How many are there ?

I hold a BA Finance , Post grad diploma in Accounting and Masters in Accounting, and I am working in financial services.

Thanks

chops018 · 15-08-2015 5:08pm

haribo12 wrote: »

Hi

Could someone tell me all about the QFA exams what are they like in terms of difficulty.

How many are there ?

I hold a BA Finance , Post grad diploma in Accounting and Masters in Accounting, and I am working in financial services.

Thanks

Hi there.

I have two of the QFA's complete and I am APA'd.

Having completed the FE1's I found these very easy in comparison.

You will see in the chapter weightings what can be left out for example in the Loans module chapter two has a weighting of something like 36 questions - so if you know that chapter inside out then you have nearly passed the module.

Read over the boo a few times then get down and do the end of chapter tests and full tests over and over again until the questions start sticking.

Be wary in the fact that there is negative marking so you should really only answer the questions you are 100% sure on.

I was in one of Irelands leading banks and they were paying for them so I thought I would do them - not much of a use to me now as I am starting a Solicitors apprenticeship soon but I suppose no education is education wasted. They are pretty much the minimum needed to move around in financial services these days so if that's a sector you're staying in then I would defo do them. I didn't think I was going to get an apprenticeship in time to go to Blackhall Place this year which is why I took them on and would have finished them otherwise.

Good luck.

bdeely1 · 05-12-2016 1:43am

Hi, I was considering doing the QFA exams. What are they like in terms of employmemt opportunities please?

Pinkster2017 · 11-01-2017 9:08pm

Hi does anyone know the weighting chapters for regulations exam!?

Michellenman · 11-01-2017 10:14pm

The lia generally email around I think?

Pinkster2017 · 11-01-2017 10:26pm

Thanks for reply Michellenman I'm doing with iob do they email!?

Full Marx · 26-01-2017 8:58pm

Well folks, the closing date for registering for the exams is 27/1. Does that mean it has to be done by midnight tonight or by close of business tomorrow?

I'm hoping tomorrow, I had got it in my head for some reason that the date was the first of feb and wont be able to register until tomorrow when I can ring them.

veray · 26-01-2017 10:42pm

Full Marx wrote: »

Well folks, the closing date for registering for the exams is 27/1. Does that mean it has to be done by midnight tonight or by close of business tomorrow?

I'm hoping tomorrow, I had got it in my head for some reason that the date was the first of feb and wont be able to register until tomorrow when I can ring them.

You can find late registration date here https://www.iob.ie/?q=node/908

bdeely1 · 27-01-2017 12:09am

Closing date for lia.ie ones is 3rd march

QFA's

Comments