CII defends IFA exam fees

Chairman Ken Davy says the next four years will see an "explosion" in the number of exams being taken after the FSA's Retail Distribution Review (RDR) suggested QCA Level 4 should be the minimum requirement for UK IFAs. Currently, individual exams cost £106 each and the CII estimates it will cost advisers currently at FPC level an average of £1,200 to gain the Diploma qualification. The CII has repeated it is a not-for-profit organisation amid claims it may seek to profiteer from the RDR's proposals. Now Davy says it should "honour that commitment" by cutting fees. "The drive for incr...