Resolution

Financial Adviser

SpecialistAccreditation

Prospectus

2014

Welcome to Resolution's Specialist Accreditation Scheme for Financial Advisers. We are delighted you are interested in applying for accreditation and we hope this information will provide you with the guidance you need to make your application. If you have any questions about the scheme please contact .

What is Financial Adviser Specialist Accreditation?

Resolution's Specialist Accreditation Scheme has been established to recognise members of Resolution who have demonstrated proficiency in the practice of family law and in certain areas of that practice in which they specialise. Specialist Accreditation for financial advisers is part of the overall scheme and is specific to our Financial Adviser Affiliate Members.Financial Adviser candidates for specialist accreditation are required to demonstrate: sufficient knowledge of the Resolution Code of Practice; knowledge and understandingof procedure and practice, and substantive law; sufficient skill, proficiency and experience in their professional role and in family law; and the ability to apply that knowledge and understanding to justify the representation of special competence to the public, the legal profession, officers of CAFCASS and appropriate public bodies such as the Legal Aid Agency and Local Authorities.

Aims of the Scheme

The Scheme aims to benefit the public, the professions (especially specialist family lawyers) and the administration of justice by:

  • Offering other professionals and the public a reliable means of identifying practitioners who are recognised as having special competence in the area of financial advice and who act in a constructive and conciliatory way, in accordance with Resolution's Code of Practice.
  • Providing an incentive and an opportunity for practitioners to reach and maintain higher levels of competence in the practice of financial advice giving in the setting of family law matters.
  • Encouraging improvement in the quality, management and cost efficiency of services to separating families.
  • Identifying and encouraging specific areas of specialism within financial advice giving and family law.

Benefits of Accreditation

Resolution's Specialist Accreditation is a mark of excellence in practice, recognised by our members and to the general public.It is an indicator to your colleague members and to their clients, of your outstanding level of skill and expertise.

Other benefits of Accreditation include:

  • Financial Adviser Accredited Specialists are identified as such on Resolution's public-facing (and member) website, enabling potential clients to search by specialism and locality, and in a directory maintained by Resolution's Central Office and accessible to the public.
  • You will receive a free copy of Resolution's guide to marketing and free supplies of our Accredited Specialist leaflets. Assistance with promotion and publicity from local regional press officers and from the Resolution Communications office.
  • A certificate and logo only available to Financial Adviser Accredited Specialists which can be used for marketing purposes.

Eligibilityfor Accreditation

Financial Adviser Specialist Accreditation is available only to current affiliate members of Resolution who satisfy the candidate requirements outlined below. Eligibility is considered without reference to race, religion, belief, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age.

Applicants for the Core Assignmentmust ensure they have the requisite knowledge and understanding of the areas of competence outlined in the Core Competence Framework. You must also ensure you have sufficient experience to demonstrate your competence.It is not acceptable to say a question cannot be answered due to lack of experience in a particular area. Applicants for The Portfolio Assignments must have detailed knowledge and experience of two of the portfolio assignment subjects (one of which is a mandatory pensions related unit). Applicants must ensure they can allow sufficient time to properly undertake the assignments and should not underestimate the time and effort they involve.

Basic Requirements

Applications will only be accepted from current affiliatemembers of Resolution.

Applications will be accepted from such members regardless of their race, religion, belief, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age.

You must also hold:

  • QCF Level 4 plus AF3/G60
  • A valid Statement of Professional Standing (SPS)

If this does not apply to you, please see the additional candidate guidance below.

Additional requirements

You must also be able to:

  • Confirm and evidence that you are an independent or restricted financial adviser in line with SRA guidance
  • Provide evidence that you can and do work on a non-product related invoicable fee basis
  • Take authority to advise personally upon the client's existing financial products
  • Provide evidence of eight hours family relationship breakdown, separation or divorce related CPD undertaken in each of the last three years
  • Provide the name, address and contact details of a Resolution member willing to provide support for your application for reaccreditation

Eligibility is considered without reference to race, religion, belief, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age.

Guidance for Candidates: Basic Eligibility Criteria

Candidates for accreditation must be current affiliate members of Resolution and hold an SPS. We are not able accept applications from Financial Advisers who do not meet these criteria. Candidates must also have sufficiently advanced and in-depth qualifications; we have defined this as QCF Level 4 plus AF3/G60. Of course, other qualifications exist. Where a qualification is equivalent to, or higher than, QCF Level 4 plus AF3/G60 a candidate can request Resolution considers their qualifications (please note, qualifications such as K10 and K20 alone will not be sufficient). Any exemptions will be made at Resolution's discretion and additional guidance for applicants will be published as a result. If you feel you have qualifications with are of an equivalent to, or higher than, those outlined above, please email . Before you contact Resolution, please also read the guidance below about supporting experience, it is important you understand the knowledge and experience you will need to demonstrate in your assignments before making your application.

Guidance for Candidates: Supporting Experience

Candidates for accreditation must ensure they have the necessary knowledge and understanding and can show in their assignments that they meet the performance criteria outlined in the Core Competence Framework (Appendix III)and in two of the Specialist Portfolio subject areas (Appendix IV).

To complete your accreditation, you must successfully complete both the Core Assignment and two Specialist Portfolios. You may stagger taking the Core and Portfolio sections over more than one accreditation round or you may complete them during the same round. If you stagger the assignments you must complete both the Core and Portfolios within three years.

All candidates must also be able to allow sufficient time to properly undertake the assignments and should not underestimate the time and effort it involves.

Resolution's Specialist Accreditation is a badge of excellence in practice. Any candidate who wishes to achieve accreditation or reaccreditation should have undertaken a substantial level of work related to family finances on separation or divorce.

We do not define 'substantial', however, as a guide it can mean:

  • Having completed at least six family finance focussed cases in the last 12-18 months.
  • Experience of family financial planning, including pensions and investments related to family separation or divorce over the last three years
  • Having worked closely with a specialist family lawyer or lawyers, collaborative practitioners, or mediators in the provision of client financial advice and planning services over the last three years

The requirement of the scheme is designed to provide an easily accessible and flexible, yet high standard for entry and examination.

The Competence Framework (Appendix III) provides you with a means of assessing for yourself whether you have sufficient knowledge, understanding and experience in practice to apply for reaccreditation. Assessors will consider and assess assignments on the basis you have demonstrated the relevant competencies in your assignment.

Exemptions

If you are unable to satisfy the eligibility criteria set out above due to parental leave, illness or other extenuating circumstances you may seek an exemption at Resolution's discretion.

The Core & Portfolio Assignments

To achieve Resolution accredited status, you must pass an assessment programme which is in two parts:

  • The Core Assignment (Part 1), an open-book assignment in the Core competencies for financial advisers

The Core Assignment is completed over a set weekend.

Note: Please see Appendix II for information about Competence Frameworks and Appendix III for information about Core Competence Units.

The Core Assignment may be taken on its own or in the same round as the Specialist Portfolio Assignments (Part 2).

The Core Assignment consists of a case study with four questions. You must answer all the questions and one will be focus on pensions. The questions will cover the relevant knowledge and application of that knowledge in practice (as set out in Appendix III). In your answers you will be expected to:

  • Provide your assessment of the situation
  • Outline your planned advice giving
  • Make reference to applicable law, statute and regulation and
  • Show how you would adhere to Resolution's Code of Practice at each and every stage of your answers.

Your answers to the Core Assignment must be completed in 1800 words (combined answer total)

  • Portfolio Assignments (Part 2), which involves the submission of satisfactory portfolio assignments to prove particular knowledge and experience in two of the following specialist areas:

-Pensions (this is a mandatory unit)

-Cashflow modelling and budgeting

-Mortgage Advice on Divorce and Separation

-Taxation and State Benefits

You will have a period of approximately eight weeks to complete the Portfolio Assignments.

For each specialist area there are two elements to the assignments:

  1. A case study assignment
  2. Reflective case accounts assignment

You will also be asked to provide a suitably redacted client advice letter or jointly advised report from one of the cases you present (see below).

Note: Please see Appendix I for information about reflective case accounts and Appendices II and IV for information about competence frameworks and Portfolio Competence Units.

Case study assignment

The case study assignment consists of a case study with four questions. You must answer all the questions. The questions will cover the relevant knowledge and application of that knowledge in practice (as set out in Appendix IV). In your answers you will be expected to:

  • Provide your assessment of the situation
  • Outline your planned advice giving
  • Make reference to applicable law, statute and regulation and
  • Show how you would adhere to Resolution's Code of Practice at each and every stage of your answers.

Your answers to the case study assignment must be completed in 1800 words (combined answer total)

Reflective case accounts assignment

You will be required to provide two reflective case accounts from your own practice and undertaken within the last 24 months for each specialist area. One of these must include a suitably redacted client advice letter or jointly advised expert witness report. Your case accounts should be cases of suitable complexity. When completing the mandatory pensions portfolio you should ensure your cases are not simply straightforward pension sharing order implementations, unless they are of a particular technical complexity.

You will be expected to set out and provide your reflections on:

  • Your assessment of the situation, including your assessment of any notable emotional context or dynamics and their likely impact on the client or clients.
  • Your planned advice giving, the solutions you identified, and whether it achieved the expected outcome.
  • How you considered applicable law, statute and regulation.
  • How you took account of, and adhered to, Resolution's Code of Practice throughout your management of the case.

For further guidance and an example of a reflective case account, please see Appendix I.

Your reflective case accounts assignment must be completed in 3600 words (combined case accounts total). This excludes the client advice letter or jointly advised expert witness report.

The portfolio assignments will incorporate elements of case and practice management and Resolution good practice as set out in the Code of Practice and in the Guides to Good Practice. Further specialist areas may become available.

Portfolio Assignments (Part 2) may be taken following the successful completion of the Core Assignment(Part 1) or in the same round as Part 1.

Period of Accreditation

Accreditation as a specialist is for a period of three years. This period will be extended if the Accredited Specialist satisfies the conditions for reaccreditation (established and regularly reviewed by the Committee).

Individual Attainment

Specialist Accreditation is an attainment of an individual practitioner and does not extend to their firm. It refers to special competence in Financial Advice giving - it is not a general qualification.

Timetable

The time table for the second round of Financial Adviser accreditation is as follows:

30th June / Understanding Family Law day course (optional)
14th July / Deadline to return application form
25th July / Portfolio papers sent out
19th September / Core papers sent out
20th-21st September / Set weekend
22nd September / Deadline for submission of all papers

Application Fee

An application must be accompanied by the fee. Fees can be paid in a number of ways, as follows:

  • Cheque
  • Credit or Debit Card
  • BACS

Part 1 (Core Assignment) only: £200

Part 2 (Portfolio Assignment) only: £200

Parts 1 & 2: £350

Retake of Part 1: £150

Retake of Part 2 Subject: £100

Re-accreditation: £200

The fees quoted here apply to 2014 accreditation. Resolution reserves the right to change the fee from time to time and will ensure that information of such change is made available in the prospectus for the relevant accreditation or reaccreditation round.

Professional integrity

Resolution's reputation is built on the integrity and commitment of its members. As a member of Resolution, an applicant for accreditation or reaccreditation accepts responsibility to maintain the highest standards of intellectual honesty and ethical conduct in completing their application for accreditation or reaccreditation.

Applicants are expected to know, understand and comply with the ethical standards of the organisation and to abide by its Code of Practice and its policies in relation to Cheating, Collusion and Plagiarism. Additionally, members have an obligation to inform Resolution of any acts of intellectual dishonesty by other members as set out in relevant policies in relation to Cheating Collusion and Plagiarism and Whistleblowing.

Intellectual dishonesty is defined as a member's use of unauthorised assistance, collusion or the use of materials or documents without specific attribution to the original author or authors with intent to deceive an assessor or other nominated person who may be appointed to evaluate an assignment. All candidates are expected to have read the policies prior to signing up to a statement of professional integrity which forms part of the candidate submission.

Making an Application

In order to make an application you must fill in and submit the application form. This should be returned, by email to the specified email address by the deadline specified. The fee must be paid at the same time, accompanied by a payment form. If you have not received an application or payment form please email .

On the application form, you will be required to provide certain information to ensure you qualify for the Core Assignment (Part 1), the Specialist Portfolio (Part 2), or Parts 1 and 2 in the same round.

An application will not be accepted from a member who does not hold current Resolution affiliate membership.

All application correspondence should be sent by email to .

What happens next?

Your application form will be considered to ensure you are eligible. If you are eligible your payment will be processed. You then will receive the accreditation assignment papers as follows:

  • Applicants for Part 1 alone: Your application form will be considered to ensure you are eligible. You should receive the Core Assignment paper approximately nine weeks after the deadline for receipt of the application forms. A timetable will be provided when you receive your application form. Please note that you must successfully complete both Core (Part 1) and Portfolio (part 2) to achieve accreditation.
  • Applicants for Part 2 alone or for Parts 1 and 2 in the same round:Your application form will be considered to ensure you are eligible. If approved, you should receive the two portfolio assignment papers you have indicated you wish to take within 21 days of the deadline for returning completed application forms. A timetable will be provided when you receive your application form. If you do not receive the portfolio assignment papers within that time, contact the immediately. Failure to notify the Resolution Central Office will not entitle you to an extension of time to complete your portfolio assignment papers.
  • All applicants: Once your application has been approved your allocated candidate number will be sent to you. You are asked to acknowledge receipt by email within three days of receiving your candidate number. It is your responsibility to ensure your candidate number appears on each page of your completed assignments. You must therefore keep a careful note of it.

If you do not receive the assignment papers by the dates indicated in the timetable provided by Resolution Central office please contact immediately. Failure to notify the Resolution Central Office will not entitle you to an extension of time to complete your assignments.

Application Enquiries

For all other enquiries in relation to your application please or call 01689 820272.

Maintaining Accreditation

A Financial Adviser Accredited Specialist must:

  • Remain an affiliate member of Resolution. An affiliate who fails to renew her or his membership will automatically lose her or his accredited status.
  • Remain a member in good standing with their own regulatory or membership body.
  • Continue to work in the specialist areas of family finance in which they are accredited. A member who ceases to work in a specialist area in which they are accredited must notify Resolution immediately and must surrender their accreditation or apply to take an alternative subject.
  • Acquire at least eight hours of continuing professional development (CPD) in family law and family law related finance topics each year.

A specialist who is unable to satisfy the criteria set out above due to parental leave, illness or other extenuating circumstances may seek an exemption at Resolution's discretion.