Yesterday afternoon, Holly sat down to the J10 Discretionary Investment Management Paper from the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII).
Due to current restrictions, she was unable to go to an exam centre and so extremely strict conditions were set up in one of our conference rooms with multiple web cameras positioned for an invigilator in America (none the less) to watch proceedings. No one was allowed in the room. There were countless technical issues with the process and link to America which dragged the exam start from 3.00 pm to 5.00 pm but eventually Holly started.
I have passed this exam myself some years ago. This two-hour exam is one of the hardest that I have personally ever encountered. Stuffed full of complex formula calculations and huge amounts of portfolio theory testing – this really is a monster!
I paced the corridors of Avallenau House like an expectant Father waiting for the result, as Holly battled her way into the evening in solitude.
Just after 7.00 last night, she emerged triumphant from the room with the simple word ‘Pass’ showing on her computer screen.
Holly only joined our small team in October, and immediately signed up for the J10 paper which certainly raised some eyebrows in the office.
This qualification means that Holly joins a small group of financial planners who could apply for discretionary permissions if ever required. This really adds something to our team here at Thomas and Thomas. It also means that her knowledge in the investment arena has been thoroughly tried and tested.
A competent financial planner would normally expect to set aside six to twelve months to prepare for this exam, but Holly flew through the syllabus in half the time, studying relentlessly throughout weekends and evenings as well as in work time.
This exam builds credit towards the much coveted ‘Chartered’ status for Holly. We hope she now enjoys some well-deserved time off over Christmas without all that revision to do!
Many congratulations Holly, you have really achieved something special which will greatly help our firm and our clients. The future is bright!
Darren
