Views on whether broker qualifications are too easy

Definitely, I have come across clients on multiple occasions where they have been told categorically incorrect information by other brokers

. You can blast through the exams in six months and if you're switched on enough could probably guess the answers to the CF6 given they are multiple choice.

I think the answer to this is better training and monitoring once you have passed the exams as this is where you are out of the theory and into actually dealing with a client and giving them best advice.

Being a financial adviser isn't just about qualifications it's about knowledge, experience, personality, and contacts - like any profession you can be the smartest person but unable to function adequately in a pressurised industry like financial services.

CeMAP I think is pitched at the right level in terms of difficulty, though it is very theoretical and doesn't deal much with the realities of sourcing a mortgage and advising clients. There's also an Advance CeMAP exam for those wishing to expand their knowledge.

Mortgage broker qualifications aren't too easy, they are too irrelevant. 6 weeks learning what lenders do, and internal policies from a mortgage broker will leave a broker 500 times more prepared to advise a client than spending a year reading Cemap.

I wouldn't say it's "too easy" to become a broker, but there are lots that can be done to improve things, for example many of the questions asked at both level 3 certificate and level 4 diploma exams are outdated and not relevant to the modern world; many will recall learning about the inner workings of with-profits endowments and unit-linked life assurance to pass exams, despite neither being a feature of the market it was supposedly preparing us for. It also seems odd, given how much weight is placed on the role by the regulator, once you have passed your exams there is no mandated CPD for the mortgage advice role, yet there is for insurance advice. Changes need to address the relevance of the knowledge we are asking new brokers to learn to pass the exams and take steps to ensure that, once qualified, brokers maintain that level of relevant knowledge year after year.

The CeMAP or equivalent qualification is usually just the 1st step in becoming a mortgage broker, but it's not the sole determinant of success. Experience, product knowledge, and relationship building are also just some of the crucial aspects of being a successful broker. Much of the content in CeMAP and similar qualifications is irrelevant and too theory-based. Industry qualifications should ideally strike a balance between theory and practical application. There also needs to be more focus on protection as part of the mortgage qualification as it should be an essential part of the mortgage advice process. Expanding the curriculum to include this would be beneficial. I also feel that there is a need for greater regulation in the sale of protection products.
In general, the mortgage industry, like many others, evolves over time, and the qualifications and regulations governing it should adapt accordingly to better serve both industry professionals & consumers.

I hold the Diploma in Financial Planning which is the IFA qualification, as well as the CeMAP mortgage qualification. The diploma was a very difficult qualification with many modules being a 2 hour sit down written exam. The pass mark was around 55% and although this may sound low, this is a reflection of the difficulty of the exam. CeMAP is a very easy qualification in comparison, the nature of multiple choice exams means even if you dont know the answer you still have a 1 in 4 chance of getting the correct answer. I feel that the standard of knowledge in new advisers coming into the industry is very low, the exams simply dont prepare them for the day to day realities of being a mortgage broker.