Free CISI Financial Planning & Advice mock exam
Sit the whole Financial Planning & Advice paper: 80 questions weighted as the real exam is, pensions and protection included, under a 120-minute clock. Free, no sign-up, with a weighted score and an explanation for every answer.
What is on the CISI Financial Planning & Advice mock exam?
One full Financial Planning & Advice practice paper: 80 questions in 120 minutes, weighted across the five syllabus elements exactly as the real paper is. Score 56 out of 80 to meet the 70% practice threshold, then review every answer one at a time.
- Questions
- 80 original practice questions
- Time
- 120 minutes
- Practice threshold
- 70%, which is 56 of 80
- Access
- Free, with no account or card
How the paper is weighted
Financial Planning & Advice is a Level 4 technical unit of the Investment Advice Diploma, taken with the two compulsory core units. Its weighting is the most concentrated of any paper we cover.
| Element | Questions |
|---|---|
| 1. Financial Planning | 17 |
| 2. Financial Protection | 19 |
| 3. Retirement Planning | 24 |
| 4. Retirement Solutions | 12 |
| 5. Financial Planning Recommendations | 8 |
| Total | 80 |
Retirement Planning and Retirement Solutions are 36 of the 80 marks between them, and Financial Protection adds another nineteen. Pensions and protection therefore decide 55 of the 80. Financial Planning Recommendations, the element that reads like the point of the qualification, is eight marks.
For the cleanest rehearsal, set aside the full 120 minutes, avoid notes and answer every question. There is no negative marking on the real paper, so a guess is always better than a blank. The mock hides feedback until submission and warns you before handing in a paper with blanks.
Full practice paper
75 questions. 90 minutes. No sign-up.
Sit the paper in one go if you can. Answers and explanations stay hidden until you submit, so the score is a more useful rehearsal than an instant-feedback quiz.
The timer starts when you press the button. Reloading or leaving the page ends this sitting.
Where the marks go on this paper
This is a pensions paper wearing a financial planning title. Retirement Planning alone is 24 marks: state pension entitlement, defined benefit against defined contribution, annual and lifetime allowances, carry forward, and the tax treatment of contributions and benefits. Candidates who revise the syllabus in printed order arrive at the largest element with the least energy left.
Retirement Solutions adds twelve more marks on decumulation. Annuity shapes, flexi-access drawdown, uncrystallised funds pension lump sums and the death benefit rules are precise, changeable and easy to half-remember. This is the material most worth drilling rather than reading.
Financial Protection is nineteen marks and quietly technical. Term, whole of life, critical illness and income protection each have their own definitions, exclusions and tax treatment, and the exam will ask which product fits a described client rather than what a product is.
The eight-mark recommendations element is where the paper tests judgement: matching a solution to a client circumstance and justifying it. It is small, but it is also the element you cannot revise by memorising a list.
How to use your result
Treat 70% as a practice threshold, not a readiness promise. A stronger signal is a run of timed scores above the threshold with no element repeatedly falling behind. Score the two retirement elements together. If those 36 marks are under 70%, the paper is not passable yet whatever the rest of the breakdown says, because nothing else on it is big enough to compensate.
Use the answer review to understand each miss, then revisit the relevant part of the Financial Planning & Advice exam guide. To drill a single topic rather than sit a whole paper, start with the free Financial Planning & Advice practice questions.
Looking for official material? Financial Planning & Advice past papers: what actually exists explains what CISI actually publishes and how to combine it with question practice. For more full papers, see the £59 Pass Package.
Independent practice material: PasskeyPrep is not affiliated with, endorsed by or accredited by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment. These questions were written independently against the syllabus. They are not copied from a live CISI exam or official past paper.
Frequently asked questions
Is this Financial Planning & Advice mock exam really free?
Yes. All 80 questions are free, with no account, email address or card. Submit and you get a weighted score, a five-element breakdown and an explanation for every answer.
Does this mock match the real FPA exam format?
It uses 80 questions, a 120-minute timer, a 70% practice threshold and the published weightings across the five syllabus elements. The questions are original PasskeyPrep practice material, not the CISI examination platform or official exam questions.
How much of the paper is pensions?
Retirement Planning and Retirement Solutions are 36 of the 80 marks, so 45% of the paper is retirement material before you count the pension content that appears inside other elements.
Which units make up the Investment Advice Diploma?
Two compulsory core units, UK Regulation & Professional Integrity and Investment, Risk & Taxation, plus one Level 4 technical unit. Financial Planning & Advice is one of the technical options.
Turn the element breakdown into a study plan.
Unlock the full Financial Planning & Advice question bank, more timed mocks, study notes, flashcards and weak-spot tracking as part of the £59 Pass Package.