LIA - The Professional Association for Financial Services in Ireland

Normal Business Hours

Monday - Friday (9am to 5pm)

Closed for lunch from 1pm to 2pm.

You are welcome to become a member of the LIA at any time. However, if you are studying for the Professional Diploma in Financial Advice you do not need to become a member to complete the first four modules. Membership is required if you wish to complete QFA Regulation and / or QFA Financial Planning modules.

If you are enrolling on any of the Fellowship Diploma or JFSD modules you must become a member of LIA.

Yes. There are two types of students with LIA:

1. Those who are LIA members (that is those who pay an annual membership fee); and
2. Those who are not. Those who are not members have an examination number – purely for the purpose of sitting examinations. Should you decide at any stage to become a member of LIA your examination number will remain the same and now become your LIA membership number.

The LIA Foundation examination gives you credits which exempt you from the necessity of sitting both the QFA Life Assurance and QFA Pensions. The QFA Financial Planning module contains questions from the previous 5 modules, thus, even though you may be exempted, you will need to have an excellent working knowledge of the content of these modules.

Lectures are included for first time registrations in the course enrolment fee for all of our modules with the exception of 3 modules from the Fellowship Diploma (Retirement Provision, Retirement Planning Advice and Investment Advice). In the case of these three modules a one day lecture is run one month prior to the exam sittings at an additional cost – relevant details are posted to all registered students.

Lectures will be held in the venues listed on our website, subject to adequate demand. These venues will be decided after the closing date and posted on our website. If your chosen lecture venue is not being held you will be notified by an LIA staff member and offered an alternative venue.

No, but it is highly recommended that you attend as many of the lectures as possible. It is widely accepted that class contact has considerable benefit for the student. Interaction with the lecturer provides a much better understanding of the module than is possible by depending only on distance learning material. This in turn improves the prospects of passing the examination at the first attempt.

Yes, in order to do so you must complete a new application form, selecting your new preferred date and exam venue along with the payment due (50 euro if you are deferring within an academic year or 170 euro if you are deferring from one academic year to another).

If your deferral and non-attendance at the examination is due to extenuating circumstances such as illness or bereavement (of an immediate family member) then we will re-register you at the next available examination free of charge within the same academic year – or waive the examination fee in a new academic year and only charge the cost of course material. To avail of this you should complete a new application form, selecting the next exam date and your preferred venue and return to LIA with a medical certificate.

Provisional results for LIA’s independent examinations will be released and will be available via the LIA website. Following a sitting of the Examination Board ratified results will be released approximately eight weeks after the examination date. To access your results you must log on to the “Your LIA” section of the LIA website using your examination/ membership number and password.

To enroll simply download the application forms from our website. You can return your completed form to LIA by post or fax. Alternatively you can Apply Online for the 6 Professional Diploma in Financial Advice modules, the Professional Foundation in Pensions module and the Professional Certificate in General Insurance for QFAs.

For those who enrolled on the Fellowship Diploma prior to the 2006/2007 academic year candidates may still complete this course in the structure they started with i.e. 2 financial subjects and 2 business subjects. Please note that the two financial subjects must be two Pension modules.

Once your application has been received and is correctly completed the course material will be dispatched within 10 working days.

In order to complete the JFSD candidates must have a total of 60 credits.- these must be a combination of business credits and financial services credits.

Past papers are available for all Diploma courses - excluding multiple choice modules. Thus, in the case of the Professional Diploma in Financial Advice past papers are only available for the Financial Planning module – as the other 5 modules are multiple choice one has only access to the sample paper in the exam / study guide. Past papers can be downloaded from the LIA website.

You can only get written examination papers rechecked. This can be arranged by contacting one of LIA’s Education Administrators within one week of results being issued. rechecks will not be processed after this time.

There are two main differences between the Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning and the BFS. The BFS is a degree (level 8, comprising of 60 ECTS) qualification whereas the Graduate Diploma is at Masters Level (Level 9, comprising of 90 ECTS).

The BFS is a general degree aimed at those working in banking and financial services and accordingly the material covered is quite general. The Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning is aimed specifically at Financial Planning and so the material is much more specific to Financial Planning.

The Graduation Ceremony is held annually, usually in November, where you will be presented with your Diploma / Certificate. You will receive advance notice of the ceremony. If you cannot attend the Graduation Ceremony the Diploma / Certificate will be posted to you after the event.

QFA is, as the name implies, a designation for those who give financial advice (that is advice in relation to retail financial products). The Graduate Diploma, on the other hand, is for those whose concentration is on Financial Planning rather than simply on advising in relation to retail products. Whilst Financial Planning may ultimately lead to a decision to purchase one or more retail financial products, it need not do so. The skills and knowledge required of a Financial Planner are quite different to those required of someone whose activities are confined to financial advice and it is these skills and this knowledge that will be addressed in the Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning.

New entrants (who joined since 1st January 2007) to the financial services industry, who wish to advise on or sell retail financial products, have four years to comply with the Financial Regulator’s requirements, e.g. acquire the Professional Diploma in Financial Planning and hold the QFA designation. While LIA do not set any timeframe for completion of the Professional Diploma in Financial Planning we normally recommend completion within a two year period.

The Financial Regulator issued Minimum Competency Requirements that came into force on 1st January 2007. The purpose behind these requirements was “to establish minimum standards across all financial services providers from which consumers seek advice on, or seek to purchase, retail financial products. The Professional Diploma in Financial Planning leading to the designation QFA is prominently mentioned in the Minimum Competency document and is the only qualification that meets all six categories listed by the Regulator (the sixth being met by a bridge examination for those holding the QFA designation) - http://www.financialregulator.ie/data/pub_files/Minimum_Competency.pdf

Yes. QFA Membership of LIA is a joint membership of both organisations paying one subscription to LIA. However if you have other qualifications with the Insurance Institute of Ireland, it may be that you will have to pay a reduced membership fee to the III to recognise the separate qualifications you hold with this organisation.

You will be notified about your CPD requirements once you have successfully completed the Professional Diploma in Financial Planning and have applied for the QFA designation or if you have applied for CPD membership.

LARC numbers are no longer being issued as, with effect from 1st January 2007, the Irish Insurance Federation’s LARC Registration / Competency Scheme ceased and was replaced by the Financial Regulator’s new Minimum Competency Requirements. Your employer should be aware of these new requirements. However, full details of the new Minimum Competency Requirements can be downloaded from the publication section of the Financial Regulator’s website www.financialregulator.ie.

We recommend members (especially QFA /QFA FLIA members) sign up to pay their membership by direct debit to prevent their membership from lapsing which can result in the loss of their designatory letters. Also there are less administrative costs involved with members paying by direct debit.

A renewal invoice is posted out to the member one month in advance of when the payment is due advising when the subscription will be deducted and indicating the account it will be deducted from.

The onus lies on the individual to liaise with their CLO training officer. If the company is looking after payment of membership, the member must pass their renewal invoice to the CLO for payment. If there is a company group scheme set up, the CLO should be aware of this and hence make the necessary procedures.

Receipts are only issued on request.

CPD Membership applies to those who meet the Financial Regulator’s Minimum Competence Requirements through experience, i.e. accredited under the “Grandfathering” rule. LIA has devised a specific membership category for such individuals – called LIA CPD Members. Such individuals can apply to LIA for CPD membership as Grandfathered individuals. CPD Members can avail of all the benefits available to QFA members and QFA FLIA Qualified Members, e.g. attending LIA nationwide seminars, participating in LIA’s online CPD Programme – called www.mycpd.ie.
 
Your CPD hours (attained either through attending an LIA seminar or by completing CPD modules on line) are automatically logged onto your personal record on the LIA website. You can also view your CPD Cycle online and update it with any other CPD hours you receive, e.g. external seminars. In addition, your CPD records will be reviewed/audited by the QFA Board – this acts as a safeguard to you in ensuring you meet your annual CPD requirements.

No. The member must stay with the same association where they obtained their qualification in order to complete their CPD Programme and have their programme administered by the same association.