In the Straits Times today entitled Agents fear they can’t measure up, many financial advisers expressed fear that they may not be able to pass the two new exams required by the regulator. For those who are advising on collective investment schemes (CIS), they are required to pass “M8A - Collective Investment Schemes II” while those who are also advising on life insurance policies are required to pass “M9A - Life Insurance And Investment-Linked Policies II”. These two new exams covers derivatives and structured products at the introductory level. Those exempted from these exams are those who already have a degree or higher qualification in finance, financial engineering, computational finance or is awarded the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation by the CFA Institute. Like all matters in life, the only thing that is constant is change. In the financial industry, the only thing that remains the same is the ......