NMBA announces first pass

Just four months after implementation, the New Model Business Academy (NMBA) has announced the first delegate to pass its Alternative Assessment qualification.

Denis Vance, from The Brokerage in Northern Ireland, started the course when it launched in January, after struggling with the traditional exam route to becoming RDR compliant.

Just 12 weeks later on April 24th Denis learned that he was the first person to successfully complete the new course.

“I did not expect that. I just started it and worked on it every day and completed it,” Vance said, who elected to follow this route having decided that exams were too stressful.

He said taking everyday client situations and being able to apply them worked far better for him as a learning process, rather than a ‘memory test’ situation.

Certainly the assessment seems to have gone from strength to strength since its beginnings, announcing that it had reached the 100 applicant marker just last month, standing in stark contrast to its CII counterpart, which is still yet to sign up a single applicant.

NMBA estimates that just a month after making that announcement, it now has around 140 delegates on its books.

With RDR now just 7 months away and many adviser still yet to begin their preparations for it, NMBA says that it expects the momentum to continue in the uptake of its assessment.

holly.black@ft.com