FRE2 · Skills, Principles and Ethical Behaviours
The FRE2 case studies are 15 of your 40 marks: three short scenarios with five linked questions each. They reward careful reading as much as memory. Each question turns on one fact in the scenario (a date, a qualifier, who has authority) and one rule from LO6 to LO8: suitability, the Consumer Duty, money laundering, data protection, complaints, the FSCS, cancellation, charging, conflicts and ethics. This note shows you how to read a case, map each question to its rule, work the dates and sums, and spot the distractors built from old figures and half-applied rules.
10 min read6 sections
Checked against: Walbrook (formerly LIBF) FSRE specification v7 (July 2026), FRE2 assessment method and LO6-LO8; FCA Handbook DISP 1.6, 2.8 and 3.7, MCOB 2.3, 4.4A and 4.8A, COBS 6.1A, 9.2, 15.2 and 15.4, ICOBS 7, SYSC 10.1, COCON 2.1, TC 2.1 and TC App 4; POCA 2002 ss333A and 335; UK GDPR Articles 12, 33 and 34; FCA FG21/1; fscs.org.uk compensation limits; checked 11 Oct 2026. Independent prep, not endorsed by Walbrook (formerly LIBF).
The FRE2 exam has two parts in one hour: 25 standalone multiple-choice questions, then 3 case studies, each with 5 linked multiple-choice questions. The case studies carry 15 of the 40 marks. The pass mark is 70%, so you need 28 marks (Walbrook FSRE specification v7, July 2026, Appendix 2).
Every question is select 1 answer from 4, and each correct answer earns one mark. So answer every question, even if you have to make your best choice and move on.
| Part | Questions | Marks | Suggested time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standalone MCQs | 25 | 25 | About 30 minutes |
| Case studies | 3 × 5 = 15 | 15 | About 25 minutes (8 a case) |
| Final check | – | – | About 5 minutes |
Worked example: you reach the case studies with 27 minutes left. Give each case about 8 minutes: 2 to read and mark up the scenario, then a little over a minute a question. Flag any question that needs a date count or a sum and come back to it once the other four are done.
Trap: spending 15 minutes on the first case and rushing the last one. Every case is worth the same 5 marks.
Takeaway: 15 of 40 marks sit in three cases. Budget about 8 minutes a case and answer every question.
Every note. Every question. One pass.
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Read the whole scenario once before the questions. Mark four things: the customer, the firm, the clock and the qualifiers. This is the same discipline as a fact-find: gather the facts, then analyse them (FSRE LO6 AC6.1, gathering of information and assessment and analysis).
| Qualifier in the scenario | Why it matters | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| ‘A trading name under the same banking licence’ | Balances are added together under one £120,000 limit | fscs.org.uk, limit from 1 Dec 2025 |
| ‘The laptop was not encrypted’ | High risk is likely, so the people affected must be told | UK GDPR Art 34 |
| ‘Holds no power of attorney’ | The relative cannot instruct or sign for the customer | Mental Capacity Act 2005 |
| ‘Bonus once the target is reached’ | A volume-target inducement, which is banned | MCOB 2.3.6R |
| ‘Met the adviser face to face’ | Not a distance contract, so a market loss can be kept on cancelling a single-premium bond | COBS 15.4.3R |
Worked example: ‘Arthur, 81, moved into sheltered housing after a fall last month. His niece phones the adviser on his behalf and holds no power of attorney.’ Before reading any question you should have noted two FG21/1 drivers (health and a life event), a risk that the instructions are not Arthur’s own, and that the niece has no legal authority.
Trap: skimming the scenario, reading the question first, and missing the one qualifier the question was built on.
Takeaway: Mark the customer, the firm, the dates and the qualifiers before you read question one.
