LESSON 01 · 20:22 VIDEO
Scope of the FAIS Act.
Start with the framework: the product, the service and the client. Understand where FAIS fits before learning the detailed duties.
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What you’ll learn
- Explain what FAIS is designed to regulate.
- Distinguish the product from the service provided.
- Recognise why a job title alone does not settle a scenario.
Start with the purpose
The Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act 37 of 2002 regulates certain financial advisory and intermediary services to clients. For RE5 preparation, the useful starting point is the relationship between a financial product, the activity performed and the person receiving the service.
Ask three questions
First, what financial product is involved? Next, what did the person actually do: make a recommendation, help carry out a transaction, or provide information? Finally, who received that service? Reading a scenario in this order helps you avoid choosing an answer based only on words such as “consultant” or “administrator”.
Keep the roles separate
An authorised financial services provider (FSP) holds a licence for specified services and products. A representative acts for or on behalf of an FSP within the relevant appointment and authorisation. A key individual manages or oversees the rendering of financial services. These roles are related, but they are not interchangeable.
Apply it to a situation
Sipho recommends a particular life policy to a client. Separate the life policy (the product) from the recommendation (the service). Now ask who provides the service and under which FSP. If the client decides not to buy, that does not erase the recommendation.
Your revision task
Write a one-sentence answer for each of the three questions: product, activity and client. Then move to the next lesson to distinguish advice from intermediary services. This method is a study aid; the statutory definitions and exclusions still determine the answer.
Sources & further reading
FAIS Act, sections 1, 7, 8 and 13. These are short study notes to accompany the video, not a word-for-word transcript.
RE5 Master learning notes · Updated 2 November 2026. Use current official material alongside your revision.