# Summit APC Mock Interview - Property Finance and Investment

## Script B (second variant, for repeat practice)

> Same 60-minute structure as Script A. A different angle so you do not memorise answers, you build judgement. Script A took a direct acquisition appraisal. Script B takes a **fund-level and indirect-vehicle strategy** angle: portfolio construction, fund structuring, and indirect routes, rather than a single asset bid.
>
> Read aloud with a counsellor or study partner playing the chairperson and technical assessor. Answer cold, in the time bands, then grade with the panel marking sheet.
>
> Scenarios are generic and illustrative. No real firm, client, fund, or transaction is named. Your live answers must come from your own Summary of Experience and case study.

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## Candidate brief (generic, Script B)

You are a Property Finance and Investment candidate working in a fund or investment management team in the region. Your case study this time is **strategy advice to a property fund**: the fund wants to grow its portfolio and is weighing direct acquisitions against indirect routes (a co-investment, a listed REIT holding, and a debt position), and asked you to advise on the optimal structure, the funding, and the impact on the fund's risk and return profile. Your declared Core competencies are **Investment management (L3)**, **Financial modelling (L3)** and **Property finance and funding (L3)**, with **Inspection at L2**. Your optional competencies include **Indirect investment vehicles (L2)** and **Corporate finance (L2)**.

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## Interview structure (same as Script A)

| Stage | Time | Who leads |
|---|---|---|
| Candidate presentation on the case study | 10 min | Candidate |
| Questions on the presentation | 10 min | Technical assessor and chair |
| Discussion on overall experience, including CPD, Rules of Conduct, professional practice | 30 min | Technical assessor (core/optional) and chair (mandatory) |
| Chairperson's areas of questioning and close | 10 min | Chair |
| **Total** | **60 min** | |

Source: RICS APC Assessor Guide, February 2024, "Interview structure".

---

## Stage 1 - Presentation (10 minutes)

**Chair opening:** "Good morning. I am the chairperson, my colleague is the technical assessor. Please show us a full scan of the room. Thank you. You have ten minutes for your case study. Please keep to time."

**[MODEL PRESENTATION SHAPE]**
- The instruction: who, the purpose (strategy advice to a property fund on growing the portfolio), the fund's objective and mandate, and the timeframe.
- The options: direct acquisition versus indirect routes (co-investment, listed REIT holding, debt position), and the value and risk drivers of each.
- The key issues: how each route changes the fund's risk and return, liquidity, control, and gearing; the funding for each; and the fit with the fund mandate.
- Options considered and rejected, with reasoning.
- Your recommendation, the modelling and sensitivities behind it, and lessons learned.

**Self-marking note - what the panel listens for:** structure, time discipline, your own role isolated, the strategy logic, and a recommendation that survives sensitivity testing and fits the mandate. Source: RICS APC Assessor Guide, February 2024, "Weighting".

**Red flag:** reading a script, no clear recommendation, no sensitivity awareness, team work described as your own, or treating indirect and direct as interchangeable with no analysis.

---

## Stage 2 - Questions on the presentation (10 minutes)

### Q1. You compared a direct acquisition with an indirect holding. How did each change the fund's risk and return profile?
**[MODEL ANSWER - Investment management L3 / Indirect investment vehicles L2]**
- Direct ownership gives control over the asset business plan and the income, but it concentrates risk, ties up capital, and is illiquid; the return is property-specific.
- An indirect holding, a co-investment, a listed REIT stake, or a fund unit, spreads risk across a portfolio, can be more liquid (especially listed), and needs less management, but it dilutes control and adds a layer of cost, management fee, and, for listed vehicles, share-price volatility and a NAV discount or premium.
- A debt position changes the profile again: a fixed return, ranking ahead of equity, with downside protection but capped upside.
- I quantified the effect on the fund's expected return, volatility, and liquidity, and I matched the recommendation to the fund's mandate and risk appetite.

**Self-marking note:** L3 needs the trade-offs across control, liquidity, cost, and volatility quantified and matched to the mandate, not just listed. The NAV discount and fee-drag points show real indirect-vehicle knowledge.

**Red flag:** treating a listed REIT as identical to direct property. Ignoring the fee drag or the NAV discount on the indirect route.

**Cites:** PF&I Pathway Guide, December 2025, Investment management L3 and Indirect investment vehicles L2 descriptors (how investing indirectly can assist portfolio risk and return management; benefits and otherwise of indirect investment).

**Jurisdictional note:** ZW: the listed REIT market is young (Tigere Property Fund, Revitus), so indirect liquidity is limited and the NAV discount can be wide; co-investment and direct routes still dominate. SA: deep listed REIT market (Growthpoint, Redefine, Hyprop, Resilient) gives genuine indirect liquidity and benchmarking. KE: Acorn and Centum REITs are growing the indirect route. UAE: REITs and fund structures are active in the freehold zones.

### Q2. How did you model the fund-level return, as distinct from a single asset return?
**[MODEL ANSWER - Financial modelling L3]**
- I modelled the fund as a portfolio: the aggregated cash flows across assets, the fund-level gearing, the management and performance fees, and any cash drag, so the investor return is net of structure, not just the gross asset return.
- I separated the levered fund return to the investor from the ungeared property return, because fund gearing and fees move the two apart materially.
- I ran the sensitivity at the fund level, on the exit timing, the gearing, and the growth, and I segregated how much of the investor return came from income, from growth, and from leverage.
- I presented the output for an investment committee: a clear net-to-investor IRR and equity multiple, with the key risks flagged.

**Self-marking note:** L3 needs the fund layer modelled, gross asset return separated from net investor return, fees and gearing captured, and the sensitivity run at fund level. A single-asset model presented as a fund model is below the level.

**Red flag:** quoting the gross property return as the investor return. Ignoring fees and fund gearing. No fund-level sensitivity.

**Cites:** PF&I Pathway Guide, December 2025, Financial modelling L3 descriptor (bespoke models at property and fund level, segregating performance between senior debt and equity returns). RICS Discounted Cash Flow for Commercial Property Investments, 1st edition. [Fund-level method paragraphs flagged for counsellor verification.]

### Q3. The fund needed to fund the growth. How did you advise on the capital structure?
**[MODEL ANSWER - Property finance and funding L3 / Corporate finance L2]**
- I set out the funding options: new equity from existing or new investors, fund-level debt, asset-level debt, or a mix, and I modelled the cost of capital and the effect of each on the investor return.
- I sized any debt against the fund's covenants and the income cover, and I illustrated a multi-tiered structure numerically where one applied, showing the true all-in cost.
- I advised on the trade-off between a higher geared return and the covenant, refinancing, and dilution risk, and I checked any facility terms reflected the agreed commercial position.
- I flagged the regulatory and structuring points (tax-efficient holding structures, investor eligibility) and referred the legal and tax detail to the appropriate specialists.

**Self-marking note:** L3 needs the funding options modelled, debt sized against covenants and cover, the cost of capital shown, and the structuring and regulatory points flagged with referral. Naming "we raised equity" is not enough.

**Red flag:** one funding route with no comparison. No cost-of-capital analysis. Advising on tax or legal structuring beyond your competence.

**Cites:** PF&I Pathway Guide, December 2025, Property finance and funding L3 and Corporate finance L2 descriptors (cost of capital, gearing, LTV, regulatory framework, tax-efficient structures). RICS Rules of Conduct 2021, Rule 2.1 (work within competence).

**Jurisdictional note:** ZW: fund-level debt is scarce and costly, so equity and co-investment dominate; structuring must account for dual-currency exposure and exchange-control constraints. SA: deep equity and debt markets, with REIT tax transparency under the Income Tax Act REIT regime. KE: REIT regulations under the Capital Markets Authority shape eligible structures. UAE: ADGM and DIFC fund regimes offer recognised structuring routes.

---

## Stage 3 - Discussion on overall experience (30 minutes)

### Core: Investment management (L3)

#### Q4. How do you build and monitor a fund or portfolio strategy, and how do you know it is working?
**[MODEL ANSWER - Investment management L3]**
- I start from the fund mandate and objective, set the target return and risk parameters, and build the strategy: the target sector and geographic allocation, the gearing policy, and the acquisition and disposal pipeline.
- I translate the strategy into asset business plans, each with its role (core income, value-add, disposal), and I aggregate them to the fund level.
- I monitor performance against a benchmark where one exists, splitting total return into income and capital return, and I track the allocation, the gearing, the WAULT, the void rate, and the pipeline against plan.
- I report strategically to the investment committee and recommend rebalancing, acquisition, or disposal on the evidence.

**Self-marking note:** L3 needs the mandate-to-strategy-to-asset-plan chain, a performance framework against a benchmark, and strategic recommendations. Source: PF&I Pathway Guide, December 2025, Investment management L3 descriptor.

**Red flag:** a strategy with no benchmark or no monitoring. Total return with no income / capital split. No recommendation.

**Cites:** PF&I Pathway Guide, December 2025, Investment management (including fund and portfolio management) L3 descriptor. RICS Rules of Conduct 2021, Rule 1.5.

#### Q5. How do you manage the risk that a fund's gearing and its income do not match across the cycle?
**[MODEL ANSWER - Investment management L3 plus Property finance and funding]**
- I monitor the fund's loan-to-value and income cover continuously against the facility covenants, and I stress them against a downside income case so I know the headroom.
- I match the debt to the income where I can: tenor, currency, and fixed-versus-floating, so a rate or income move does not trip a covenant unexpectedly.
- I manage the maturity wall: I stagger refinancing dates rather than letting the whole book mature together, and I keep liquidity in reserve.
- I advise the committee on de-gearing, refinancing, or disposal ahead of a covenant breach, with the cost of each option weighed.

**Self-marking note:** the panel listens for continuous covenant monitoring against a real downside, debt-to-income matching, staggered maturities, and pre-emptive advice. This is portfolio risk management at L3.

**Red flag:** treating gearing as fixed and harmless. No downside stress. No maturity-wall management.

**Cites:** PF&I Pathway Guide, December 2025, Investment management L3 and Property finance and funding L3 descriptors. RICS Rules of Conduct 2021, Rule 1.5.

### Core: Financial modelling (L3)

#### Q6. Take me through how you ran a full sensitivity and scenario analysis on the fund model, and how you communicated it.
**[MODEL ANSWER - Financial modelling L3]**
- I identified the inputs the fund return is most geared to: gearing, exit yield, rental growth, fee structure, and exit timing, and I flexed each across a credible range.
- I ran single-variable sensitivity to find the breakpoints, a two-variable matrix on the most influential pair, and a downside scenario combining pessimistic assumptions, plus an upside.
- I segregated the return between income, growth, and leverage, and between the gross property return and the net investor return, so the committee could see where the return is made and how fragile it is.
- I communicated it with a tornado chart and a scenario table, each with a plain-language read-out, so a non-modeller could act on it.

**Self-marking note:** L3 needs the model used to advise, the return segregated, scenarios as well as single-variable sensitivity, and the output translated for a decision-maker. Same standard as Script A Q6, applied at fund level.

**Red flag:** single-point output. No scenario combining downside assumptions. Raw spreadsheet with no narrative.

**Cites:** PF&I Pathway Guide, December 2025, Financial modelling L3 descriptor (full sensitivity analysis, segregating performance, presenting findings to clients).

#### Q7. What are the main sources of error or false confidence in a complex financial model, and how do you control them?
**[MODEL ANSWER - Financial modelling L3 plus Data management]**
- Sources: hard-coded numbers buried in formulae, broken or circular references, optimistic assumptions stacked without a sense-check, and inputs whose source and date are not recorded.
- Controls: separate inputs, calculations, and outputs; build internal cross-checks and balance checks; sense-check the output against market evidence; and obtain an independent peer review on a material model.
- I label the source and date of every key input, distinguish evidenced inputs from assumptions, and version-control the model with an audit trail.
- I resist false precision: I report a range, not a spurious single figure, where the inputs are uncertain.

**Self-marking note:** the panel listens for model discipline and an honest grasp of where complex models mislead. Same principle as Script A Q7, framed for a fund model.

**Cites:** PF&I Pathway Guide, December 2025, Financial modelling L3 and Data management L1 descriptors. RICS Rules of Conduct 2021, Rule 1.5 (reliable evidence).

### Core: Property finance and funding (L3)

#### Q8. How do you advise on the impact of financing covenants on a fund's flexibility?
**[MODEL ANSWER - Property finance and funding L3]**
- I read each covenant precisely: LTV, interest cover, any cash-trap or cash-sweep triggers, the measurement dates, and the cure rights, because the documents, not a summary, govern the flexibility.
- I model the headroom at fund level against a downside, so I know at what income or value fall a covenant trips and what it would cost to cure.
- I advise on negotiating headroom and cure mechanisms at origination, on the cost of carrying a reserve, and on the management actions a breach would force (disposals, equity cure).
- I confirm the facility letters and loan agreements reflect the commercial terms agreed, and I refer the legal interpretation to the lawyers.

**Self-marking note:** L3 needs precise covenant reading, modelled headroom at fund level, practical mitigation, and the limit of your role versus the lawyer's.

**Red flag:** treating covenants as boilerplate. No modelled headroom. Interpreting the legal effect yourself.

**Cites:** PF&I Pathway Guide, December 2025, Property finance and funding L3 descriptor (financial covenants, facility letters, impact on borrower's management flexibility). RICS Rules of Conduct 2021, Rule 2.1.

#### Q9. A fund is choosing between senior debt only and a senior-plus-mezzanine structure. How do you advise?
**[MODEL ANSWER - Property finance and funding L3 / Corporate finance L2]**
- I illustrate both structures numerically: the senior margin and LTV, the mezzanine cost and the additional leverage it buys, and the blended all-in cost of capital for each.
- I show the effect on the investor return: more leverage lifts the geared return when the net yield beats the blended cost of debt, but it raises the equity at risk and the covenant burden.
- I weigh the cost against the benefit: mezzanine is expensive and tightens covenants, so it is justified only where the incremental return and the strategic need outweigh the added fragility.
- I run the downside so the committee sees how each structure behaves if income falls, and I recommend on the evidence and the mandate.

**Self-marking note:** the panel listens for both structures illustrated numerically, the true blended cost, the leverage effect shown on the downside as well as the upside, and a recommendation tied to the mandate.

**Red flag:** showing only the upside of more gearing. No blended cost-of-capital figure. No downside.

**Cites:** PF&I Pathway Guide, December 2025, Property finance and funding L3 descriptor (multi-tiered financing illustrated numerically, true cost of finance) and Corporate finance L2 descriptor (cost of capital).

### Optional: Indirect investment vehicles (L2)

#### Q10. Tell me about a time you advised on an indirect investment route, your analysis, and your recommendation.
**[MODEL ANSWER - Indirect investment vehicles L2]**
- I would give a real example: advising a client on whether to access a sector or geography directly or through an indirect vehicle, a listed REIT, an unlisted fund, a co-investment, or a derivative.
- I analysed the implications: the management and risk issues that differ from direct ownership, the liquidity, the fee drag, the control given up, and (for listed vehicles) the NAV discount and share-price volatility.
- I assessed how the indirect route would assist the client's portfolio risk and return management, diversification, faster access, lower management burden, and I weighed it against the cost.
- I recommended the route that best fitted the client's objective and reported it clearly.

**Self-marking note:** L2 needs the indirect route analysed against direct ownership on management, risk, liquidity, and cost, and a recommendation fitted to the client's portfolio objective. Source: PF&I Pathway Guide, December 2025, Indirect investment vehicles L2 descriptor.

**Red flag:** treating an indirect vehicle as identical to direct property. Ignoring fees, liquidity, or the NAV discount. No recommendation.

**Cites:** PF&I Pathway Guide, December 2025, Indirect investment vehicles L2 descriptor (which structures suit an investor; how indirect investing assists portfolio risk and return management). RICS Rules of Conduct 2021, Rule 1.5.

### Mandatory: Communication and negotiation (L2)

#### Q11. Tell me about a negotiation that did not go to plan, and how you handled it.
**[MODEL ANSWER - Communication and negotiation L2]**
- I would give a real example: a funding terms negotiation, a fee negotiation, or an acquisition price negotiation where the other side moved late or the deal nearly collapsed.
- I prepared with evidence, set my client's objective and walk-away position, listened to the other side's drivers, and adjusted my approach without giving up the evidenced position.
- I kept the client informed in writing at each stage and I communicated clearly and in a way the parties could understand.

**Self-marking note:** the panel listens for preparation, an evidenced position, listening, and clear written communication. Communication is mandatory, so the way you tell the story is itself being marked.

**Red flag:** a negotiation story with no evidence base, or no client communication, or no reflection.

**Cites:** RICS Rules of Conduct 2021, Rule 3.7 (communicate clearly and in a way clients can understand). PF&I Pathway Guide, December 2025, mandatory Communication and negotiation L2.

### Mandatory: Ethics and Rules of Conduct (L3, woven through)

#### Q12. (L3 scenario) Your fund holds a position in a listed REIT. A colleague who knows the fund is about to make a large purchase of that REIT mentions it to a friend outside the firm. What do you do?
**[MODEL ANSWER - Ethics L3, market-conduct and information flavour]**
- **Rules engaged:** Rule 1.1 (integrity), Rule 5.1 (raise concerns in good faith), Rule 5.9 (act on breaches; report significant breaches), and the firm's market-abuse and information-barrier policies. Passing price-sensitive information about a listed security to an outsider may also be a market-conduct offence.
- **Action recommended:** I treat this as serious. I do not stay silent. I raise it immediately with the firm's compliance lead, because acting on or disclosing inside information about a listed REIT can be a regulatory and possibly criminal matter, not just an internal one.
- **Documentation to create:** a file note of what I observed and when, and a record of the internal escalation to compliance.
- **Escalation path:** firm compliance lead and responsible principal first; the firm must consider its regulatory reporting duty to the relevant market regulator, and I would report to RICS under Rule 5.9 if it is a significant breach not remediated.

**Self-marking note:** the panel listens for recognition that price-sensitive information about a listed vehicle raises a market-conduct dimension beyond the firm, prompt escalation to compliance, and the regulatory reporting duty. Treating it as office gossip is a fail.

**Red flag:** "I would have a quiet word and leave it." Not recognising the market-abuse and regulatory dimension. Missing Rule 5.9.

**Cites:** RICS Rules of Conduct 2021, Rules 1.1, 5.1, 5.9. RICS Conflicts of Interest professional statement, 1st edition, December 2017 (confidential information). [Market-conduct point is jurisdiction-specific: verify the local market-abuse regime.]

#### Q13. (L3 scenario) You are advising a fund on acquiring an asset, and you personally hold units in a rival fund that would benefit if your client does not buy. What do you do?
**[MODEL ANSWER - Ethics L3 / Conflicts of Interest, personal-interest flavour]**
- **Rules engaged:** Rule 1.2 (not influenced improperly by your own interest), Rule 1.3 (identify conflicts throughout), Rule 1.4 (firm processes and records), Rule 3.6 (communicate material information).
- **Action recommended:** I recognise this as a personal-interest conflict. I disclose my holding to my firm and to the client, assess it against the RICS Conflicts of Interest professional statement, and either remove the interest, recuse myself from the advice, or, if it cannot be managed, decline. Disclosure alone is not automatically a cure where my objectivity is genuinely compromised.
- **Documentation to create:** a personal-interest declaration, a conflicts memo, the written client disclosure, and a record of the management or recusal decision.
- **Escalation path:** firm conflicts controller, then responsible principal; report to RICS under Rule 5.9 if a significant breach has occurred and is not remediated.

**Self-marking note:** the panel listens for recognition that a personal financial interest is a conflict that may require recusal or removal of the interest, not just disclosure, and that it must be declared and recorded. The self-interest angle tests Rule 1.2.

**Red flag:** "I would just disclose it and keep advising." Treating a personal holding as irrelevant. Not declaring or recording it.

**Cites:** RICS Rules of Conduct 2021, Rules 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 3.6, 5.9. RICS Conflicts of Interest professional statement, 1st edition, December 2017 (personal and party conflicts, informed consent and its limits).

#### Q14. What CPD have you done in the last year, and how did it change your practice?
**[MODEL ANSWER - CPD]**
- At least 20 hours a year, at least 10 formal, recorded and planned against my development needs.
- A real, recent example with an outcome, for example training on fund-level financial modelling, on indirect-vehicle structuring, or a Red Book update session, and how it changed a piece of work.
- Linked to Rule 2.5 (maintain competence, comply with CPD) and Rule 2.6 (stay up to date).

**Self-marking note:** correct obligation, real example, outcome, linked to Rule 2.

**Cites:** RICS Rules of Conduct 2021, Rule 2.5, Rule 2.6, Appendix A member obligation. [Appendix A obligation numbering flagged for counsellor verification.]

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## Stage 4 - Chairperson's close (10 minutes)

### Q15. (Chair) REITs and indirect vehicles are deepening in your market. How does that change the advice you give investors?
**[MODEL ANSWER - professional awareness plus Indirect investment vehicles]**
- I would name the genuine mechanisms in my market: indirect routes offer liquidity, diversification, and lower management burden, but they carry fee drag, share-price volatility, and a NAV discount or premium that a direct holding does not.
- I reflect it in advice by setting the indirect route against the direct route on control, liquidity, cost, and tax, and matching the recommendation to the investor's objective and risk appetite.
- I tie it to the duty to give honest, evidence-based advice under Rule 1.5, and, where relevant, to encouraging sustainable solutions under Rule 3.10.

**Self-marking note:** the chair listens for genuine, mechanism-level engagement, not a slogan. Source: RICS APC Assessor Guide, February 2024, questioning on issues of current concern.

**Red flag:** "REITs are growing" with no mechanism and no evidence of how you apply it to advice.

**Cites:** RICS Rules of Conduct 2021, Rule 1.5, Rule 3.10. PF&I Pathway Guide, December 2025, Indirect investment vehicles descriptor.

### Q16. (Chair, final ethics close) You are offered a generous gift by a lender just after you recommended their facility to your client. What do you do?
**[MODEL ANSWER - Ethics L3 close]**
- **Rules engaged:** Rule 1.2 (not influenced improperly by gifts or hospitality), Rule 1.1 (integrity), and the firm's gifts and hospitality policy.
- **Action recommended:** I check the firm's gifts and hospitality policy and threshold. A modest, transparent token may be acceptable; a generous gift from a lender tied to a recommendation I made is not, because it risks the appearance of improper influence over my advice. I would decline or refer it to the policy threshold and record it on the gifts register.
- **Documentation to create:** an entry on the gifts and hospitality register and a note of my decision.
- **Escalation path:** the firm's compliance lead where the value or the timing crosses the policy threshold; consider whether it signals a wider integrity risk in the lender relationship.

**Self-marking note:** the chair listens for the appearance test (could a reasonable person think it influenced my recommendation), the firm policy and register, and a proportionate response. Both "I would never accept anything" and "a gift is just good manners" are too blunt.

**Red flag:** accepting without reference to any policy. No register, no threshold, no appearance test. Not seeing that a gift from a recommended lender is sharper than a gift from a client.

**Cites:** RICS Rules of Conduct 2021, Rules 1.1, 1.2.

### Chair close (verbatim shape)
**Chair:** "Thank you. That concludes the interview. You will hear the result through RICS. We will not indicate the outcome today. Thank you for your time."

**Self-marking note:** no result is ever signalled. A warm close is not a pass. Source: RICS APC Assessor Guide, February 2024.

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## Standards cited in Script B

- RICS APC Assessor Guide, February 2024 (interview structure, questioning, marking).
- RICS Property Finance and Investment Pathway Guide, December 2025, Version 1.1 (core and optional descriptors and levels).
- RICS Rules of Conduct, Global, October 2021, effective 2 February 2022 (the five Rules and Appendix A).
- RICS Discounted Cash Flow for Commercial Property Investments, 1st edition, and RICS Discounted Cash Flow Valuations (current professional standard). Paragraph-level references flagged for counsellor verification.
- RICS Valuation - Global Standards (Red Book Global), December 2024, effective 31 January 2025 (VPS 2, for Valuation L1 content where it arises).
- RICS Conflicts of Interest professional statement, 1st edition, December 2017.
- RICS Surveying Safely, 2nd edition, reissued July 2023 as a RICS professional standard (Inspection and Health and safety content).

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*This material is a study aid only and is not a substitute for the source RICS standards. Always verify the cited paragraph against the source standard before relying on this answer in a formal setting. Scenarios are generic and illustrative; no real firm, client, fund, or transaction is named. Final responsibility for compliance rests with the candidate and their firm.*

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