Two different German licences share one exam. The Finanzanlagenvermittler permit under section 34f of the Gewerbeordnung and the Honorar-Finanzanlagenberater permit under section 34h both authorise advice on and distribution of investment products such as fund shares and closed-end funds, and both are tested by the same Sachkundeprüfung under one regulation, the Finanzanlagenvermittlungsverordnung (FinVermV).
What is the §34f/§34h Sachkundeprüfung?
It is the proof-of-knowledge exam a candidate needs before a chamber will issue either the § 34f or the § 34h permit. FinVermV sets out a single syllabus and a single examination procedure for both licences, split into a written part and a practical part. The written part is the one a self-study practice tool can prepare for; the practical part is a live simulated conversation and cannot be represented as multiple choice.
What subject areas does the written exam cover?
Four chapters from FinVermV Anlage 1, the syllabus the written part is built from under § 3 Absatz 2 Satz 1:
- Beratung und Vertrieb von Finanzanlageprodukten: the legal and economic foundations, financial instruments and investment categories, sustainability criteria, and the regulatory framework spanning the Wertpapierhandelsgesetz, the FinVermV itself, the Kreditwesengesetz, the Geldwäschegesetz, intermediary law, competition law, and consumer protection.
- Offene Investmentvermögen, open-ended funds as defined by Kapitalanlagegesetzbuch (KAGB) § 1 Absatz 4: how the funds work, fund types from money-market funds to ETFs, opportunities and risks, tax treatment, custody accounts, and state-subsidised savings schemes.
- Geschlossene Investmentvermögen, closed-ended funds under KAGB § 1 Absatz 5: structure and contractual relationships, real-estate, media, shipping, private-equity and infrastructure funds, and the company and tax law behind them.
- Vermögensanlagen under Vermögensanlagengesetz § 1 Absatz 2: profit-participation rights, silent partnerships, registered bonds and cooperative shares, with the surrounding company and tax law.
A fifth chapter of Anlage 1, Kundenberatung (customer advice), is not part of the written exam at all. § 1 Absatz 1 Nummer 2 and § 3 Absatz 4 assign it to the practical part instead.
Can the exam be limited to one category?
Yes, and this is where the licence and the exam line up. § 3 Absatz 2 Satz 5 lets a candidate apply to restrict the written part to a single category of Finanzanlagen, matched to the licence actually applied for under § 34f Absatz 1 Satz 1 Nummer 1, 2, or 3 of the Gewerbeordnung. One detail catches people out: Satz 7 requires a Nummer 3 licence, for Vermögensanlagen, to additionally cover the Nummer 2 area, closed-ended funds. Applying for the narrowest-looking licence does not automatically produce the narrowest exam.
Who writes the exam and who administers it?
Two different bodies with two different jobs. The written exam tasks themselves come from one nationwide committee: § 3 Absatz 3 places task selection with a bundesweit einheitlich tätiger Aufgabenauswahlausschuss, seven members and seven deputies drawn from intermediaries, product providers, the chambers, and consumer organisations. The Industrie- und Handelskammer responsible for the candidate’s region administers the sitting and, under § 3 Absatz 9, sets the operational details of the procedure by its own Satzung. What the chamber does not set is the pass mark, which FinVermV § 3 Absatz 7 fixes nationwide at 50 percent in each examined subject area.
Is there a practical part, and how does it relate to the written one?
Yes, and the written part gates it. § 3 Absatz 1 Satz 2 makes passing the written part a precondition for sitting the practical part. The practical part, under § 3 Absatz 4, is a simulated client-advice conversation testing the Kundenberatung chapter of Anlage 1, examined one candidate at a time. It carries its own 50 percent pass threshold, separate from the written score.
RiverMap Learning’s §34f/§34h practice pack, part of the Berufsprüfungen Deutschland app, drills all four written-exam subject areas with 300 original questions, each citing the specific FinVermV or Anlage-1 provision behind the correct answer, including the option to focus on just the single category a restricted candidate needs to sit.