OPRA Exam study guide
OPRA Exam · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
OPRA - the Operations Professional Examination - is a multiple-choice credential aimed at the people who run the middle- and back-office machinery behind client accounts: the documentation, controls and settlement work that keeps a firm accurate and defensible. It suits operations analysts, trade support and settlement staff, onboarding and KYC teams, reconciliation and regulatory-reporting specialists, and compliance-adjacent colleagues who need working command of the rulebook rather than a sales or advisory licence. The OPRA Exam study guide has 6 sections and about 2,141 words.
01Regulatory Framework, Legislation and Regulator Rules
Regulation is layered. Primary legislation (statutes and statutory instruments) creates the offences and the mandate for the regulator.
354 words, about 2 min02Ethics, Conduct and Conflicts of Interest
Conduct regulation rests on a small set of durable principles: act with integrity , with due skill, care and diligence , deal with the regulator openly and cooperatively , pay due regard to client interests and treat them fairly, and manage conflicts fairly. Around these sit the market-abuse prohibitions - insider dealing, unlawful disclosure, market manipulation - and rules on inducements , personal account dealing, gifts and entertainment, and front-running.
378 words, about 2 min03Client Onboarding, Account Documentation and Suitability
Onboarding combines identity (see the AML section), client categorisation (retail, professional, eligible counterparty), and the information needed to act appropriately. For advised or discretionary business the firm must gather a fact find : objectives, time horizon, financial situation, existing holdings, risk tolerance (attitude) and capacity for loss (ability), knowledge and experience, and any restrictions (ethical screens, concentration limits, no derivatives).
348 words, about 2 min04Order Handling, Trade Processing and Settlement
The lifecycle is: receipt and time-stamping of the client order, pre-trade checks (mandate, restrictions, limits, cash and position availability, sanctions), execution under best execution obligations, capture on the order book, allocation to client accounts, confirmation and affirmation with the counterparty/CCP, clearing, and settlement - in most major markets now on a T+2 cycle, with some moving to T+1. Settlement is typically delivery versus payment ; free-of-payment transfers carry principal risk.
333 words, about 2 min05Books, Records, Reporting and Reconciliation Controls
Books and records must be complete, accurate, timely and retrievable . In practice that means a single authoritative trade record, a full audit trail of who did what and when (including amendments, with before-and-after values), sequential numbering that cannot be overwritten, and retention for the period the regulator requires - commonly around five years , counted from the date the record was created or the relationship ended, whichever the rule specifies.
361 words, about 2 min06Anti-Money-Laundering, Fraud Prevention and Complaint Handling
Firms must apply a risk-based approach : identify customers and beneficial owners (typically anyone owning or controlling above a threshold such as 25%), verify identity using independent evidence, and apply enhanced due diligence to higher-risk cases - politically exposed persons, complex offshore structures, correspondent relationships and higher-risk jurisdictions. Sanctions screening is separate from AML and is strict: a match, once confirmed, means no dealing and immediate escalation.
367 words, about 2 min