CIRO Trader study guide
CIRO Trader · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The CIRO Trader credential is a Canadian securities licence category for individuals who buy and sell securities on behalf of clients or for a dealer's own account. It sits within the proficiency framework administered by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization, which sets the standards a registered representative must meet before conducting trading activity. The CIRO Trader study guide has 9 sections and about 2,508 words.
01Regulatory Framework and Conduct Standards for Trading
Candidates must be able to separate the roles of the securities regulator, the self-regulatory organisation (SRO) or exchange rulebook, and the conduct regulator for firms. Know the difference between rules that attach to the firm (registration, capital, supervision, recordkeeping) and those that attach to the individual (registration, proficiency, conduct, reporting of outside activities).
280 words, about 1 min02Market Structure, Participants, and Trading Venues
Know the main venue types and how they differ: lit order books, quote-driven or request-for-quote systems, dark pools and other non-displayed liquidity, systematic internalisers, and auction mechanisms including opening and closing auctions. Understand the roles of exchanges, alternative venues, clearing houses, central securities depositories, and data providers.
290 words, about 1 min03Equity Securities and Equity Trading
Understand common and preferred shares, voting and economic rights, dividends, splits, and the difference between primary issuance and secondary trading. Know order types: market, limit, stop, stop-limit, iceberg, and time-in-force variants such as day, GTC and IOC.
274 words, about 1 min04Fixed Income Securities and Fixed Income Trading
Know government, agency, municipal, corporate and securitised debt; fixed versus floating coupons; callable, putable and convertible features; and the meaning of duration, convexity, credit spread and yield to maturity. Understand accrued interest, clean versus dirty price, and day-count conventions.
267 words, about 1 min05Derivatives and Structured Products
Understand forwards, futures, options and swaps, and how they are used to hedge, speculate or gain exposure. Know the payoff profiles of long and short calls and puts, the meaning of strike, premium, intrinsic and time value, and the difference between exchange-traded (standardised, cleared, margined) and OTC (negotiated, counterparty risk) derivatives.
270 words, about 1 min06Order Handling, Execution, and Best Execution Obligations
Know the duties: execute on the client's terms promptly and fairly, avoid front-running, apply consistent order priority, and prevent misuse of client order information. Understand aggregation and allocation rules - aggregated orders must be allocated fairly and promptly, and the firm must not favour its own account.
301 words, about 2 min07Trade Reporting, Clearing, and Settlement
Understand the sequence: execution, confirmation or affirmation, clearing (novation to a central counterparty), and settlement (delivery versus payment). Know the standard settlement cycle, the role of central securities depositories, and the purpose of straight-through processing.
262 words, about 1 min08Market Integrity, Manipulative and Deceptive Trading Practices
Know the core abuses: insider dealing, unlawful disclosure of inside information, market manipulation (including wash trades, marking the close, spoofing and layering, pump-and-dump, and ramping), and misleading conduct. Understand that manipulation can occur without any executed trade - placing and cancelling orders to create a false impression is spoofing.
281 words, about 1 min09Client Account Handling, Suitability, and Conflicts of Interest
Know the account-opening duties: identify the client, verify beneficial ownership, establish authority and mandates, document investment objectives and risk tolerance, and keep records current. Understand discretionary versus advisory versus execution-only accounts, and that discretionary authority must be documented and cannot be assumed.
283 words, about 1 min