CISI Introduction to Securities and Investment study plan

Map the UK regulatory architecture by drawing a diagram that places the FCA, PRA, Bank of England and the Treasury in their statutory roles, and annotate each with its main objective

Distinguish the FCA's three operational objectives and its consumer protection, integrity and competition remit, then summarise how each is enforced

Explain the difference between rules, guidance and principles, and state which FCA source governs conduct in a client-facing firm

List the main pieces of legislation underpinning securities markets (FSMA, the Regulated Activities Order, the Money Laundering Regulations) and state what each controls

Describe how a firm obtains authorisation and what the threshold conditions and approved persons regime require of individuals

Summarise the role of the FSCS, the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Pensions Ombudsman, including the compensation limits and eligibility rules you can state from memory

Explain the client money and custody asset rules in outline and why segregation matters to a retail investor

Describe the market abuse regime: insider dealing, market manipulation and unlawful disclosure, with one example of each

Outline the anti-money-laundering obligations of a firm, including customer due diligence, enhanced due diligence and suspicious activity reporting

Recite the CISI Code of Conduct's core principles and apply them to two short conduct scenarios

Explain what a share represents and distinguish ordinary shares from preference shares on voting, dividend and capital priority

Describe the primary and secondary markets and the roles of the London Stock Exchange, AIM and a corporate adviser in a listing

Calculate dividend yield, earnings per share, price-earnings ratio and dividend cover from supplied figures

Interpret the main share price indices and explain what a market capitalisation-weighted index does and does not measure

Summarise shareholder rights, corporate actions (rights issues, scrip issues, stock splits) and how each affects the share price

Explain why issuers borrow and why investors lend, and distinguish government, corporate and supranational borrowers

Describe the features of a bond: nominal value, coupon, redemption date, redemption yield and the relationship between price and yield

Calculate clean and dirty price concepts and accrued interest from a supplied example

Distinguish gilts, index-linked gilts, corporate bonds and money market instruments on risk, term and return

Explain how credit ratings, covenants and seniority affect the risk premium on a bond

Explain the circular flow of income and identify how interest rates, inflation and exchange rates transmit into securities prices

Distinguish inflation measures and describe how real versus nominal returns are calculated

Describe the role and tools of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee and how rate decisions affect bond and equity valuations

Explain fiscal policy, the balance of payments and how a current account deficit can pressure a currency

Interpret the main economic indicators (GDP, CPI, unemployment, purchasing managers' indices) and state which asset classes each most affects

Distinguish forwards, futures, options and swaps on obligation, standardisation and counterparty risk

Explain the mechanics of a call and a put, including the buyer's and writer's payoff at expiry, and calculate intrinsic value from supplied premiums and strike prices

Describe how derivatives are used to hedge and to speculate, and state the principal risks of leverage

Distinguish open-ended funds, investment trusts, ETFs and unit-linked funds on pricing, gearing and dealing

Explain how units are priced, what dilution levy and swing pricing protect against, and the difference between accumulation and income share classes

Outline the financial planning process from fact-find through risk profiling to review, and explain why suitability must be documented

Distinguish attitude to risk from capacity for loss and apply both to two client profiles

Explain the main tax wrappers and allowances relevant to savings and investment, and how each affects net return

Describe the client's duties to the firm and the firm's duties to the client, including best execution, conflicts of interest and treating customers fairly

Apply the ethical decision framework to a conflict-of-interest scenario and justify the recommended course of action

Re-take every weekly self-test and re-work every calculation you previously got wrong until each is correct unaided

Build a one-page formula and definition sheet for the whole syllabus and recite it from memory

Complete two full-length timed mock papers under exam conditions and record the score by domain

Identify your two weakest domains from the mock results and revise only those for the final three days

Rehearse exam technique: reading the question stem, eliminating distractors and pacing roughly one minute per question