CISI Investment Advice Diploma case studies
CISI Investment Advice Diploma · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The CISI Investment Advice Diploma (often shortened to IAD) is a Level 4 professional qualification awarded by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment. It sits at the standard expected of someone giving regulated investment advice in the UK, and it is commonly taken by trainee advisers, paraplanners moving into advisory roles, and staff in wealth management, private banking and discretionary firms who need a recognised technical benchmark. The CISI Investment Advice Diploma case studies are 5 cases and about 4,131 words.
1Priya: CETV of £520,000 and a plan to access tax-free cash at 58
Priya is 56 and works as a band 7 nurse in an NHS trust, earning £68,000 a year. She has 29 years' service in the NHS Pension Scheme, a defined benefit career average scheme, and has been quoted a cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) of £520,000.
860 words, about 4 min2Alan: a £66,000 share gain, school fees and an unused spouse allowance
Alan, 49, is a higher-rate taxpayer with a salary of £52,270 in 2025/26. On 20 May 2025 he sold 40,000 shares in a FTSE 250 company, acquired in 2011 for £18,000, for £84,000.
807 words, about 4 min3Ravi: a BBB corporate bond, duration and a £100,000 liability in two years
Ravi, 58, holds £250,000 nominal of a five-year BBB-rated UK corporate bond paying a 6% annual coupon. It was bought at par two years ago, so three years remain to maturity, and the bond is currently priced to yield 7% to maturity.
794 words, about 4 min4Chloe: 64% of a £1.4m portfolio in one FTSE 100 share
Chloe, 61, has a £1.4 million portfolio: £900,000 in shares of the FTSE 100 company she worked for until last year, £300,000 in a global equity fund and £200,000 in cash. Her final-salary pension pays £28,000 a year from age 65 and she has £60,000 in an ISA.
826 words, about 4 min5Daniel: conflicted fund recommendations and a pension switch
Daniel, 29, has £15,000 to invest for at least 20 years and wants 'something simple and cheap'. He is a basic-rate taxpayer with no dependants and a £10,000 cash emergency fund.
844 words, about 4 min